A good story
from an open-plan office
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why the concept of an open-plan office is having a bad reputation. The constant noise and constant interruptions.
But here is an easy way to cope.
Janet Tyler, Chief Operating Officer with Red Level, wrote a “down to earth” article about using Busylights in their open-plan office. It explains the value of using Busylights for their users and should inspire other companies to deploy this technology to improve the work environment in their offices.
Busylight facts
Via a small colored light that mounts on desks, above cubicles, or at office doorways, the busylight provides office-wide notification when you’re on a call, in “do not disturb” mode, away, etc.
Anyone within eyeshot can immediately see your status and act accordingly
The light colors are keyed to activity in e.g. Outlook, Skype for Business and changes automatically or manually set by users.
Behind Busylight
Back in 2001 we started making “Headset online indicator, busylight” to serve those people who got tired from waving and pointing at the headset saying “I’m in a call” when colleagues were approaching them.
During the years we have added more signals and features into the Busylight trying to create a product that actually helps people working in open offices.
A good story
from an open-plan office
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why the concept of an open-plan office is having a bad reputation. The constant noise and constant interruptions.
But here is an easy way to cope.
Janet Tyler, Chief Operating Officer with Red Level, wrote a “down to earth” article about using Busylights in their open-plan office. It explains the value of using Busylights for their users and should inspire other companies to deploy this technology to improve the work environment in their offices.
Busylight facts
Via a small colored light that mounts on desks, above cubicles, or at office doorways, the busylight provides office-wide notification when you’re on a call, in “do not disturb” mode, away, etc.
Anyone within eyeshot can immediately see your status and act accordingly
The light colors are keyed to activity in e.g. Outlook, Skype for Business and changes automatically or manually set by users.
Behind Busylight
Back in 2001 we started making “Headset online indicator, busylight” to serve those people who got tired from waving and pointing at the headset saying “I’m in a call” when colleagues were approaching them.
During the years we have added more signals and features into the Busylight trying to create a product that actually helps people working in open offices.
By: Janet Tyler, Red Level Networks
Marketing, Operations, Leadership Development Expert
“When you have an immediate visible cue of your coworkers’ current status, you don’t have to pick up a phone, send an IM, or walk across the room to check if it’s a good time to interrupt or not.
The light save time, save effort, and preserve focus, a few seconds at a time – and they do it literally hundreds of times per day.
Before we installed the Busylight system, there was some trepidation: What would it do to our relaxed, fraternal office culture? Would it lead to micromanagement, or creating a perceived need to always appear busy? In our experience, fortunately not; our people quickly got used to taking a quick glance to see whether the person they needed to talk to was tied up at the moment – and they quickly grew to like having fewer untimely interruptions.
As Help Desk Specialist Steve Hespel told me, “I think they do a lot for us, and make it easier to communicate. I don’t have to pull up Skype to see who’s available or not. They just make life easier.”
“Making life easier,” after all, is a big part of what all this technology is supposed to do for us. Sometimes, a solution as simple as a little colored light is all it takes.”
As a status light the kuando Busylight will automatically changes its colors according to your status in Skype/Lync, signalling to colleagues if you are busy or in a call etc.
It is also a reliable ringer for softphones, making it easy to hear and see incoming calls.
The kuando Busylight integrates with Skype, Lync, Cisco Jabber and more to provide a visual indicator of your presence status.
By: Janet Tyler, Red Level Networks
Marketing, Operations, Leadership Development Expert
“When you have an immediate visible cue of your coworkers’ current status, you don’t have to pick up a phone, send an IM, or walk across the room to check if it’s a good time to interrupt or not.
The light save time, save effort, and preserve focus, a few seconds at a time – and they do it literally hundreds of times per day.
Before we installed the Busylight system, there was some trepidation: What would it do to our relaxed, fraternal office culture? Would it lead to micromanagement, or creating a perceived need to always appear busy? In our experience, fortunately not; our people quickly got used to taking a quick glance to see whether the person they needed to talk to was tied up at the moment – and they quickly grew to like having fewer untimely interruptions.
As Help Desk Specialist Steve Hespel told me, “I think they do a lot for us, and make it easier to communicate. I don’t have to pull up Skype to see who’s available or not. They just make life easier.”
“Making life easier,” after all, is a big part of what all this technology is supposed to do for us. Sometimes, a solution as simple as a little colored light is all it takes.”
”Kuando Busylight helps our employees control their t…” Thomas Schnegelsberg, Director Microsoft Customer & Partner Experience
”Kuando Busylight helps our employees control their t…” Thomas Schnegelsberg, Director Microsoft Customer & Partner Experience
Works with
More than 40 compatible platforms
Case stories
1000’s of companies in more than 25 countries are using kuando Busylight
Customer reviews
“Since some court appearances now happen by phone, we had a significant problem with attorney calls being disturbed or interrupted by people knocking on attorney office doors. It’s just not possible to ask a judge to wait while a door is answered. BusyLights with Skype for Business have allowed me to completely eliminate this problem.”
“15 percent of employees cite distraction by colleagues as a drain on productivity. Busylight is a solution for that”.
“Like the McDonald’s jingle, “I’m lovin’ it!” I haven’t missed one call or IM yet since I’ve had Busylight.”
“A great device for someone who misses Lync calls and doesn’t like being interrupted when in a call.”
“It was easy to get started with Busylight, and we saw an effect immediately.”
“The first commercially packaged product to provide physical presence light and ringer.”
”Efficiency is not about working harder – it is about working smarter. That is why I see Busylight as a powerful tool to getting more work done at the office.”
“Interruptions are a major issue in many open plan offices. Coworkers need to agree on guidelines that clarify when it is okay to interrupt each other. Busylight can support this process.”
“We have created a better work environment with Busylight. And we save valuable minutes every day.”
“The way we have transitioned to Skype for Business would not have been possible without the Busylights – and we have saved money and space.”
Plenom is a danish design and engineering company manufacturing kuando solutions to help employees working in open plan offices. We have invented the Busylight in 2003, sold globally since 2006, and we are manufacturing acoustic sound panels for noise reduction.
Our sister-company, Globe Systems A/S, is an award winning headset specialist and reseller in Northern Europe, established in 1999.
