1. Describe your personal work space.

   One main desk plus two other work spaces.
   I have two 24” LCD screens on my desk. My work spaces have six 21” LCD screens plus lots of additional LCD screens to program and display our various installations and projects.

2. How do you get to work?

   First, I drive my daughter to school, then I head to work. I live in a suburb on the South Shore of Montreal so there is usually some traffic at rush hour. It is not too bad.

3. What is an average day like?

   5:20 alarm goes off
   5:30 exercise session
   6:00 shower and breakfast (not usually at the same time)
   6:50 leave home
   7:35 drop-off my daughter at school
   8:00 arrive at work and sit down at my desk
   17:00 leave to pick up daughter at school and head home.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   Working with people who are motivated to do their best, and having enough time to do the project properly.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   We have flexible working hours and conditions. We just ask people to be in the office between 10 am and 4pm.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   Professionalism
   Honesty
   Responsible people

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   A pool. (We already have a pool table.)
   A PS3. (We already have an Xbox 360.)
   A treadmill. (We already have an elliptical trainer.)
   A hot tub. (We already have the sun deck on the roof to put it on.)

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   I hate meetings where everything gets repeated two, three, and sometimes four times! So much wasted time! Also, people using their smart phones (likely texting their friends) during those meetings.

9. What do you like best about your job?

   James, Nicolae, Mike, Michael, Larry, Philippe, JJ, Paul, Dany, Chantal, Debbie and Josée. (They are my co-workers.)

   The office space is very nice (a historic 100-year old bank with 14’ ceilings and lots of natural light).

   Every project is a new and different challenge. I love using my skills and experience, but trying and learning new things is what really keeps me happy.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    Everyone is welcome to comment and make suggestions. You know you have a great team when each member adds something significant to the final product.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    I am the Technical Director and manage the Digital Signage Division. I love to say, “If it’s not working, it’s my fault.”

    I manage projects, employees and multiple clients and client servers, do content authoring, training, client meetings, technical support, project management, project scope documentation and quotes, and take care of the office’s in-house DS system (over 30 screens), oh and yeah…and lots of emails!

12. How green are you and your company?

    We do our best to recycle; paper, plastic, aluminum batteries, CDs, and a lots of old computer/electronics parts.

    I do my part by owning a Toyota Prius.

13. What inspires you?

    Smart and talented people.

14. What are your ambitions?

    To be able to retire one day and have time to read!

15. If you could change only one thing, what would it be?

    No more emails!

16. How much time do you devote to social networking?

    Not much since I don’t have a Facebook or a Twitter account! Of course, I keep in touch by email!

17. What are your most useful tools you use to do your job?

    My PC
    Scala software
    Adobe After Effects/Photoshop
    Microsoft Outlook/Word/Excel
    Directory Opus
    and the heater under my desk.

18. What would be your dream job?

    One where there would be no stress and no email.

19. What makes you laugh during the work day?

    Funny YouTube videos, and friends and coworkers who don’t take themselves too seriously.

1. Describe your personal work space.

   I sit next to the reception area so it’s good spot to learn everyone’s mood every day. The office doubled its space last quarter, so our personal space is now quite large. I am able to conduct all necessary testing with our devices on my desk, and we usually have short team meetings in our work space.

2. How do you get to work?

   The IAdea office is located in Neihu Technology Park which is very close to the center of the Taipei city. I ride my scooter to work every day. It takes about 35 minutes in peak traffic hours. The best thing for working in this building is that each employee has a dedicated parking space in the basement. It’s a tremendously nice thing to have this benefit in Taipei city. it saves a lot of time to find a place to park your car/scooter. (Trust me.. parking is a nightmare in Taipei)

   After work, I love to hang out with friends in karaoke bars. I am also a movie fan so I go to movies quite often, and I have a home theater system set up in my room to enjoy my DVDs.

3. What is an average day like?

   IAdea is a fast growing company – where our workload is also growing very fast.

   Since the time zones differ, I generally start my first 20 minutes in a day by reading the emails sent through last night to understand what’s happening in the other side of the world (mainly from our U.S. office ).

   I’d say that life here is fast-paced and challenging We talk to people during the daytime on our side of the earth – either from Taiwan and other Asian countries; after lunch break, we start to make conference calls and speak to customer/partners from the west.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   Humour, I think. We usually make funny jokes in the offices. I think that maintains the offices in a easy and comfortable atmosphere.

   As part of a great team, I also see that happiness is when I can actually feel progress happening in my working skills, my working philosophy, and knowing that my career is heading on the right path.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   They are very flexible. Generally the office hours are 0900-to-1800; but since we sometimes need to do late support or conference calls, we could start our day from 10a.m.. We are also welcome to start one’s day early at 8a.m. and then go home earlier to pick up kids.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   Digital signage is fast growing industry and filled with challenges every day. As part of the team, I think that we are all looking at the same thing – to see how far we can reach out and what we can leave behind for followers in the future.

7. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   Ah-ha! Can I say the frustration is that I am still expecting an ‘outing’, that usually only happens in overseas companies? (An outing means a company trip – not a business trip – where employees can take their spouse/girlfriend/family to accompany them somewhere for a short holiday with the whole company crews. Ed.) We only have ‘national’ (inside Taiwan) outings and are now hoping for an overseas outing.

8. What do you like best about your job?

   I think the best thing about this job is that I can raise any ideas and discuss them with management, so I know what I am doing and if I am doing things correctly. That’s the best thing for me: to enjoy the communications culture.

   In fact, all employees here are open to give their ideas, and whenever we have anything to discuss, our CEO’s office is always open. If you have a chance to visit our office, you will see that his door is always open and a knock-knock is always welcomed.

9. How much responsibility have you been given?

   ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

   My responsibility includes software partner and customer account support across Europe. The main goal is to help all software partners to run our devices on their existing software platform and to explore more possibilities.

   It’s also my responsibility to keep the integration status on track and to share within IAdea internally so as to put everyone on the same page. We have had great breakthroughs in Europe this year. Therefore, we indeed work under very tight schedules every day.

10. How green are you and your company?

    There are no hard copies for emails and documents. For approval forms, most of the time we only exchange electronic copy and put on it on the server.

11. What inspires you?

    The inspiration I see in this company is that we are part of the POPAI standard membership. It’s a great chance to be a pioneer in an industry and can actually help define it. I know that, generally, this kind of role is played only by big companies. It’s incredible that we can be part of it.

12. What are your ambitions?

    I want to see my personal growth keep up with the company growth. As the company grows, I believe that this will create more opportunities, and that there will be challenging stuff waiting for me, I hope that I am prepared when the chance comes.

13. If you could change only one thing, what would it be?

    I hope there is chance for each employee in this company to be involved in more pre-sale activities. I think this will help our product to reach perfection, because everyone will have chance to listen to what each customer really wants. I believe this can also help in our internal communications.

14. How much time do you devote to social networking?

    Not too much. I am a old-fashioned guy. I don’t play on Facebook or other social networking communities.

15. What are your most useful tools you use to do your job?

    My Blackberry is my best pal for me to keep in touch with my customers. When I am back home, I check emails with my Blackberry, and it is really handy to provide prompt response via email. I only need to turn on my computer when necessary.

16. What would be your dream job?

    A job that can take me to see different countries around the world and to get to know the people all over the world. We know the world is flat but how flat can it be? We know a lot from the Internet and documentaries, but I deeply believe that I will get a totally different feeling if I have chance to embrace it with my own arms.

17. What makes you laugh during the work day?

    I think that all my colleagues have a sense of humour in this firm. We seek a chance to make jokes in every possible condition, so I’d say we try, when possible, to make people laugh and keep showing smile wrinkles on our faces all the time. That keeps people looking younger!

Kelvin is IAdea’s Partners Relations Manager who helps their software partners to quickly adapt their legacy software and services to run on IAdea’s SMIL-based hardware platform.

1. Describe your personal work space.

   I’m fortunate to work in great offices in Beverly Hills. My personal workspace is a ground floor corner office with lots of windows (great for people watching) and which I’d describe as ‘energetically minimalist’. There are moments of chaos that take place on my desk with sheets of idea scribbles, sticky notes, magazine page cut outs, coffee spills and bags of munch-able inspiration. But these have got less frequent since I got the iBrainstorm app.

2. How do you get to work?

   Stop start, stop start, stop start. I drive, for the most part, on side streets through Los Feliz, West Hollywood, to get to Beverly Hills, which is hit or miss depending on the day, time, weather, and forces of nature – or Lindsay Lohen’s court days.

3. What is an average day like?

   I don’t use an alarm clock because my vivacious Rottweiler makes sure I’m up at 5:30a every day (and with no special concession for weekends or mornings after the night before). I feel I’m at my most productive in the mornings and my best ideas usually come to me in the middle of the night, in the shower or driving to work so I’ve usually covered a lot by the time I reach the office. The best part of my average day is that it’s filled with variety – in terms of the projects that I’m working on, people I’m meeting and things that we are planning, filming and producing.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   An iPad, no fluorescent lights, a boss with an open mind and vision, a fearless team of thinkers and solvers, an endless supply of good coffee, the ability to laugh and have fun.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   Very. Our CEO believes in letting everyone be productive on their own terms as long as you don’t compromise another team member’s project or client deadline.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   People who bring smarts and complementary skills sets, ideas, personality, a positive attitude and who are excited to be a part of contributing to the success Saddle Ranch Digital. There is not a single-focused ‘type’ working at SRD. Individual quirks are welcome as long as they help grow the business.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   We recently had a couple of big opportunity wins that are opening new and exciting doors for the company. These came on the heels of taking a close look at how we can grow and reorganizing to make this happen. And I’d suggest that we continue to rock this party! (Maybe only my boss will appreciate that.)

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   Not at this time. Most of my frustrations have been satisfied over the past couple of months… new single-serve coffee-maker for the office – check, a space re-org for the creative team – check, kick back and brainstorm sofas on order – check, approval for a new marketing coordinator – check.

9. What do you like best about your job?

   The ability to work in a high-energy environment, be myself, work with great people, be creative, work with animals (thanks to MyPetCareTV.com) and produce great work for our clients.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    Very. Ideas are what our company thrives on and everyone is encouraged to keep abreast of trends that impact our industry and inspire what we can bring to our clients as well as ways to grow our business.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    A lot – and as much as I want to continue to take on. I came on board less than two years ago as marketing director and have progressed to my current position of CCO. This has involved taking on management of the creative team while maintaining my responsibilities leading the marketing team. It can sometimes become multitasking-mayhem, but I get to work on things that excite me most.

12. How green are you and your company?

    At the big picture carbon footprint level, we could probably do a lot better. On a more micro office level, we promote recycling and ‘think before you press print’ (especially for our film division who are reviewing screenplays).

1. Describe your personal work space.The Amigo offices are fairly small and they are in an old bookbinders building in Highbury, North London. I would describe my personal space as ‘organised clutter’ with numerous tacky holiday souvenirs bought for me by co-workers spread around. My personal favourite is a bespoke ‘Muppet’ we call Kelly, who is coincidently my ‘Creative Head.’
2. How do you get to work?I am quite fortunate to live close to where I work so it’s a short walk and a 15 minute tube down the Piccadilly line. Occasionally my boss picks me up on his motor bike and I rock a leather jacket and mirrored aviators as we bomb through Finsbury Park.
3. What is an average day like?An average day in the office really does depend on the projects I am working on, but I am quite fortunate to work on at least two or three things at once. Typically my work involves anything from conceptualising ideas to designing/animating all the way through to client delivery.
4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?I think for me variation is the key and that is the one thing I like about working at Amigo. In the morning I can be pitching ideas to a large technology company and in the afternoon I can be putting together designs for small regional digital signage screens. Finally, in the evening, I can be singing in a Lucky Voice karaoke bar with all of my co-workers for a de-brief.
5. How flexible are your working conditions?If I have been working late and starting early my bosses are pretty good at giving me days-in-lieu. I think this industry is all about taking the rough with the smooth which I guess can be both good and bad.
6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?My employer would tend to like someone who is not only a creative thinker, but someone who can find relevance in their creativity, and someone who can understand a client and individual creative processes. Ultimately, you really have to enjoy being with the people you work with. When individuals are brought in to the company, it is an equal measure of skill set and personality. I think my two bosses would find it hard to work with someone who could not take a laugh and a joke.
7. What suggestions do you have for your company?I think it would be beneficial to re-design and re-develop Amigo’s website into an easily updatable blog – which is something we are looking to do shortly. Sometimes, your website can be an after thought, but with effective SEO it can also be one of the main driving forces for new business and opportunities.
8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?It can be frustrating when a client declines better ideas on the basis of cost or simply wants “the same thing as last year”. I think as much as a creative company needs to be forward thinking and embrace new technologies, a client should be, too.
9. What do you like best about your job?Personally, the thing I enjoy most about my job is the people I work with. We are all very close and we get on incredibly well inside and outside of work. I don’t think many people can say they have been on holiday with their two bosses – you have to determine if this is cool?!? In a more professional sense, I like being part of the whole process from the time my pencil hits the pad to the delivery of a final video, and working in a relatively small team enables me to do this.
10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?Our company relies on individual input and brainstorming sessions. In these sessions ideas and concepts are always being driven forward and discussed. We all regularly go out into the wilderness and find our true selves by reciting ancient scriptures and taking part in sacrificial ceremonies… In all seriousness though, everybody in the company has a voice and has the chance to explain their new ideas and suggestions.
11. How much responsibility have you been given?I have worked here approximately 2.5 years and throughout that time I have been lucky enough to work with an increasingly varied list of clients and individuals, all of which have taught me things. The team has grown significantly in the last year, and from being one of the earliest recruits, I have found that I am having to develop my supervisory and management skills even further. In short, I am trusted with more and more responsibility the longer I work here, which is challenging, but exciting, too.
12. How green are you and your company?Well pretty much everybody here uses public transport to get in to work but we could be better at recycling paper. Must try harder I am afraid

Scott Eastman is creative director for Nanonation in Lincoln, Nebraaska.

1. Describe your personal work space.

   I keep my workspace fairly sparse to avoid letting my environment leak into client’s designs, but by no means does that mean my space is tidy. Bi-monthly purges keep my desk free of the mountains of sketches and notes that accumulate daily.

2. How do you get to work?

   I’ve been commuting an hour by car for the last several years and have just joined my third carpool. The drive is pretty relaxing except for a few treacherous days in the winter – and missed ‘happy hour’ specials on warm summer evenings.

3. What is an average day like?

   My day is a juggling act to keep myself accessible to my designers to review and direct their projects. I meet with other departments to finalize specific deployments and prospective new projects, and occasionally hide myself away to get some precious time to work on the projects I’ve claimed for myself.

4. What is essential to you being able to workhappily?

   Constant improvement! Because we tackle projects on the cutting edge, some become quite challenging. We’ve all accepted that and thrive on that kind of exploration. Taking the time internally to learn from past successes and failures guarantees that our work is never boring and constantly evolving.

   The other unforgiving but fantastic thing is that,
   because our projects are always measured by how much the public engages, we cannot ignore users once a project is deployed. They force us to examine what can be improved.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   Thankfully, very flexible. Like with many creative positions, the work can be sporadically demanding and it is necessary to pour extra effort into some projects on very short timelines. The flexibility to work where you’re comfortable, to come and go in the office after hours, play loud music, and wear anything (as long asyou’re not meeting with clients), makes it much easier to turn on that extra effort when it’s needed.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   I personally look for designers with strong empathy for the user. It is absolutely critical to understand why something may not be succeeding and to look as to how to improve the user experience.

   In the wider company we look for people that are passionate about what they do and willing to explore the edges of their discipline. Creativity is absolutely not limited to just the design department. We ask everyone to look for new paths, technologies and ideas every day.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   Luckily, we have a very open environment. My staff is welcome to bring any concerns, and our management team meets frequently, so any lightning bolts are usually shared fairly quickly.

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   It still breaks my heart to see one of our most successful solutions get shelved or wither for reasons out of our control. Unfortunately funding can disappear, clients restructure, and great ideas get left behind without an advocate.

   In those cases, the only thing we can do is toast our little orphan and try to find another project to pour that passion back into.

9. What do you like best about your job?

   I love the idea that we do not have a captive audience. Every day we must produce something of significant value to the public. If we do not provide information, a service or an experience that the public needs, our projects fail. We aren’t working within old advertising models anymore. The public will opt out of something dull, predatory, or exploitive.

   This reality forces us to truly work toward mutually beneficial solutions that solve problems for both our clients and their clients.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    Very open, occasionally too open! We’ve sometimes been bitten by chasing technologies before they’re completely mature. But this gives us a level of comfort when we choose to pursue our clients new passions or needs and bring them to production.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    I have a great deal of independence and responsibility, but at the same time I’m still accountable. Everyone has a valid opinion when it comes to design. I can make an esoteric argument why a particular design is more balanced, classically correct, or contemporary
    but if it’s unclear or just ugly to a layperson, I need to listen to that.

12. How green are you and your company?

    Take me out of the survey and our company is very green, We have several people who bike to work when weather permits, and we’ve embraced telecommuting and a paperless workflow.

    However, I’m still the guy driving two hours a day, and as a visual thinker, drawing on anything I can get my hands on to explain even the simplest idea is a must have.

Blake Anderson is a technology specialist for Connected Technology Solutions, Mequon, Wisconsin. He is the lead technical trainer and head service support technician for CTS.

1. Describe your personal workspace.

   My workspace is a monument to our business technology. All our equipment passes by my desk at some point, and I get hands-on experience with it. I get to source, implement, test and deploy some of our greatest resources. My work space is filled with the technology that drives my company.

2. How do you get to work?

   I commute in style from my townhouse in the quiet town of Port Washington in southeastern Wisconsin via my red 2001 Dodge Dakota. The weather can make getting to and from work hard during the winter. My V8 Magnum and 4×4 really help when it snows.

3. What is an average day like?

   An average day is making a difference in my work. I am constantly challenged to make my job more efficient and resilient. I have complete control over how I manage my work, so I am always trying to figure out ways to evolve what I do. If I get home and have not made some sort of kaizen, it has been an unusual day.

   I am a big movie buff, so I love to take Amanda, my wife of four years, out to the movies, and to play paintball in my free time. We also have a teacup Chihuahua named Coco.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   The energy and flow at CTS fosters a positive learning and working environment. I enjoy the fact that I get to see the outcome of my work. When you walk into our front door, you get to see exactly what we do. Our products are out on display and you can really get a feel for the company’s history. Our delicious coffee also makes me happy.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   Our infrastructure allows me to command almost every aspect of my work from anywhere in the world. Because I have so many resources at my disposal, my ability to work ‘out of the office’ is the same as being in it.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   A person who is passionate about what they do and is hungry for excellence is what we are all about: not just people who think outside the box, but people who can create a box and then think outside it. Someone who is not afraid to take on anything and everything, new and comfortable, is a mindset that CTS looks for.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   I wish for our company to always be different. What I love most about CTS is that we set the bar without even thinking about it. I love that we can produce a product without having to conform to any particular ‘industry standard’, and having it become just that.

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   I really don’t see why a Segway can’t be in our budget!

9. What do you like best about your job?

   I get to do everything! It’s energizing that I get to participate in so many aspect of our business. I have so much control over how I do my job that I can change the things I don’t like and enhance the things I do. If I want to see what exactly what happens in a particular process of our business, I can walk out of my office and observe it. If I need inspiration, I can walk into our gallery and touch it.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    I revere the fact that I have a voice in my company. Communicating ideas and information is one of the things the makes my company great.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    I thrive on responsibility and CTS make sure that I am constantly growing and evolving. I am always given tasks that challenge me and given the tools to constantly seek self-improvement.

12. How green are you and your company?

    Green is not just doing things like saving electricity; it’s doing more with what you have. We have an effective recycling and disposal program that covers everything from batteries to aluminum cans. We even use our old coffee grounds for compost.

1. Describe your personal workspace.

   My personal workspace is an office area, shared with three sales colleagues and one designer. We have a very good team and it’s nice to be able to work closely together, as well as to rapidly share thoughts and information on things.

   We each have an own desk with the necessary equipment to fulfill the required jobs. My equipment consists mostly of demonstration items such as displays and DISplayers, as well as technical things to test for specific projects. My laptop and phone are my most important work tools.

2. How do you get to work?

   I get to work by car. It’s only a half an hour drive from my home in the quiet town of Lichtervelde to Kortrijk so it’s very convenient.

   I also spend a lot of time in the field, so the car comes in very handy. In the morning there is always a lot of traffic so I take my coffee in the car. My drive to the office mainly consists of dropping off my girlfriend, who is Mexican, at school where she is learning Dutch. We met in London when I was there for ScreenMediaExpo.

   I like the idea of always being on holiday as soon as you get home. Lichtervelde is right in the middle between Bruges and Kortrijk. I try to get some sports in each week. My girlfriend and I try to go for a run at least three times a week, although in wintertime, this is not always possible. In summertime, one of my hobbies is sailing. I have a small sports sailboat, and together with my best friend, we try to get some friendly competition in when the weather allows it. I also have a big garden, and on Sundays when necessary, I enjoy working outdoors and keeping everything maintained.

3. What is an average day like?

   My job has a lot of variation so days can be very different, but I guess I could give you an example of a day in the office. In the morning my main focus would be e-mails and calls that are on my ‘to do’ list.

   We also have a very good social work environment. I communicate a lot with different departments within the company: test department and support for ongoing issues or customer support issues; production for helping colleagues and clients with demonstration equipment; sales department for future projects. On an average day, I try to help everyone on a first in/first out basis and, if necessary, I plan the events in my calendar.

   After work, I often visit small companies and private individuals that I have met in the past to help them out with certain problems they might encounter. I don’t advertise this in an active way.

   Friday nights are a fixed night for my best friends to meet up at my place where we have some drinks, talk about the week and watch a movie or some episodes of a show.

   Every Saturday I play in a band where I’m the lead singer, but sometimes also play drums and bass guitar. There are six people in the band but we don’t have our own music. It’s really a cover band with a very wide variety of styles. I love music with a passion.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   In my perspective, there are several things very important in enjoying both the work and enjoying the company you work for: good social and work interaction with colleagues; a hands-on mentality; and a two-way flexibility.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   The working conditions are very flexible. This is not just a given, but this is also a responsibility.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   I think that, first and most important, it’s the competence of the staff. We are a relatively small group of persons dealing with a high-end product in a specialized market. dZine has highly educated people with different specializations focusing on exactly that. We always focus on being ahead of the market and need smart, innovative people supporting, and working on that cause.

   Flexibility is also very important. This flexibility, of course, goes both ways.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   The general manager of our company is always very open to suggestions, so at any point, if we have ideas, questions or remarks, we are welcome in his office. This assures that there are no issues, suggestions or problems left open. This way, you can realize certain things – and there is also room to learn.

   At this point I don’t think we have any ongoing suggestions.

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   I don’t have any frustrations at this point but, of course, like in any job, you can have its good and its bad days. If you have a bad day on a certain project – for example, if something technical gives problems and there are certain deadlines, this can be frustrating. But luckily, frustrations have always been temporary, and at such times, it is very good to have a good relationship with your colleagues, because they can be there to help you out.

9. What do you like best about your job?

   I like the variation in my job. It allows me to be occupied partially technical, partially commercial. In my heart I am a bit of a technical person, always thinking of solutions and on how to improve things, so I really enjoy this part of my job, but I also enjoy and need to be in touch with people. The commercial part of my job allows this.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    As we are an innovative company, dZine isvery open to any idea coming from any person in the company. No matter how small the idea can be, it is always possible to discuss it and to evaluate it. As of last week, there has even been a new kind of game introduced, called ‘red ventures’. This stimulates people into coming up with ideas and even makes it a kind of healthy competition.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    When I perform tasks in supporting projects and customers, I feel it to be my own responsibility to help the customers in the best way that I can.

    For some projects the company entrusts me with a high responsibility, and I also enjoy this as a stimulus to perform my job as well as possible. Also, the faith that is invested in someone can make one feel successful. This is a good feeling to go home with every night.

12. How green are you and your company?

    The company is very green. The main product focus at this time is to be energy efficient. We have a policy in dZine to turn off every piece of equipment every night, unless it needs to run for reasons of testing. In that case you are required to leave a note on the equipment. Otherwise, the last person to leave the company will power it off.

    The company cars of dZine also are bound to very strict guidelines regarding CO2 pollution and gas consumption.

    Personally I have just invested in solar panels as an investment to reduce costs in the future, but also to be environmental friendly in producing energy for my family and me.

1. Describe your personal work space.

   Walk into the Customer Engineering Center at Haivision and you will feel the buzz of a dynamic, tech-savvy and fun-filled work environment. At my desk you can find anything from a video camera to an iPad, LED/LCD displays, routers, servers and lots of coffee mugs!!!

   We have a very open work environment and you would usually find yourself interacting and working with people from various parts of the company ranging from development and QA to Sales and Product management.

2. How do you get to work?

   I usually take the public transit to work. The bus and metro give me time to catch up with the events happening around the world and also help me in getting a head start on my work so that by the time I’m in the office, I can jump right to business.

3. What is an average day like?

   The average work day at Haivision is very unpredictable and can be pretty crazy!!! By the time I reach office, I would probably have around four or five customers from different parts of the world requesting assistance, with tasks ranging from helping to ensure that a surgical procedure was recorded correctly at a hospital to engineers at a sports center needing assistance in ensuring that the press conference after an NFL game is all set to be telecast correctly.

   Also, being part of this amazing city called Montreal, many of us do hang out after work and religiously watch ice hockey!!! I also know of many musicians in the company and there are plans of putting together a Haivision rock band.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   Lots of coffee!!! We have a very dynamic and fast-paced work culture and people are very passionate about what they do, which is one of the main driving factors for me – and for most people – at Haivision.

   Also, Haivision places a lot of emphasis on taking good care of its employees. For instance, we are all going on a five-day, all-expense paid trip to Cancun in Feburary!!!

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   We are on call between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. but we have the flexibility to come in a little late and we are always willing to help out in case a co-worker needs to come in late. Also, we are free to work from home if the need arises.

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   Haivision looks for people who can work as part of a dynamic team and learn new technologies quickly, and also think out-of-the-box so as to help create innovations that help us define the next generation of IPTV solutions. I have worked in a couple of firms before Haivision and I think that we have a very talented, energetic and dynamic workforce.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   It would be nice to have a beer dispenser at work!!!

   I believe that we have some of the best talent in the world and as we keep expanding, we need to continue to keep innovating so as to stay ahead of our competitors and continue to exceed our customer expectations.

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   We work on very challenging and high pressure projects and it does take a lot of effort to ensure that the issues are resolved on time and that the ever-increasing needs of our customers are satisfied.

   But at the end of the day, nothing is more satisfying than the joy of having been able to provide a simple solution for a customer’s complicated problem

9. What do you like best about your job?

   The most fascinating part of my job is that it gives me the opportunity to learn something new everyday. Every customer scenario that we work on is unique, and the beauty of my job is being able to implement our products as solutions that cater to the needs of customers from various sectors like educational institutions, military installations, hospitals, and clients in the sports and entertainment business.

   Also, Haivision places a lot of emphasis on having fun at work and there is always some event or the other happening in the company.

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    Haivision places a lot of emphasis on employees bringing new ideas to the table. We have a product management team that does an incredible job of going through every idea/suggestion coming in from every employee and customer, and trying to get the most critical ones implemented as part of our future releases.

    Also, most of our stalls at exhibitions have an aquarium with sharks in them representing the products that we sell – which are all named after sharks!!!

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    As a customer support engineer at Haivision, you have to wear many hats. At one time you are a consultant trying to understand a customer’s use-case and implement a solution to help solve their problem, and at another time you are an engineer troubleshooting issues with the IPTV implementation. Many of my co-workers also work in automating existing processes to help improve our efficiency.

12. How green are you and your company?

    Haivision has always been about going green. We try not to send customers documents, but rather have all the documentation online so as to save paper and trees. We also have separate garbage bins for recyclable material to promote recycling and re-use.

    Most employees use public transportation and try to play their little role in making the world a better place to live in!!!

1. Describe your personal work space.

   The Symon Dacon office is a new modern building, very light and open plan with pods of desks for the office-based team. It’s a great space to work in, as you can see the majority of the team wherever you are. My desk is pretty simple and straightforward as my role involves a large amount of travel, so there’s a laptop, demo kit and paperwork which leaves when I do. The best thing about my work space is the people working around me. I have marketing, design, operations and project management team members within earshot, so you really get a cross department buzz and a sense of what’s happening in the business.

2. How do you get to work?

   When I’m in the office, I drive. I have a young family and my wife also works a full time job, so mornings are totally manic in our house. I’d love to say I ride or walk into the office once the morning rush is over, but I simply don’t have the time. Maybe that’s something for the New Year’s resolution list, although I’m sure it was on there for the past five years or so already!

3. What is an average day like?

   Most of my time is spent away from the office meeting with clients, so it’s very difficult to describe an ‘average day’ – I rarely have one. That’s one of the main things I love about my job, it’s always different, with a new challenge every day. However, most days will include a mixture of presenting to clients, preparing or delivering proposals, and handling requests from our partner companies.

4. What is essential to you being able to work happily?

   I have my own style and approach to work and achieving my goals; I like to be creative and am a real details person. I need this to be understood and embraced to be happy and, in turn, to get the best from me. My boss I have a really good relationship in this way. I think he understands these aspects and what’s important to me, but also keeps me really focused on our goals. I also love feeling part of a team, which is why I feel lucky to be able to work from the office when I’m not traveling.

5. How flexible are your working conditions?

   Very. My role sometimes means long trips, early starts and late finishes. My boss understands this and is flexible in return when I need him to be, which is very important to me. I enjoy this way of working, but I’d probably say differently at 4.30 a.m. waiting for the first flight out of Heathrow!

6. What do you think your employer looks for in its staff?

   I think Symon Dacon looks for us to handle our responsibilities the same way we would if it was our own business: to be committed to our goals, be creative and strive to deliver a great experience to our clients every time they deal with Symon.

7. What suggestions do you have for your company?

   Stay ahead of the pack wherever possible and continue to be a thought leader. I think Symon is doing a pretty good job with that at the moment. We should strive to be the best in every aspect of what we do. That will make us stand out from the crowd.

8. Do you have any frustrations you would like to share with us?

   My frustrations, I’m sure, are very similar to so many other people. The old cliché of ‘not enough hours in the day’ is so true for me. I also struggle to keep on top of the work/life balance continuously.

9. What do you like best about your job?

   Two things really, first. the people I work with. Within the Symon Dacon team, our partners and our clients there are some fantastic (and very different) characters. I love the experience of working with them all. Second is the challenge of trying to make Symon Dacon a leader in my market across EMEA. Hospitality is a tough market for anyone, no matter what you sell. That challenge keeps me motivated – if, also, often awake at night!

10. How open is your company to new ideas and suggestions?

    Symon Dacon encourages this amongst all the team. I’m a firm believer that sometimes the best ideas can come from within the business across all levels. I think our senior team believes that as well.

11. How much responsibility have you been given?

    Enough to keep me happy! I like to be responsible for my own areas and decisions related to it. I’m a vertical specialist, which is something specific I bring to the business. We’ve worked hard to define our proposition and strategy for the EMEA market, build our channel presence and market our brand. I’d like to think I’ve played a big part in that.

12. How green are you and your company?

    Greener that I used to be! My wife has beaten recycling into me over the last few years, especially now to set a good example for the children. I think that’s important.

    Symon, too, has a strong recycling policy, promoting a paperless working environment and that we keep our carbon footprint down where we can with virtual meetings and so on.