Boosting collaboration in the hybrid workplace

Summary

In this Google Workspace breakout session, Dave Citron discusses enhancing hybrid workplace collaboration. They share a customer's journey with Google Workspace, focusing on challenges and successes. Citron also unveils updates to Meet, Calendar, and Chat, designed to improve hybrid team efficiency. The session features Nerina Martinez from Iron Mountain, detailing their transition to Google Workspace and strategies for overcoming hybrid work hurdles, including the use of video conferencing and Chat Spaces.

Takeaways

• 😀 Dave Citron, Director of Product Management for voice and video products in Google Workspace, introduces the session focused on enhancing collaboration in hybrid workplaces.
• 🔍 A global survey by Google in partnership with Economist Impact reveals that over 75% of respondents expect hybrid work to be standard within three years, but only 24% believe their organizations are prepared with the right policies and technology.
• 🏢 Nerina Martinez from Iron Mountain shares her company's transition to Google Workspace, driven by the need for real-time collaboration, video enablement, and security.
• 🌐 Iron Mountain, a leader in storage and information management, serves over 225,000 global organizations and relies on Google Workspace for its digital transformation and culture shift.
• 📈 Google Workspace has helped Iron Mountain simplify security with built-in tools like DLP and Google Drive visitor sharing, enhancing control over user data.
• 📊 The pandemic accelerated Iron Mountain's adoption of Google Workspace, showcasing the platform's capabilities in tracking employee health, PPE, and facility operations using Google Docs, Sheets, and Data Studio.
• 💡 Google Workspace's Smart Canvas features like Smart Chips and page list docs have improved collaboration efficiency for Iron Mountain's hybrid workforce.
• 📹 The rapid adoption of video conferencing at Iron Mountain was facilitated by Google Meet, which provided a cost-effective and user-friendly alternative to their previous system.
• 📝 Google Chat Spaces have revolutionized project discussions at Iron Mountain, replacing email with a more agile and collaborative platform.
• 📈 Iron Mountain has successfully reduced average meeting times from one hour to 31 minutes by adopting 'Speedy Meetings' practices, promoting efficiency.

Q & A

What was the purpose of the breakout session presented by Dave Citron?

The purpose of the breakout session was to discuss how to boost collaboration in the hybrid workplace, share the journey of a customer who adopted Google Workspace, and provide updates on new features in Meet, Calendar, and Chat.

What research did Google conduct to better understand hybrid work?

Google, in collaboration with Economist Impact, conducted a global survey with over 1,200 employees in 12 countries. The research found that more than 75% of respondents expect hybrid or flexible work to become standard, but only 24% felt their organization had the right mix of policies and technology to support this change.

Who is Nerina Martinez, and what role did she play in the session?

Nerina Martinez is the Senior Technology Director at Iron Mountain. She joined the session to share Iron Mountain’s journey of transitioning to Google Workspace and how it has helped their hybrid workforce.

Why did Iron Mountain choose Google Workspace for their digital transformation?

Iron Mountain chose Google Workspace for its real-time collaboration features, support across all devices, video enablement, and built-in security tools like DLP and Google Drive visitor sharing. These features aligned with Iron Mountain's goals to improve collaboration and security.

What were some of the key challenges Iron Mountain faced when transitioning to hybrid work?

Iron Mountain faced challenges like managing a workforce split between frontline employees on-site and a large percentage working remotely. They quickly adopted tools like Google Docs, Sheets, and Data Studio to track employee health and facility closures, and Google Meet became essential for video collaboration.

How did Iron Mountain's adoption of Google Meet improve employee well-being during the pandemic?

The quick adoption of Google Meet allowed Iron Mountain employees to use video for communication, which helped reduce feelings of isolation and improve overall employee well-being during the transition to remote work.

What best practices did Iron Mountain implement for hybrid work using Google Workspace?

Iron Mountain used Google Chat Spaces for project collaboration, reduced meeting durations with speedy meetings, and adopted Companion Mode to allow in-person participants to contribute to meetings like they would when remote.

What new Google Meet features are being introduced to improve hybrid meetings?

Google Meet introduced features like Portrait Restore for improved video quality, noise cancellation, Companion Mode for in-person participants, and new adaptive framing capabilities like speaker tracking and audience reaction to better represent meeting participants.

How are Google Chat Spaces helping teams collaborate in a hybrid work environment?

Google Chat Spaces allow teams to collaborate on specific projects without using email, integrating other Workspace tools like Drive and Docs for seamless collaboration. Spaces also now support up to 8,000 members, enabling larger communities and teams to connect.

What are some of the time management features offered by Google Workspace to support hybrid workers?

Google Workspace offers tools like Speedy Meetings, Time Insights, and Focus Time in Calendar, which help users manage their schedules, focus on deep work, and track how their time is being spent. These features improve productivity and work-life balance in hybrid teams.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Introduction to Google Workspace for Hybrid Work

Dave Citron, Director of Product Management for voice and video products in Google Workspace, welcomes attendees to a session focused on enhancing collaboration in hybrid workplaces. He introduces a case study of a customer's journey with Google Workspace, highlighting challenges and achievements. Citron also previews upcoming features for Meet, Calendar, and Chat aimed at hybrid teams. A global survey in collaboration with Economist Impact is mentioned, revealing that over 75% of respondents anticipate hybrid work to be standard within three years, yet only 24% feel their organizations are prepared with the necessary policies and technology. The discussion emphasizes the need for solutions like Google Workspace to bridge the gap and support the shift towards remote work, with a specific mention of Iron Mountain's successful transition led by Nerina Martinez, Senior Technology Director.

05:00

🏢 Iron Mountain's Transition to Google Workspace

Nerina Martinez shares insights into Iron Mountain, a leading provider of storage and information management services, trusted by over 225,000 global organizations. The company's decision to adopt Google Workspace in 2018 was driven by a desire to support customer digital transformations and to foster a culture conducive to growth. Martinez outlines three key areas of focus: real-time collaboration across devices, video enablement, and a secure platform. Google Workspace was chosen for its innovation, user-friendliness, and integrated security features, leading to a simplified security stack and enhanced data control. Despite the unexpected pandemic, the transition to Google Workspace in January 2020 proved beneficial, with the platform playing a crucial role in managing health tracking, PPE, and facility operations, and later, with the introduction of Smart Canvas, improving collaboration and efficiency.

10:03

📈 Enhancing Hybrid Work Experience with Google Workspace Innovations

Dave Citron discusses the challenges faced by companies transitioning to hybrid work, emphasizing the need for an effective hybrid meeting strategy to encourage employees' return to the office. Google Workspace introduces innovations like Portrait Restore and automatic noise cancellation in Google Meet to enhance video quality and reduce background noise. Companion Mode is highlighted as a feature that allows in-person participants to engage with meetings as they would when remote. Citron also previews upcoming features like adaptive framing in Google Meet rooms, which will improve the representation of meeting room participants in virtual meetings through continuous framing and speaker tracking. The discussion also covers the expansion of Companion Mode to mobile devices and tablets to provide more flexibility in hybrid meeting participation.

15:03

🔄 Fostering Community and Productivity in the Hybrid Workplace

The conversation shifts to the importance of community and connection in the hybrid workplace, with a focus on Google Chat Spaces as a tool for topic-based collaboration. Enhancements to Spaces, including increased member limits and new conversation models, are detailed, along with the introduction of custom emoji for more personalized interactions. The segment also addresses productivity and focus, with Smart Canvas being a key tool for intelligent collaboration across apps. Announcements include the expansion of Smart Canvas to Sheets and the introduction of third-party smart chips and custom building blocks. Time management is another critical aspect, with features in Google Calendar like Time Insights and the ability to share working hours helping to maintain productivity and balance. The discussion concludes with a thank you to Nerina Martinez and an invitation for attendees to explore Google Workspace's resources for navigating the hybrid work transition.

Keywords

💡Hybrid Workplace

The hybrid workplace refers to a flexible work environment that combines remote and in-office work. This concept is central to the video as it highlights the evolving nature of work, especially in the wake of the pandemic. The discussion emphasizes the need for organizations to adapt their strategies and tools, like Google Workspace, to support employees who may be working from various locations.

💡Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools designed to facilitate communication and teamwork. In the video, it is presented as a solution for organizations transitioning to a hybrid work model, showcasing its features that enhance collaboration, such as Google Meet, Chat, and Drive. The speaker mentions how Iron Mountain utilized Google Workspace to streamline their operations and improve employee engagement.

💡Real-time Collaboration

Real-time collaboration refers to the ability for multiple users to work together simultaneously on projects or tasks, regardless of their physical location. This concept is crucial in the hybrid workplace, as it allows teams to stay connected and productive. The video illustrates this through Iron Mountain's use of Google Docs and Sheets to quickly set up processes during the pandemic.

💡Video Enablement

Video enablement involves integrating video communication tools into workplace practices to enhance interaction and engagement among team members. The video discusses how Iron Mountain adopted video conferencing through Google Meet, which significantly improved employee well-being during a time of isolation. This shift not only facilitated better communication but also fostered a sense of community among remote workers.

💡Smart Canvas

Smart Canvas is a feature within Google Workspace that allows users to create and collaborate on documents in a more integrated and flexible manner. It collapses the boundaries between different applications, enabling users to embed data and collaborate seamlessly. The video highlights how Smart Canvas has transformed collaboration at Iron Mountain by allowing teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

💡Companion Mode

Companion Mode is a feature in Google Meet that enhances the experience for in-person meeting participants, allowing them to engage in the meeting as if they were remote. This includes capabilities like screen sharing and participating in chats. The video emphasizes its importance in ensuring that all participants, whether remote or in the office, can contribute equally during hybrid meetings.

💡Speedy Meetings

Speedy Meetings is a practice that encourages shorter, more focused meetings to enhance productivity. In the video, Iron Mountain successfully reduced their average meeting time from one hour to 31 minutes, which reflects a cultural shift towards efficiency. This approach is vital in a hybrid work environment where time management becomes increasingly important.

💡Community and Connection

Community and connection refer to the importance of fostering relationships and collaboration among employees, especially in a hybrid work setting. The video discusses how Google Chat Spaces facilitate topic-based collaboration and help build communities within organizations. This aspect is crucial for maintaining engagement and a sense of belonging among remote workers.

💡Adaptive Framing

Adaptive framing is a new capability in Google Meet that enhances the visibility of meeting participants by automatically adjusting the camera view based on who is speaking. This feature aims to improve the experience of hybrid meetings by ensuring that remote participants can see and hear in-person attendees clearly. The video highlights its significance in bridging the gap between remote and in-office workers.

💡Time Insights

Time Insights is a feature that provides users with a breakdown of how they spend their working hours, helping them manage their time more effectively. The video mentions its use in ensuring that team members allocate their time fairly among all direct reports, promoting inclusivity and balanced communication. This tool is particularly valuable in a hybrid environment where time management is essential for productivity.

Highlights

Dave Citron introduces the session on boosting collaboration in the hybrid workplace.

Google Workspace is used by a customer for their hybrid workforce, with challenges and successes discussed.

Product updates on Google Meet, Calendar, and Chat are shared to enhance hybrid team experiences.

Global survey insights indicate over 75% of respondents expect hybrid work to be standard within three years.

Only 24% believe their organization has the right policies and technology for sustainable hybrid work.

More than 55% of employees desire to work remotely at least three days a week.

Nerina Martinez from Iron Mountain discusses their transition to Google Workspace.

Iron Mountain is a global leader in storage and information management services.

The decision to transition to Workspace was driven by a focus on real-time collaboration and digital transformation.

Google Workspace was chosen for its innovation, ease of use, and security features.

Iron Mountain went live on Google Workspace in January 2020, just before the pandemic.

Hybrid work pain points at Iron Mountain included managing frontline and remote workers.

Google Workspace tools like Docs, Sheets, and Data Studio were used to track employee health and PPE.

Smart Canvas features like Smart Chips improved collaboration efficiency.

Video adoption at Iron Mountain increased significantly, improving employee well-being during isolation.

Google Meet hardware was adopted for conference rooms at a quarter of the previous solution's cost.

Best practices for Workspace include using Google Chat Spaces for project discussions instead of email.

Speedy meetings reduced average meeting times from one hour to 31 minutes.

Companion Mode allowed in-room participants to contribute individually in hybrid meetings.

Google is working on innovations for hybrid meetings, including Portrait Restore and noise cancellation.

Companion Mode is being expanded to mobile and tablets for more flexibility in hybrid meetings.

Google Meet devices will allow room participants to check into meetings for better identification.

Meeting rooms will be able to join breakout rooms for smaller group discussions.

Google Chat Spaces enhancements include increased member limits and new conversation models.

Smart Canvas innovations include third-party smart chips and custom building blocks.

Calendar features help manage work-life balance and protect focus time.

Time Insights provides a breakdown of working hours to ensure inclusive team culture.

Transcripts

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DAVE CITRON: Hi, everyone.

My name is Dave Citron, and I'm the Director

of Product Management for voice and video

products in Google Workspace.

I'm pleased to welcome you all to this breakout session

on boosting collaboration in the hybrid workplace.

Today, we're going to learn about a real life

journey of a customer that has adopted

Google Workspace for their hybrid workforce

and the challenges and successes they found along the way.

I'm also going to share some product updates

on new features coming to Meet, Calendar,

and Chat that will make a real difference for hybrid teams.

First, I'd like to share some research that's

helping shape how we think about hybrid work at Google.

Working with Economist Impact, we deployed a global survey

to assess hybrid work across more than 1,200 employees in 12

different countries and gain some really important insights.

First of all, more than 75% of respondents

said hybrid or flexible work will

be a standard practice within their organization

in the coming three years.

Only 24% of those respondents believed

their organization has the right mix of policies and technology

to make this sustainable.

That's a big gap.

And since research shows more than 55% of employees

want to work remotely at least three days a week,

we know this is something Workspace customers are

experiencing right now.

To better understand how our customers are working

to overcome these challenges, I'm

excited to welcome Nerina Martinez, Senior Technology

Director at Iron Mountain who led their transition to Google

Workspace.

Marina, it's such a pleasure to have you here today.

Thank you for your time.

NERINA MARTINEZ: Thank you, Dave.

Happy to be here.

DAVE CITRON: For some background,

can you tell us a little bit about Iron Mountain?

NERINA MARTINEZ: Yeah, absolutely.

So Iron Mountain is the global leader

for storage and information management services.

We are trusted by more than 225,000 organizations

across the globe to protect billions of valued assets.

And our services include information management,

digital transformation, secure storage and destruction,

data centers, Cloud Services, and art storage and logistics.

DAVE CITRON: Thanks, Nerina.

Tell us about your transition to Workspace

and what drove that decision.

NERINA MARTINEZ: Sure.

So back in 2018, there was a lot of focus

around how Iron Mountain can support

our customers through their digital transformation

journeys.

And it was also a time for us to reflect internally and think

about the culture that we wanted to create in order

to enable this growth.

The three areas of focus that we identified

were real-time collaboration, anywhere, any device,

so a platform that could be supported across all devices,

video enablement.

Google stood out in these areas because

of their rate of product innovation

and ease of use for our employees.

But of course, all of this had to be underpinned by world

class security and performance.

And with Google Workspace, we were actually

able to simplify our security stack

because a lot of the security tools

are already built into the platform.

And we have more control over our users' data

with features like DLP and Google Drive visitor sharing.

And we went live on Google Workspace in January of 2020

not knowing what was coming ahead.

But it's really been an incredible journey thus far.

DAVE CITRON: It's so great to hear how Workspace

is helping Iron Mountain.

As so many companies are starting to experiment

with hybrid work, could you share

some of the biggest hybrid pain points you've experienced

and how Workspace has help you solve them?

NERINA MARTINEZ: Absolutely.

So when the pandemic first hit-- and I

think this is probably true for many of us--

everything was changing so quickly from day to day.

We had our front line employees that

were showing up on site to our facilities

to support our customers.

And then, we had a large percentage of our workforce

that was transitioning to a fully remote working situation.

And it was amazing to see how teams were coming together

in Google Workspace to get things done.

One of my favorite examples is, within a matter of days,

we were able to set up a process to track and report

on employee health, personal protective equipment, PPE,

and facility closures by simply using Google Docs, Sheets,

and Data Studio.

And then, as we transitioned into more

of a hybrid working rhythm, Google

launched Smart Canvas for Google Drive.

And with features like Smart Chips,

page list docs, and action items, and these things

might sound small, but they really

made working together easier and more efficient

for all of our employees.

The third thing I'll mention was the adoption

of video actually happened really quickly for us.

We were not using video at all on our previous platform.

And I think this was a really critical component in helping

to improve our employee well-being during a time

when many felt so isolated.

And seeing the adoption of video,

we used that as an opportunity to outfit

many of our conference rooms with Google Meet hardware

that we were able to install for about a quarter of the price

to our previous video conferencing solution

and with a much better user experience for our employees.

DAVE CITRON: That's great.

I love hearing stories of how Google Meet helps

teams feel connected, even when they're apart.

Could you highlight some Workspace best practices

that have helped Iron Mountain in your hybrid work transition?

NERINA MARTINEZ: Sure.

So Google Chat Spaces have really

been instrumental in changing how we work.

So in many of the projects that I'm involved in,

we do not use email at all to discuss the project.

We use Spaces for everything from brainstorming

to decision making.

And it just really helps us all be more agile as a team.

The second thing I'll mention is we also

promoted the use of speedy meetings, which moved us away

from an hour long meeting mindset

to now averaging 31 minutes per meeting,

which is really amazing and we're very proud of that.

And then, finally, when Google introduced Companion Mode,

it was a huge win for those that were heading back

into the office because it still gave them the ability

to contribute to the meeting as an individual

by sharing their screen, raising their hand,

as they did when they were at home, even though they

were physically in a conference room.

DAVE CITRON: Thanks so much, Nerina.

I'm really glad to hear you're having

success with Companion Mode.

And we have some exciting news to share

on Companion Mode coming up.

It's amazing how far Iron Mountain has come.

And your experience speaks to the fundamental challenges

we see for many of our customers in their transition

to hybrid work.

And we've been working hard to solve these challenges

associated with hybrid work.

First, a key concern for our customers

is that not having a successful hybrid meeting strategy

will deter employees from going back into the office.

So we're working hard to create a productive, in meeting room

experience for hybrid meetings.

Second, we see customers needing to build community

among their hybrid workforce based on shared interests

and authentic human connection.

And finally, we understand that companies

want to help workers to be more productive by providing tools

that work together seamlessly and help them manage their time

and attention.

So first, let's start with hybrid friendly meetings.

We've certainly experienced these challenges at Google.

As we've moved into hybrid work, it

was apparent the dynamic of having remote

and on site meeting attendees was a step

behind from the fully remote experience we

had grown accustomed to.

It was difficult to provide an authentic and inclusive

experience for all participants.

To help address, this we added a number of exciting innovations

to Google Meet including Portrait Restore

to address issues with video quality caused

by low light, low quality webcams, or poor network

connectivity.

And automatic noise cancellation to filter out background noise

so you can have conference room audio

quality whether you're in a basement, a kitchen,

or on the go.

This embedded intelligence is made possible

by Google's machine learning technologies.

As people were returning to offices,

we worked to solve another challenge.

People expected the same meeting tools

they had when working from home.

So we introduced Companion Mode giving in-person participants

the ability to participate in Q&A, chat,

and also be able to easily share content from a conference room.

On top of that, we are also enabling people

in meeting rooms the ability to send their personal video

tile into the meeting through their laptop.

That way, they can show up as an individual,

much like they would when they were remote,

rather than a small part of the conference room tile.

And we also recently updated our Google Meet conference room

devices with an easy to use frame people

button that automatically frames people in the room.

And while this is a step in the right direction,

we want to provide even better options

to bridge the divide between the home office and conference

room.

That's why I'm so excited about the new adaptive framing

capabilities and Google Meet rooms.

These new framing capabilities are

designed to better represent meeting room participants

within the virtual meeting.

Over the next several months, we'll

be introducing continuous framing,

speaker tracking, and audience reaction into Google

Meet meeting rooms with our partners Huddly and Logitech.

And today, I'm excited to show you how it will work.

We've all seen when a conference room

dials into a hybrid meeting and everyone

is so small you can hardly tell who is speaking.

Well, with the new speaker framing feature

coming to Google Meet Series One hardware,

everyone will be able to clearly see who is speaking in the room

because the active speaker will be perfectly framed.

Series One devices will alternate

between active speaker view and an overview of the room.

Both are made possible through a single Huddly camera.

But it's not enough just to see the active speaker.

To see a full understanding of the meeting,

you should also see audience reaction.

Both of these features will be supported on Series One devices

through a three camera system.

This system tracks and quickly switches

between active speakers and other participants in the room

giving the audience full context of what is happening.

For customers using Meet on the Logitech Rally Bar or Rally Bar

Mini, the new Logitech Sight helps remote employees

get the best perspective in every hybrid meeting

through AI-powered video and crystal clear audio.

I'm lucky enough to have an early sample of Sight

to show you today.

This tabletop camera works hand in hand

with a Meet-certified Rally Bar or Rally Bar Mini

to capture and present virtual attendees with the best view

of the meeting room action.

In this video, you'll see how Logitech Sight uses audio video

and AI to detect active speakers around the table

and accurately frame the participants.

It features two cameras, each offering 180 degrees

to give a face forward view of all participants automatically

cropping and framing the appropriate people.

With Huddly and Logitech, we are working

to bring meeting room participants front and center

so that they can be fully represented in the meeting.

And we're also expanding our Companion Mode capabilities

to help in-room participants better represent themselves

in hybrid meetings.

Sometimes, bringing your laptop to the room

to use Companion Mode isn't possible.

That's why I'm so excited to bring the Companion

Mode to mobile, and early next year to tablets,

both Android and iOS.

These enhancements will give you much more flexibility

in joining Companion Mode with the device of your choice.

Now you can just walk into a room

and easily connect to your phone without thinking about it.

That's certainly become the preference for me and my team.

But equal representation in the conference room

goes beyond good video.

It's important for everyone on the call

to be able to know who's in the conference room.

For large, extended team meetings,

we sometimes meet with people we're not familiar with.

Today, when someone joins from the meeting room,

it's the name of the meeting room that shows up

rather than the people in the room.

To solve this challenge, Google Meet hardware

will soon allow room participants

to check into the meeting.

When you check into a room, your name

will start to appear next to the room name

and within the Meet people list so it's

easy for remote participants to identify you on screen.

We're bringing check-in first to Companion Mode, and next year,

via QR code to make check-ins a regular part

of every hybrid meeting.

Speaking of giving meeting rooms better representation,

we're also making it possible for Google

Meet devices to join breakout rooms.

Breakout rooms allow meeting organizers

to easily split the meeting into smaller groups for small group

or topic-based discussions, or to help increase engagement

and creativity within the meeting.

Now, meeting rooms can easily join those breakout rooms,

extending this powerful meeting tool

to work whether participants are fully remote or in the office.

Next, let's talk about community and connection.

Even with all these hybrid friendly meeting improvements,

the answer isn't always just another meeting.

As Nerina mentioned, hybrid workers

want to connect and collaborate at the times that

work best for them.

That's why some recent enhancements

for Spaces in Google Chat have made

a real difference for my team.

Spaces give teams a place for topic-based collaboration

inside of Google Chat with powerful integration

with other Workspace tools like Drive, Tasks, Docs, Sheets,

and Slides.

The ability to search discover and join Spaces

has made it possible to connect with other teams

and find answers anywhere within your organization, not just

within the existing workgroups.

Of course, whenever teams are working

on something confidential, it's easy to keep Spaces private

and invite only.

Previously, Spaces worked really well

for small to medium project teams.

But now that an individual space can support up

to 8,000 members, we're seeing new communities and connections

merge all across Google.

And the new threaded conversation model

announced earlier this year and coming soon to all Workspace

users lets people have deep conversations

on specific topics without interrupting

the overall flow of the conversation within the space.

Whether your interest is fitness, travel, pets,

or yes, tacos, Spaces enable you to create a place

to connect with others.

And new custom emoji make the conversation

more personal and expressive.

But large spaces aren't just for fun.

For example, you can set up a space

to communicate with your front line workforce.

And early next year, we're enabling organizations

to create broadcast only Spaces for announcements and updates.

Finally, we're continuing to add new features to Spaces

that ensure that conversation stays healthy, safe,

and inclusive.

The ability to establish additional space managers,

released earlier this year, lets you scale the moderation

responsibilities across multiple members of a community.

Space managers can post public guidelines

that establish clear standards of conduct

for a given community and delete inappropriate content whenever

they find it.

Early next year, we're enabling individual users

to flag messages that violate community

standards and a back-end reporting view in the Workspace

Console.

With this range of new and existing features,

I'm excited for the vibrant inclusive communities

that will become possible for Workspace users.

Now, let's shift gears and talk about productivity and focus.

While staying connected is important,

it's imperative to find focus and efficiency so that you

can stay productive and be your best self,

both at work and at home.

Smart Canvas has transformed how people collaborate

through a flexible, intelligent Canvas that collapses

boundaries between apps.

Smart chips, building blocks, and templates

speed content creation and provide you

with rich information from a variety of sources

directly in your dock, which eliminates context switching

and helps you be more efficient and focused.

Today, we're excited to announce three new Smart Canvas

innovations, including third party smart chips, which

bring rich data from non-work Workspace apps

directly into your dock.

Custom building blocks, which allow organizations

to easily create their own building

blocks for anyone in their organization.

And finally, Smart Canvas is coming

to Sheets, which will allow users to insert people

and document chips directly into Sheets making

it even easier to keep data in sync

across your Workspace users.

When it comes to time management,

I love hearing how Iron Mountain reduced their average meeting

time from one hour to 31 minutes using Speedy Meetings

and Calendar.

That's a big win.

On my team, we use some additional tools in Calendar

to better communicate our availability and working hours

and to protect our ability to focus on deep work.

As a team, we've agreed to share working time

and locations in Calendar.

This helps set expectations with coworkers about availability

and working hours.

It's easy to set up as an ongoing schedule,

and then, only update it when you need to make a change.

We use this information to coordinate time together

in our physical office.

No more showing up for your in-office days

and being the only one there.

It helps us respect work-life balance of our teammates,

and especially in different time zones.

For me personally, the ability to carve out

dedicated focus time has been huge.

I reserve a couple of blocks of focus time each day.

These repeat every week on the specific days

I select and I can set them to automatically

decline new meeting requests and to set my status

to Do Not Disturb.

I encourage my team to do this as well.

And we found that having specific time set for deep work

helps us show up and be more present when

we're connecting in real time.

Time Insights is also another useful feature

to explore how investing my time at work.

Time Insights shows a breakdown of your working hours

based on event type, time spent in meetings,

and who you're regularly meeting with.

I check in a regular basis to make

sure I'm spending comparable amounts of one

on one time with all of my direct reports,

not just folks who ping me all the time.

This has helped me ensure that my team

culture is more inclusive and every voice is getting heard.

With that, I want to express a huge Thanks to Nerina Martinez.

The Workspace team is proud to be a part of Iron Mountain's

hybrid journey.

Workspace is the best way for people and teams

to connect, create, and get things

done in the hybrid workplace.

I'm excited about our announcements today

and we'll share more as we continue

to innovate for hybrid.

To learn more about how Workspace

can help your organization make this journey,

download our handbook, which we've just

updated to reflect our newest insights and recommendations.

Thank you so much for joining us today

and enjoy the rest of Next 2022.

[MUSIC PLAYING]