On Workplace 3.X: Yamaha UC

Laura Madaio, Director of Marketing at Yamaha Unified Communications
(Image credit: Future)

AVT Question: Please share insight and best practices for ensuring meeting equity for all employees and how to deliver the best collaboration experience regardless of location.

Thought Leader: Laura Madaio, Director of Marketing at Yamaha Unified Communications 

Meetings are popping up left and right for workers at all levels. Impromptu calls and touch bases are quickly becoming the norm, which is why hardware that is software agnostic and quick to set up is essential. Creating an environment of inclusivity for everyone near and far is the goal, and the only way to do that is to make sure office employees and those joining from home or on the far end feel well-connected, heard, and seen.

Embracing different ways of thinking and perceiving the world leads to creative innovation and problem-solving; and easy-to-use technology can facilitate collaboration and connection." —Laura Madaio, Director of Marketing at Yamaha Unified Communications

Additionally, we’ve hit a culture shift in employment where the playing field is leveling out for those working remotely, which means an equitable experience for remote and in-office employees regardless of gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, et cetera. Employees are often encouraged to decide how and where they work best, without having to provide justification; and employers are often expected to provide their workers with the technology required to work successfully. Plus, organizations are also now considering the reality of neurodiversity, which is the idea that each person learns and functions differently. Embracing different ways of thinking and perceiving the world leads to creative innovation and problem-solving; and easy-to-use technology can facilitate collaboration and connection.

Cindy Davis
Brand and content director of AV Technology

Cindy Davis is the brand and content director of AV Technology. Davis enjoys exploring the ethos of experiential spaces as well as diving deep into the complex topics that shape the AV/IT industry. In 2012, the TechDecisions brand of content sites she developed for EH Publishing was named one of “10 Great Business Media Websites” by B2B Media Business magazine. For more than 20 years, Davis has developed and delivered multiplatform content for AV/IT B2B and consumer electronics B2C publications, associations, and companies. From 2000 to 2008, Davis was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Electronic House. From 2009 to present, as the principal of CustomMedia.Co, Davis developed content plans and delivered content for associations such as IEEE Standards Association and AVIXA, content marketing for Future Plc, and numerous AV/IT companies. Davis was a critical member of the AVT editorial team when the title won the “Best Media Brand” laurel in the 2018 SIIA Jesse H. Neal Awards. A lifelong New Englander, Davis makes time for coastal hikes with her husband, Gary, and their Vizsla rescue, Dixie, sailing on one of Gloucester’s great schooners, and sampling local IPAs.