Zoom has opened a new London Engagement Hub this week, comprising an innovative space integrated with Zoom technology.

The new space is designed to move away from traditional offices to experience and collaboration-focused working hubs to support the demand for remote and hybrid working practices. The space caters to the unconventional and individualised work experiences that have evolved as hybrid working has become the new normal for most businesses.

“The world of modern work has changed,” observed Phil Perry, Head of UK & Ireland at Zoom. “Both employers and employees have experienced the benefits of a more flexible approach to work and want to use technologies like Zoom to maintain them. The organisations that best adapt to these changes and optimise the benefits of technology and flexible working while maximising the times that teams spend face to face will be those that succeed commercially in the race for the best talent.”

The new building is a multi-use cohesive hub with built-in Zoom technology, offering a collaborative space where Zoom’s 200+ UK employees can discuss and share ideas while honing a sense of community across the global Zoom network.

The ambition behind the project was to realise Zoom’s broader workplace strategy in the real world, offering specially designed optimal working spaces for employees who live close to the office to collaborate in person on designated team days.

Perry said:

We have totally re-imagined our London HQ for the modern, digitally connected age. We are confident the state of the art design, underpinned by the full suite of Zoom technologies, will make it the perfect place for our teams to come together to do their best work on some days, while being optimised for hybrid and remote interactions leveraging the full power of the Zoom platform on other days.”

The London Engagement Hub encompasses 75 work points, varying in design and structure to support a holistic range of employee needs and preferences. There are library-style benches, touchdown spaces, agile tables for collaboration, and traditional desks. Workers can book these facilities via Zoom’s workspace reservation tool. This all-in-one solution allows its employees to plan their workday in the office.

Each meeting room comes with the latest Zoom Rooms technology along with digital signage to encourage collaboration and customisation in any space. This in-built technology ensures meetings are frictionless regardless of what devices employees are working from.

Even for orthodox in-office roles, such as receptionist, Zoom’s Virtual Kiosk means they can manage the office remotely, with tasks including greeting guests and handling admin, so every employee can work to the best of their ability from anywhere.

To foster in-person colleague cooperation, the Engagement Hub also has creative furniture, community areas, and formal gathering spaces laid out, as well as designated quiet areas for calls.

Zoom’s commitment to sustainability is illustrated by its new London office receiving the LEED certification, a globally recognized marker of sustainability achievement.

Zoom Hints at Intelligent Director Launch

UC Today was treated to a full tour of the London facility this week, including hands-on access to workspaces and meeting room technology. Ben Neo, Head of Customer Experience UK&I, revealed Zoom’s latest AI tool Intelligent Director. The AI is designed to help create equitable experiences between remote and in-room participants and offers features such as customisable layouts, in-tile framing, meeting summaries with time stamps and action points.

Intelligent Director is currently in beta but is expected to be rolled out this September.

Zoom Requesting Staff Return to Office Two Days a Week

Zoom has asked staff to come into the office two days a week.

The policy applies to staff who live “within a commutable distance” of the office, which Zoom specifies as within 50 miles.

Zoom’s previous policy had been flexible in that staff could work remotely, on-premises, or on a hybrid model of their selection.

A Zoom spokesperson said:

We believe that a structured hybrid approach – meaning a set number of days employees that live near an office need to be on site – is most effective for Zoom. As a company, we are in a better position to use our own technologies, continue to innovate, and support our global customers. We’ll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently.”

The policy impacts a global Zoom workforce of around 8,000 employees across 12 offices worldwide, including its new London office.

Tech Giants and Their Hybrid Working Policies

Zoom’s transition to a hybrid model echoes the established policies of most other tech giants.

However, it differs from most other vendors in the on-premises mandate being two days a week rather than the standard three.

Google’s policy, which was instituted in April 2022, is three days a week. Apple also work three days a week in the office, a policy which began last September.

Microsoft currently adopts a hybrid working model with workers expected to be on-premises for at least 50 percent of their workweek unless they have special permission.

However, Microsoft has been publicly oppositional to a full return-to-office in a societal sense. In May, a Microsoft executive urged workers to “actively fight back” against efforts by businesses to force them back to the office.

Amazon’s return-to-office policy is also three days a week, which was announced in February and instituted in May. The introduction of that policy galvanised hundreds of Amazon workers in Seattle to protest outside the business’s headquarters. Amazon had previously allowed team leaders to dictate return-to-office policies.

In July, that policy expanded, with Amazon asking some corporate employees to relocate to different cities as part of its return-to-office policy.

Additionally, Business Insider reported that leaked Amazon emails and messages suggested that if workers refused to relocate to their new teams’ “hubs”, Amazon would offer them 60 days to find a new team in their current city or force them into “voluntary resignation”.



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