Since Snom first moved to its offices from the city centre to the north of Berlin in 2013, the way in which work is defined and experienced has changed dramatically. When Snom chose the location 10 years ago, its decision was entirely based on classic working models, with hybrid and remote working not yet widespread. The business premises offered at least one or more offices per department, with large meeting and communal rooms for employees to swap ideas with each other.
“When I started at Snom, our office space felt a little bit segregated,” says Gernot Sagl, CEO at Snom in Berlin since 2016. “As managing director, I had my own office, and each department was allocated its own room. Teams met each other during breaks or in meetings but the space didn’t lend itself to be as open and collaborative as it could have been, and I wanted to change that.’’
To achieve its goals, over the past four years, Snom has promoted the development of cross-functional teams. These teams no longer solely think and operate inside their departments, but across the board. This change soon led to the realisation that Snom needed a completely different working environment and office layout. Added to this, Snom is now a hybrid organisation. The home office is no longer used on the odd occasion, but whenever employees want to, and the new space needed to reflect that.
With its new business premises, Snom not only wanted to move closer to the city centre, but also recognised that a change could help to encourage new ways of working. “I’m convinced that sometimes you need a fresh start and a new space to break away from old habits,” adds Gernot Sagl.
The new premises now combine sales, product management, logistics and marketing– with management placed in the centre of the action. Another large area has been created for those who only come to the office occasionally. In addition, mobile employees benefit from hot-desking technologies that mean they can sit at any workstation without compromising the availability of the usual telephony services and company-wide network resources. Spacious communal areas also offer the opportunity for colleagues to catch-up inbetween meetings. Acoustically screened rooms will also soon be available for confidential meetings or concentrated solo work.
“The open structure of our new office space is creating better synergies and ways of working. We’ve already seen some really positive collaborations happening – even if not all the moving boxes have been unpacked yet!”, Sagl concludes.
About Snom
With over 10 million installed devices and branches in Benelux, England, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, and South Africa, Snom Technology is a globally recognized manufacturer of IP telecommunications solutions for professional use. Founded in 1997 and part of the VTech Group since 2016, the company continues to design and develop its products in Berlin, placing great emphasis on quality and security. Snom leverages its 25 years of experience and unwavering innovation to meet the new reality characterized by mobility and increasing digitization, providing state-of-the-art technologies that adapt perfectly to all communication needs and environments.
The company’s worldwide distribution network includes many renowned distributors and over 10,000 resellers. These partners benefit from a dedicated partner program and personalized remote and on-site support services, which, in addition to the excellent technology, contribute to the company’s international reputation.
For more information, please visit: www.snom.com/en
