Hana, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBRE, has announced a new product council, ‘Hana Innovation Partners,’ (HIP) that will respond to the rapidly evolving needs from both tenants and employees in the current and post-COVID-19 eras. The council includes representatives from top companies such as Samsung, Herman Miller, Structure Tone and Muraflex.
Each organization brings unique expertise to the council, including space fit-out and construction (Structure Tone); technology and collaboration (Samsung); configuration and acoustics (Muraflex); and ergonomics and design (Herman Miller).
Recent research, commissioned by Hana, points to a growing need for both more flexibility from employees to work outside the office, at least part time, and a place to meet with colleagues for irreplaceable in-person interactions. The HIP council will create a guide that outlines a range of solutions for safe and productive meetings in the COVID-19 era.
“The way people are working is evolving rapidly. It is increasingly challenging for companies to offer the flexibility to connect and collaborate from a variety of places while also providing a great, productive workplace experience,” explained Andrew Kao, Vice President of Product, Hana. “We’re eager for the HIP program to develop solutions that increase safety and team performance while inspiring employees to once again meet face-to-face with their colleagues.”
“Users will have more choice now than ever to decide where and how they work. Herman Miller’s legacy of human centered design will continue to be important to create differentiated experiences as people reengage with the office,” stated Jeff Gibson, Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Sales, Herman Miller. “Partnering with Hana in the HIP program is an opportunity to deliver new solutions that support activities in the best way possible.”
“Flexibility and agility are critical in the ever-changing nature of the modern workplace,” said Robert Leon, Executive Vice President, Structure Tone. “With nearly 50 years of workplace experience and data to inform us, we’re excited to work together with our HIP partners to discover the possibilities of how we will work going forward, whether that’s traditional construction of spaces with inherent flexibility, or providing more temporary and agile spaces that can be reconfigured as the needs of our clients change over time.”
“As people start returning to the workplace, it more critical than ever to ensure security and efficiency,” said Fernando Petreccia, President and CEO, Muraflex. “We are excited about this because it gives us the opportunity to be aggressive with our innovation and work with other industry leaders to create solutions for the workplace of the future.”
“Customers and employees are looking for more flexibility than ever before, given the dynamic environment that will persist for much longer than anyone could have ever expected,” said Mark Quiroz, Vice President Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. “Samsung is excited to participate in the HIP program to continue to innovate and develop technology solutions that address the safety and collaboration businesses are looking for.”
To kick off the HIP program, the group will focus its efforts on examining and solving challenges of collaboration spaces by constructing and designing “The Ultimate Meeting Guide” to be used at Hana’s Park District location in Dallas, Texas, in the current and post-COVID-19 eras.
The guide will address key meeting considerations. These include short- and long-term configurability options, touchless solutions, cleaning protocols, ergonomics, health-conscious design, video-enabled connectivity and collaboration solutions, power supply and acoustics.
The Hana Innovation Partners will unveil this guide later this year and will look to anticipate additional future of work challenges.