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Angharad Salazar Llewellyn

Angharad Salazar Llewellyn is the founder of The Flex Network. She writes about flexible working and sustainability for national newspapers and global clients, and is also interested in innovation and ethical business trends.

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office interfaces of future

Virtual offices may be a revolution bigger than 2020’s work-from-home shift

  • Emerging tech
  • min read
    • You've just got the hang of managing Zoom fatigue, but it's time to get ready for a new ride that's going to shake up our work-from-home lives. Imagine putting on a virtual reality (VR) headset and a virtual office appears all around you. Are we ready for VR offices? The COVID-19 pandemic has meant we're all spending more time at home. Unsurprisingly we've also seen an uptick in sales of VR and augmented relating (AR) technology. Research by Verizon Media predicts we'll buy 11 million VR and AR headsets worldwide in 2021. We're also using AR to virtually 'try on' cosmetics and fashion before buying online. This shift to using more advanced tech in everyday life alongside more widespread working from home suggests we're more than ready to try the virtual office. And business will want the benefits being in the same room can bring to a global team. Founder of holographic 3D workspace business Spatial, Anand Agarawala, says, "It used to be that if you wanted to jam on an idea or get creative, you'd get in a room with someone, even to the extent you'd take a flight to do that. With VR and AR we can put on a headset and feel like we're in the same room as someone." He calls it "a 3D version of Zoom meets Slack." Affordable headsets at the right time In late 2020, Facebook announced a new VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2. It received rave reviews, dubbed a "game-changer" by Tech Advisor for affordability, high-quality imagery and all-in-one capability without the need for a tethered PC connection. And it comes loaded with Infinite Office, Facebook's virtual reality workspace. Facebook's Infinite Office combines VR and AR, or 'mixed reality.' Infinite Office brings up browser 'windows' to visually represent what you might see when looking at monitors while sitting at your desk. It uses a "gesture interface" similar to that seen in 2002 science fiction movie Minority Report, in which Tom Cruise uses his hands to swipe floating windows through the air. But you can still go to the kitchen and grab a snack in headset. Passthrough technology lets you move from VR to MR, called 'mixed reality.' You can see both virtual reality your real-life environment, thanks to an integrated camera. Infinite Office also pairs with a real-life keyboard so you can write easily in headset – something that's been a problem before in virtual reality. Unfortunately, your snack crumbs can still be a more-than-virtual keyboard hazard. More effective skills training with VR Facebook admits Infinite Office has limitations when it comes to the full immersive capabilities of a virtual office. Maria Fernandez Guajardo, Director of Facebook Future of Work, says it's just their first step into the virtual office space. "Infinite Office is … the foundational layer [with] initial capabilities to help unlock productivity and utility from Quest." So Facebook is teaming up with Spatial and Talespin, who already have immersive software, hoping to improve user experience. You can then collaborate and brainstorm 'virtually' face-to-face. Talespin offers soft skills (such as leadership and communication) training by placing you in a realistic roleplay, with impressive results. They also offer physical skills training too, recreating real-world objects, tools and places in 3D. Virtually creating a fairer world These innovations already have more benefits than letting colleagues play virtual table football. They can also improve diversity and inclusion. The VR office lets those with disabilities or impaired mobility telecommute into work without losing visibility, even if some prefer to return to their daily commute. It could also enhance face-to-face interactions for workers who are sight-impaired or hard of hearing. Facebook Reality Labs is developing AR glasses that help those with hearing loss hear better in noisy environments. These glasses identify the user's focus and coordinate this to audio inputs to 'understand' what sounds they do and don't want to hear, dialing these up or down. Michael Abrash, chief scientist at Facebook Reality Labs, told Digital Trends, "AR and VR have enormous potential to benefit everyone, but especially high potential for people with varying physical abilities." Securing virtual office data Multinational professional services network PwC recently looked into using VR for workplace training. They say, "When considering data security on a headset, it is important to understand there are normally two types of data security that need to be addressed: Security of the underlying operating system that is running on the hardware and security of the data collected by an application running on top of that operating system (data collected from inside the application.)" PwC also suggests it's crucial to consider how you'll maintain and manage a large fleet of VR headsets. "The installation of security certificates on some of the head-mounted displayed (HMDs) is not yet possible. If you are using a certificate-based security approach for your enterprise and mobile phones, you may have to address mobile device management (MDM) capabilities outside your standard platform." As the role of the office changes, the role technology plays changes too. Working from home can be isolating, and effective collaboration sometimes proves difficult. The VR office could open a global talent pool, enable more diversity and, with any luck, make the pain of booking a meeting room a thing of the past.
emotional intelligence ai

To recruit diverse talent, we need emotionally intelligent AI. But how?

  • Future tech
  • min read
    • Recruiting stand-out, creative talent poses a challenge. In the wake of the pandemic, we need creativity more than ever. The Harvard Business Review says, "Imagination may seem like a frivolous luxury in a crisis, but it is actually a necessity for building future success. Now is not the time for only executing a practiced recipe." Artificial Intelligence (AI) designed for recruitment can build an 'ideal candidate profile' using historic data from your business, but is that enough? Can the best creative talent be so easily defined? Using any candidate profile automatically creates bias, whether positive or negative, because it's then used to source candidates and identify those most likely to succeed in the role. Algorithms even exist that can recommend candidates based on interview attributes, like facial expressions, body language and word choice. If you're recruiting based on who's been successful with your company before, can those with different kinds of experience and viewpoints have a fair chance to shine? To find the best free-thinking talent, we may need an AI with emotional intelligence that can go against bias. AI mirrors our best and worst traits Is AI itself biased? Frida Polli, a former academic neuroscientist at Harvard and MIT, and CEO of Pymetrics talent matching platform, doesn't think so. She told Wired magazine, "AIs are learning from the origins of bias – the human brain." Stephanie Allcock, tech industry HR specialist, echoes the sentiment. "In theory, AI should reduce unconscious bias in recruitment, but it depends on how you program it. Their success is down to the data you feed it." The World Economic Forum warns, "Past hiring decisions are used to train the algorithm to evaluate who is most likely to be the 'right' applicant. Often this approach inherently replicates the same biases present before the arrival of AI recruiting tools." And it happens. Amazon was forced to scrap a secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women because it "taught itself" male candidates were preferable. Whether using machine or human judgment, without frameworks in place, it's easy to hire those who fit your workplace culture, leading to a team without diverse experience. A Wall Street Journal report said, "Employers often aim to hire people they think will be a good fit, but their efforts can easily veer into a [situation] where new hires all look, think and act alike." Unconscious bias and why it matters If questioned, most of us would say (and believe) we don't have prejudice. But unconscious bias is the assumptions we hold that we're unaware of. It may include preconceptions about people based on, for example, sex, race, disability or age that seep into our decision-making without our knowing. Solving unconscious bias is not as simple as alerting workers that they may have it. It can make the team defensive and unreceptive to coaching. Myra LalDin, CEO of diversity training start-up Vectre, told Workflow magazine, "From a neuroscience perspective, your brain automatically starts trying to defend itself, and you don't hear the content being presented." Using VR to reduce unconscious bias International professional services giant PwC predict VR and AR could boost the global economy by 1.5 trillion US dollars over the next 10 years, with one-fifth coming from its use in training. Traditionally used for job skills simulation like flight simulators, safety procedures and equipment operation, a recent PwC study shows impressive potential for using VR for soft skills training, like empathetic leadership and problem-solving. 'V-learners' (learners using a 3D virtual environment) found the simulations so realistic that they made decisions the same as they would in real life. 75 percent reported a 'wake-up call moment' that helped them identify times in their past when they had not been as inclusive as they'd thought. V-learners were up to 275 percent more confident to act on what they learned after training. This is significant because when it comes to soft skills, confidence is key to success. Confidence builds employee satisfaction, leads to better employee retention. It also helps to improve work quality and reduce mistakes. At scale, v-learning would likely be more cost-effective than classroom or e-learning. Most participants said they preferred it to traditional approaches too. The study goes so far as to call a 'blended approach' to learning "the future." It suggested VR is best for practicing what you learn in a safe environment, e-learning is great for academic activities such as learning how to use software, and classroom training is best for working collaboratively and discussing with peers. The path to AI with emotional intelligence AI and algorithms can be blamed for many things, such as unfair exam results or secretly ranking Tinder users based on their 'desirability' and ruining the chronological timeline of Instagram. It doesn't create unconscious bias but reinforces prejudices present in its source data. This is where skills training comes in. With immersive technology like VR, we can reduce unconscious bias in ourselves before we feed our recruitment choices into automated programs using AI. Automated recruitment technology is useful, but it shouldn't replace human judgment. Otherwise, the best talent may get missed because they don't have the right keywords in their application. Emotionally intelligent AI will help us find the best talent, not just the most obvious fit, just as soon as we can train ourselves to make more emotionally intelligent choices.
provenance interview

Blockchain start-up is cleaning ‘greenwashing’ out of retail

  • Start-ups
  • min read
    • How often have you felt a prickle of guilt when you bought something because you didn't know if it had been ethically made? This conundrum made British tech entrepreneur Jessi Baker found Provenance, which uses blockchain to make supply chains transparent. They're taking on 'greenwashing:' When brands spout ethical claims without credible evidence to support them. It's a beautiful use for blockchain: A decentralized, open and permanent way to track information stored in virtual 'blocks' (transaction records) connected in a chain. Provenance uses blockchain to confirm statements brands make about their product's impact, from raw materials to the customer. The European Commission recently awarded the start-up's latest innovation, Proof Points, 1 million Euro as part of the EU Horizon Blockchains for Social Good award. Businesses can use Proof Points to verify claims. They attach documentation to support their claim and invite an independent third party to verify it. Once verified, the Proof Point earns a green tick, stored as a permanent, public record. Online retailer Cult Beauty uses Proof Points to categorize products in their "conscious edit." Product pages for their eco-friendly offerings feature icons such as 'organic,' 'clinically-tested' and 'vegan.' Verified claims show a green tick. Customers can have confidence in the item's ethical credentials, and Cult Beauty gains credibility in a competitive market. I asked Jessi how Provenance is shaking up retail using innovative tech. Angharad: Tell us about your vision for Provenance. Jessi: Businesses are getting away with greenwashing to grow their brands. They know people want to buy products that align with their values, but some don't want to put the work in to make sure their product lives up to the claims. Jessi Baker,  Provenance founder You'll see "powered by Provenance" at point-of-sale online, in-store and with QR codes on products. In August 2020, we launched QR codes on millions of cans of Napolina tinned tomatoes in supermarkets across the UK. Customers can pick products that match their values in the same way you see reviews "powered by Trustpilot." People can be more conscious and purposeful in their purchases, creating a greener and fairer world. Why choose blockchain for this? It's a new way to store and share information that's transparent and auditable – anyone can see all the records. It's also decentralized – the information is stored in a way that's not owned by one company. It's open for anyone to take part, and one person or organization can't control it for their gain. Finally, the data can't be changed, so there's trust in knowing everyone has the same, unaltered information. Blockchain's nature as an open, (largely) incorruptible and decentralized network means it empowers people across the supply chain. It fosters equality as it brings suppliers, people and practices out of the shadows in a format everyone can trust. How has Provenance made a positive impact? We've done some large pilots in the food and drink industry, now going beyond track and trace to focus on social impact. In a recent project with tinned tomato brand Napolina, we've addressed illegal labor in Italy's tomato industry, bringing proof of their responsible sourcing into the hands of shoppers. What did you do before founding Provenance? I studied manufacturing engineering at University of Cambridge. In my early 20s, I spent time working with supply chains. I was then a Creative Technologist at a leading advertising agency, working with large brands. I've always loved technology, so with Provenance as a side project, I began a Ph.D. in Computer Science at University College London, looking at how new technologies could give trustworthy transparency on the impact of products. You're an inspirational leader in tech. How important is seeing representation, diversity and inclusion among your peers? Provenance has been lucky to have fantastic women leaders. We received investment and support from two inspiring early board members, Alexsis de Raadt-St James and Chemain Sanan. Another woman who's been a great mentor and coach is Alicia Navarro, who built Skimlinks from nothing to a turnover of 50 million US dollars. The start-up journey has a million unknowns. To have her guiding me through launching my own company has been amazing. What does the future hold for Provenance? We're at an incredible juncture. The 1 million Euro award by the European Commission has given us much-needed confidence and support to super-charge our initiatives. We were early for the market when I launched Provenance, but we've now spent years working with pioneering brands and speaking to conscious shoppers. We're finally seeing it become more mainstream. Today, brands can still greenwash. Tomorrow, they'll have to prove it. Consistency and honesty about social impact will let brands of the future win.
flexible work trust

Give up the remote control. Flexible working rewards are too great to miss.

  • Leadership
  • min read
    • 2020: The year remote working went mainstream. Goodbye, long commute. Hello, months of lockdown, endless Zoom calls and employers monitoring your breaks with tracking software. Not quite the idyllic beachfront office in Barbados some pictured. Ah yes, the office. A shared space where colleagues could go for a coffee together and often. Ironically, a space where no one closely checked what you were up to. Will we ever return to the same as before COVID-19? Maybe not. Research from the UK's Human Resources professional body, CIPD, suggests flexible working will more than double in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Does this mean the end of the early morning crush to get to your desk? Not necessarily. The World Economic Forum says the future of business is the 'triple bottom line:' People, planet, profit. "If COVID-19 has taught us anything about how to surmount our socio-environmental challenges, it is that each one of us – as individuals, companies or governments – needs to take ownership of our future. Being a bystander is no longer an option," says CB Bhattacharya, Chair in Sustainability and Ethics at University of Pittsburgh. Flexible working is one way to advance how we do business. It's the art of designing an employee's role around their needs and preferences to benefit both the individual and organization. Difference is a strength We all have a reason for wanting more balance in our lives. It could be children, care responsibilities or health issues. You may wish to live in the countryside, go to the gym in the morning or avoid the rush-hour commute. But offices are not on the way out. Reports of loneliness and burnout emerged just a few months after working from home was mandated in early 2020. It's no surprise workers say their preferred pattern is an almost even split of working from the office and remotely, and leadership agrees. While parenthood often triggers requests for flexible work, businesses that assume it's just for parents are missing a trick. Offering design-your-own work pattern to all staff helps reduce inequality alongside shared boundaries, such as restricting meetings to between 10 am and 4 pm. Flexibility enables diverse and inclusive leadership teams. A few years ago, there were more men named David or Steve in the FTSE 100 (100 top businesses on the London Stock Exchange) than women and ethnic minorities. Things may have improved – a third of all board members in the FTSE 100 are now women – but there's still a long way to go. More than a third of the UK's top companies have no ethnic minorities on their boards. Flexible working is one important step towards better work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. While more women may need flexible working more because they're more likely to have care responsibilities, it's when flex is available to all that it can help level the playing field. Flexible work needs good boundaries Flexible working can erode boundaries around when work begins and ends. With email easily accessed on mobile phones, employees may feel pressured to be available 24/7. Even before the pandemic, 'leavism' was on the rise: Overwhelmed workers catching up on tasks during annual leave, or taking leave instead of calling in sick out of concern for their reputation. Jobs should be designed around the agreed flexibility of the role, rather than retrofit. Squeezing a full-time position into part-time hours never works long-term. You should also nurture flexible arrangements with regular check-ins and refinement. Respect commitments inside and outside work with a baseline of honest and transparent communication. Supporting your team to know when to switch off and take a break helps them be more focused and effective. Freelancers should feel included Using freelance talent lets you scale up or down quickly to react to market needs. Businesses of the future will need a foundation of sustainable and ethical behaviors and will include a mix of temporary and permanent staff. Treating in-house freelancers with the same respect as staff creates better results. Make sure your plug-in talent gets a comprehensive contract, a clear brief and prompt payment. Include long-term freelancers in team meetings, and keep them updated about changes at the company and announcements of cake in the kitchen. Trust must become more important than control Tightening the reins may be an instinctive reaction to a backdrop of global uncertainty. As the world has adjusted to remote working en masse, the demand for monitoring tech has increased. Research from CIPD shows those who work flexibly have more job satisfaction and commitment. It reduces absence. But workers worry about visibility. They want to be in the office, so they don't get passed over for promotion. Organizations must train leaders to be wary of 'presenteeism' – mistaking hours spent at work for a measure of performance, and move towards a culture that values productivity and quality of output. Facing a global pandemic has given us moments of quiet reflection. We can clarify what is important. The World Economic Forum says we should "strengthen our social fabric and inspire economic activity that creates value for humankind if we are to create a world that is sustainable and well-equipped to combat impending crises." It's now time to move towards a new way of working that puts people at the heart of your business and trusts them to do their best work. The rewards are too great to miss.
new normal business covid19

Be the architect of your ‘new normal’ in business

  • Business
  • min read
    • When COVID-19 spread across the globe, it demanded urgent action from every business. For many, working from home was mandated overnight. Others were sent home on paid leave. Spending slowed drastically. It even disrupted the disruptors: Monzo, Deliveroo and WeWork announced devastating job cuts. It also sparked a time of self-reflection. Environmental impact came into sharp focus, and a conversation about work-life balance erupted. According to leading market intelligence agency Mintel, its consumer and social media trends expert Gabrielle Lieberman says coronavirus didn't create behavior shifts. It accelerated them. Global trends in wellbeing, identity and experiences slated for 2030 are on a fast track to being adopted sharpish. Businesses can't slow down. They must grab the opportunity to create a 'new normal' that works for them. There's no place like home unless it's for months on end Flexible working seemed 'solved' as tech giants like Spotify, Facebook and Google implemented longer-term work-from-home policies. Job done, right? Not so fast. It wasn't long before Zoom calls got old, loneliness took hold and employees started to fear taking a break under the eye of productivity monitoring. Parents faced a crisis as their home and work life collided. Flexible working has proven benefits. It means different things to different people. Definitions include remote work, compressed hours (working longer days but a shorter week) and split hours (for example, working early morning to afternoon, then again in the evening.) It's hard to pin down because it means work designed around an individual to optimize their balance and productivity. Most people want to keep working flexibly post-COVID-19, according to the World Economic Forum's July 2020 research. They want more autonomy and want to split their time between the office and remote work. Senior managers agreed flexible working has benefits but stressed the importance of face-to-face meetings. Where those face-to-faces aren't possible, collaborative tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams can build positive vibes with dedicated channels for humor and memes as well as work-related chat. Workplace design can make us healthier To help companies prepare their workspaces for life with COVID-19, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) created a WELL health-safety rating. It's an "evidence-based, third-party verified rating" for new and existing buildings and spaces focused on "operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans and stakeholder engagement strategies." But can businesses go further with their office spaces and use them to improve employee health and wellbeing? IWBI also works with companies to help them meet the WELL Building Standard. This rating system recognizes that buildings, and everything in them, can enhance people's health and wellbeing. It encourages organizations to pay more attention to things like light, nourishment and biophilic design: Interior planting with species that improve indoor air quality and filter pollutants. Just as flexibility benefits both business and employees, remember flexible office space can liberate the budget. For example, having a more compact office with hot desks, workshop spaces and meeting rooms can reduce costs. Retain more people by building leaders' emotional intelligence To help teams cope with change, World Economic Forum research shows empathetic, supportive team leaders are more important than ever. And we're not there yet – more than half of managers need training in skills to support employee mental health. And it might just turn out to be a staff retention boon: Employees don't leave companies, they leave managers. Dr. Joti Samra, R.Psych, founder of MyWorkplaceHealth, a consultancy helping businesses make their workplace more psychologically healthy, puts communication at the center of the empathy and support team leaders can give. She says, "Have one-to-ones with direct reports more often to understand their stress points. It may be money, children or caring for an elderly relative. Adapt expectations to each person's needs. I'm asking my managers to have more contact to find out who's OK and who's struggling, so we can give them early support." The flex appeal of freelancers Tapping into the global freelance market can be a cost-efficient way to scale up or down, reacting to the market quickly. Steve Folland, host of the Being Freelance podcast, has seen his community grow in numbers and strength. On the best ways to work with freelance talent, Folland recommends, "Give clear briefs, realistic deadlines and listen to their advice. When it's all done, pay promptly. Bring freelancers on with as much notice as possible. You'll get the best results that way. As with all relationships, communication is key." Owning the Zoom Knowing your way around video chat software has proven essential if you accidentally turn yourself into a potato. Employees thrown into the deep end during the COVID-19 pandemic with software like Slack, Trello and Asana are keen to keep developing their knowledge. Invest in learning and development, including when it's best not to Zoom and when to take a digital detox, helps retain talent and make your business more resilient. Remote working is a big change in the way people work and caries serious cybersecurity risks. To keep data secure, train freelancers and staff working remotely to be cybersafe. People, planet, profit Overnight changes in reaction to COVID-19 gave many of us time to reflect on our environmental impact. While the pandemic initially presented us with clearer skies and cleaner waterways, the focus on hygiene has derailed the war on single-use plastic. Businesses shouldn't wait to use their corporate influence for environmental change. As well as looking at processes across your company, including the services and products you buy and organizations and non-profits you partner with, look at how you can reduce your company's IT carbon footprint. The UN Global Compact also has frameworks, resources and guidance on how to improve your business practices for a better future. Amongst uncertainty, it's natural to feel conservative and cautious. But for visionaries, it's time to rip up the rulebook and embrace the opportunity to create a new normal that works for your business. It's time to be the architect of your future.
by Innovating leaders.
Innovative tech.
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