A Constant Focus on Innovation, Top 50 Innovative Companies

The CEO Views Magazine, April 2020

To help clients succeed in today’s hyper-competitive business environment, Canon Business Process Services leverages advanced technologies and services to deliver agility, exceptional workplace experiences and improved business performance.

“Many businesses are looking to fundamentally transform their operations by capitalizing on digitization, automation, analytics, mobility and constant advancements in technology,” says Joe Marciano, president and CEO of Canon Business Process Services. “In response to these forces for change, we are applying innovative thinking to help clients improve their business processes and streamline their workflows.”

Indeed, Canon’s focus on creative thinking and business process innovation has been a hallmark of the company’s approach for over 30 years. It’s also a practice that has garnered significant industry recognition. As one example, this year Canon was named a Global Outsourcing 100 Leader by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP®) for the fourteenth straight year. Last year, IAOP named Canon to its Best of the Global Outsourcing 100 list. The list featured companies that were at the top of the annual IAOP GO100 for a decade. Canon earned additional IAOP Best of the Global Outsourcing 100 honors by being acknowledged with top honors in five special recognition categories. One of these included, most notably, the “Programs for Innovation” category. It recognizes a company’s ability to implement specific programs and resulting outcomes that produce new forms of value for customers.

One such advanced program is Canon Workplace Experience Services. Canon’s offering integrates a range of services designed to deliver the world-class experience that many companies envision to attract and retain the best employees, encourage collaboration and improve efficiency. “Because business is about developing and nurturing valuable relationships, we have designed services to help ensure that the people who are most important to our clients’ success enjoy a remarkable experience while in the company’s workplace,” notes Workplace Services Solution Analyst Eric Mead, who heads up Canon’s program. “Our experts anticipate their needs, saving them time, improving productivity, removing workplace friction and making them feel special,” adds Mead.

The foundation of Canon’s offering is a suite of integrated services, managed by a dedicated, on-site team, which include the following:

Community building and event management - A large part of the modern employee experience centers around the community. Arguably, people spend most of their waking hours at work, so it’s important that they have an opportunity to get to know their colleagues a little better. Part of Workplace Experience Services is community-building, which includes a hoteling system that offers employees the option to reserve workspaces—even in different locations so employees can work with colleagues they wouldn’t otherwise ever meet. It also includes event planning and management to encourage socialization at events outside of work hours.

Reception, host and concierge services — These services include front desk management, such as professionally greeting guests; and coordinating meeting details, such as reserving conference rooms and organizing catering to make sure events run smoothly.

Office and hospitality services — Employees can spend a large chunk of their time on mail, shipping and receiving, printing, and records management—all of which may take them away from their core job duties. The prep required for setting up meetings—such as setting up audio/visual equipment—is equally as time-consuming. Office and hospitality services tackle these tasks so that employees can focus on getting their job done.

Facility support — Employee productivity can be significantly impacted when the work environment is uncomfortable. By managing the physical details in a work environment—such as desk chair height, room temperature, and working coffee machines and light fixtures—Workplace Experience Services teams ensure the employee’s physical environment is conducive to a productive workday.

Technology enablement — Technology enablement refers to light tech support, such as for login issues, problems with an audio/visual system in a meeting room or even phone issues. Separate to tech support but nevertheless related is the use of technology to track and communicate the workplace services activity. One example of this is how Canon utilizes a best-in-class web-based ticketing system for conference rooms, printing and mailing, and facilities management. A Workplace Experience Services team leverages this ticketing system to coordinate a productive and collaborative work environment that runs smoothly.

Analytics for continuous improvement — Analytics show the value of an organization’s investment in Workplace Experience Services. The analytics are typically based on data gathered from the ticketing and performance management systems.

“One of today’s major business challenges is how—and how quickly—organizations can reshape the employee experience in their workplace,” says Joe Marciano. By implementing programs such as Canon Workplace Experience Services to foster community and reduce friction in the workplace, organizations can win the war for talent and position themselves for success today and in the future.