Continuity Update January 25, 2016

Hello all! 

This week, we're asking you to imagine life in the interim space where we will all be seated together in the new addition. Also in this post ... some timeline changes, a shout out to a colleague, lofty advice, and answers to your questions from last week's blog ... and of course a new call to comment!

Patti will be back writing the blog next week, but for this week I've taken a stab at reconnecting with my blogging voice. (Is that really a thing?)

Thanks,
Heather


Last Week's Comments

The Continuity Group talks through all the comments when we meet. Here's our pass at answering just the specific questions that came up.

Q: Will VPR give us white noise/noise canceling headphones?

A: VPR is preparing to purchase noise canceling headphones for anybody who wants them. White noise machines are not currently built in to the design of the building, but they might be considered if after working in the space there is a pressing need for them. In addition, VPR is preparing to supply confidentiality screens that mount on computer monitors for people who request them.

Q: My first concern is will I be able to have and listen to my VPR radio?

A: If you would like to bring your VPR radio to your desk, please do. Listening to it gets a bit tricky. Indeed, to respect noise concerns for your colleagues, any and all listening to audio should be done through headphones. In particular, you're free to listen to the VPR streaming audio all you like. It's good stuff! 

Q: My first thought is what if one person is hot and the person next to them is cold simply because of the air flow of the building? Small fans and heaters may or may not work in a huge space.

A: The building has been designed to strike a good ambient office temperature, and we will manage minor variations through things like clothing, but we will have to evaluate the air flow and temperature variances in more detail as we inhabit the new building. We are hoping to create an environment that does not require space heaters and fans.

Q: Also, it came up that the term "Leave Me Alone" room (or LMA) is a little negative [sounding]. Can we call them something else?

A: We would love to hear ideas from the staff on this ... leave your ideas in the comments section when you read this!

Q: I currently have two small file cabinets. Will I be able to have two file cabinets at my new desk? 

Stay tuned to have this question answered next week ... but since we have your attention on these details, there's something else we want to remind everybody about:

We are anticipating that the VPR staff will occupy a large portion of the newly built addition starting at the end of March/early April. HOWEVER, the construction project will still be unfinished until the end of September, so we're all still inhabiting a work in progress until then. Let's keep our minds set on working to fine tune our new space together.  (Yes, we think we will need a ticket system for this exact purpose and we are working on figuring that out too.)

Shout Out to Frank Alwine

This week we're giving a shout out to someone who's working hard behind the scenes to make a lot of things come together for our transitions.

Frank Alwine is our (still kind of new) Studio Engineer who is wiring the new production suites and studios in both the new and existing (but soon to be renovated) building. He is making changes to Logitek (the central nervous system for our on air broadcast network), partnering with Vic on training to assure studio users' technical needs are addressed, and partnering with Mike to manage the technical networks for all broadcast studios and technical equipment. It's a bit mysterious to this blogger, but I know it means that Frank has his mind and hands on many of the technical aspects that enable VPR to broadcast our programming over air and through the internet today, and more importantly, through the transition into our new environment and beyond.

High-five, Frank!

Break On Through To The Other Side
Much of the construction work that is happening these days doesn't intrude on our daily tasks or cause concern about our sound waves. But something big is coming on a Saturday soon. They are going to cut through the brick wall in the long hallway. The hole will eventually become the connection between our kitchen and cafe space and our renovated music area. Until the connection is fully completed, the construction team will be sure there is insulation to keep noise at bay, and the other side is already heated so we don’t expect temperature issues due to the hole.

Timeline Shift
You may recall from previous blog posts that we were planning to have Master Control and Talk Studio go offline from 2/15 - 3/15 and ready for broadcast and recording by March 15th. At this time, in order to allow our Engineers to do their best work in those rooms, we anticipate those rooms will be ready closer to March 25th. This is just an important reminder that things shift, timelines change, plans evolve. It's not anticipated that this change will have a negative impact on anything, but to be sure we're managing expectations all around, this is just meant to keep the staff informed along the way.

Some Lofty Ideas

Last week, some folks at the Loft sat down with me to talk about what it was really like to purge, pack, move, stay ready for another move, and generally figure things out about working in a new space (and together) on the fly.  Here are some things they had to say:

Advice on purging and packing ...
"I haven’t missed anything I got rid of and I got rid of a significant amount of stuff. Less is actually better, or more." 

"Before the move I might have felt bad if someone said I had to take my stuff home – I was so much more attached to my space and my cubicle before as “mine” but don’t feel that way any more."

"Start early on the purging – the longer you’ve been in your spot, the earlier you need to start – do it in waves."

"Open space is a necessity – white space – fillable space that isn’t actually filled, like a shelf that is empty"

Author's Note: EVERYONE I talked to at the loft has boxes they packed and brought and then never opened or needed.

Observations of working in an open space with colleagues you previously didn’t work next to ...

"Sometimes I notice 10 minutes into a conversation that I’ve been speaking too loudly."

"Noise has a different importance in your day-to-day happiness."

"I self-create imaginary distance from other people."

"Drop less F-bombs!"

"There's extra sensitivity to differences in the room."

"Movement throughout the rest of the building helps to relieve some of the more difficult experiences."

"There's a difference between being in a designed open space - it works - and working in a space that wasn’t designed to be open - which does not work. I think people who work in the CD library might be relieved."

"We all hesitate to make personal calls from our desk"

"I've gotten to know people a lot better."

Other things you think staff might be interested to hear about the experience ...

"Sometimes you hear things that you either want to or don’t want to be part of – sometimes you need to resist the impulse to jump in to a conversation. You may be part of a project you're hearing a conversation about, but you need to resist the temptation to try and be part of that specific conversation just because it's about the project you're working on."

"Things like sharing a printer may be different – more paper gets used, who will make sure toner gets replaced, etc."

"I might have taken for granted that all my technology was dependably the same, but it was super helpful."

"Things started out as sort of a roommate situation … like we made a list together of all the things we needed – coffee, plunger, etc. – and we had to build a space that worked for us together rather than individually."

"Having a group Loft meeting to express needs and styles was helpful. We generally tried to collaborate on what it should be like to work together in this space."

What's the Cultural Impact

The Continuity Group has been thinking about what the impact on our office culture will be from our transition ... from being next to different people than we're used to ... and from being together in one big space, even temporarily. What do you think will change, be the same, fall by the wayside, crop up as something new to consider? Post a comment - post anonymously if that's more comfortable for you - but weigh in with your thoughts.