Poly's Voyager Free 60+ UC Headset is a Game-Changer in the Digital Workspace

During Covid, it became commonplace for people to attend meetings with nontraditional "co-workers" in the form of animals, family members, and delivery people, along with unprecedented background distractions. Today, expectations for the quality of meeting experiences are heightening again. Especially when it comes to audio, good enough is just not good enough anymore. Poly's Voyager Free 60+ UC headsets are enterprise-grade, true wireless earbuds with commercial design and an innovative charge case that solve a myriad of problems in today's hybrid workspace, from improving employee experience to simplifying IT's job in managing and securing devices.

The new normal ushers in new workforce needs

A new normal has emerged from the pandemic along with new challenges for the workforce. Now, workers can be anything from hybrid to full-time work-at-home, or work-from-anywhere to full-time back in the office. Although the new normal looks familiar in many ways, workers' needs and expectations have shifted, causing new issues for organizations. 

People who work from home or anywhere are not the only ones dealing with background noise and other audio issues that could impair their and their co-workers' ability to do their best work or participate in a highly professional meeting. 

Now that traditional road warriors like salespeople and consultants are traveling again, they also need enterprise-quality audio that can take them seamlessly from home to car to plane to client meeting. These workers are constantly on calls, with their dogs, children, cars, or airport noise in the background as they grapple with growing families, full-time jobs and travel. They may have one headset for conference calls, another noise-canceling set for the plane and another to listen to music when they need to concentrate or have downtime. 

In addition, many people who returned to work found that their workspaces had been transformed into more open-concept, hoteling spaces where background noise is distracting or disruptive to making calls, holding meetings and concentrating on projects. Conference and meeting rooms or individual workspaces are often booked up and unavailable for those who need them. 

Consequently, organizations are struggling to entice people to return to the office and then to retain them once they get there. In short, they need to build an experience people want to come back to the office for. To do this effectively, they need to:

• Develop a clear understanding of their workers' needs based on not only their location but on their role, type of work and personal preferences
• Create "meeting equity" for their people, ensuring that no one is disadvantaged based on where they work

All of this requires the strategic use of the right technology, which must be managed and secured by IT.

WWT can help you meet the demands of today's workplace, along with new technology like the Poly Voyager Free 60+UC headsets.

A game-changing new solution is on the scene

Headsets may seem trivial at first blush, but how people present themselves, communicate, and collaborate is essential to their performance and success. 

This became clear in March 2020, when many people unexpectedly had to work from home. If they had any technological support beyond a phone or laptop, it often amounted to whatever consumer devices were still available on Amazon. These devices worked for some, but others realized there was a huge gap between consumer-grade and commercial-grade devices. 

Always an industry leader in providing products that combine commercial quality with consumer design, Poly has filled that gap. The latest in Poly's Voyager series of wireless headsets, the Poly Free 60+ UC offers function, quality of sound, comfort and style, delivering an enterprise-quality, highly professional meeting experience.

The Poly Voyager Free 60+UC:

• Minimizes background noise and amplifies audio for better meeting experiences no matter where you are
• Provides active noise-canceling and high-quality music capabilities to aid with concentration and stress-relief
• Simply supports a shift from work to personal time without needing to change out technology

Poly Voyager Free 60+UC is certified for use with Zoom and Microsoft (MS) Teams, meaning it meets these applications' high standards. It has advanced features such as:

• Extremely long-lasting battery charges
• Easy-to-see mute buttons on the touchscreen of the charging case to avoid embarrassing "mute" issues
• Easy to use out of the box
• Simple for IT to manage, update and secure.

In short, the audio is as good as it gets for users, no matter where they are or how they collaborate—and IT has fewer headaches. 

The importance of personas in building an effective digital workspace

Our people, our most important asset, are often struggling because they are not being set up for success in the hybrid workspace. Different personas have vastly different requirements; an office communicator has a different set of requirements than an executive or salesperson. The issues they face can often be solved with the right approach and technology—but only if we understand their needs.

WWT helps organizations understand the challenges and preferences of their workforce through an in-depth look at their company. This involves multiple interviews and surveys as well as analysis of the data, which gets down to the day-to-day operations of every type of user. We help you figure out every user's problems, what their leadership is missing, and what they need to do their job better. Deliverables include:

• Developing and pinpointing the company's dynamic persona models
• Determining what each persona needs
• Narrowing down what personal preference features would be optimal

Results of dynamic persona modeling help inform bundles of technologies based on personas and users, with different degrees of choice. For example, new hires receive a bundle of tools that include everything they need to succeed and give them the best possible experience.

WWT can help you balance cost-effective devices with a comfortable working environment for maximum satisfaction of both employees and customers. Also, with our Advanced Technology Center (ATC), we can help you with implementation, pricing, package offerings, and training on products including Agent Training with our Adoption Services. 

By developing the best approaches, bundles, and tools for different personas, you can ensure your people are set up for success and your organization will thrive. 

About the authors

Tim Cappel, WWT, Technical Solutions Architect 

Tim has worked in the IT industry for over 15 years; 6 of those focused on Collaboration. Over the years Tim has held IT positions providing support for end user services and collaboration. Currently, Tim provides Pre-Sales and Engineering support globally for WWT's Collaboration practice. As a Technical Solutions Architect, he focuses on customer success in both the pre and post stages of a sale. He also works within the ATC to build out WWT's collaboration offerings.

Roger Ogborne, Poly HP, Category Manager

Roger has worked for Poly for over 20 years holding various positions in product management and product marketing covering all aspects of Polys headset portfolio. Most recently as Headset Category Manager. 

About WWT and Poly

WWT is a Poly Platinum partner. Together they bring world-class solutions to help solve the dilemma of work from anywhere on any platform. WWT and Poly are trailblazers when it comes to solving the dilemma of work from anywhere, creating equity between those in the room and those who aren't. Whether in a meeting room, office huddle space, a remote hub, or your home office, they've got you covered. WWT outfits your office space and personal space with the Poly gear that enables employees to thrive in the era of hybrid work.