Envoy Office Hacks

#48 - Epicenter’s Micro Chip Hack

May 22, 2017 07:00 - 5 minutes - 4.98 MB

Key card, wallet, phone — this is the mantra of every office worker before they leave the house in the morning. At Epicenter in Stockholm Sweden, some employees are carrying a lighter load because they have a microchip access pass implanted in their hand. All cyborgs welcome... To see photos and learn more, check out our blog

#47 - Hubspot's Seat Shuffle and FaceWall Hack

May 08, 2017 07:00 - 4 minutes - 4.36 MB

Hubspot is the hub of the tech scene in Boston. But with over a thousand employees at its Cambridge campus, how do they make sure everyone gets a chance to meet each other? Forget name tags! And get ready for a massive game of musical chairs! To see photos and learn more, check out our blog

#46 - Zendesk's Vending Machine Hack

April 24, 2017 08:00 - 4 minutes - 4.35 MB

For most people, vending machines answer the cries of mid-afternoon hunger pangs. But not at Zendesk. The software company stocks its vending machines with much more than candy bars and potato chips. This is Zendesk's Vending Machine Hack. To see photos and learn more, check out: http://bit.ly/2pasKIG

#45 - Tumblr's GIF Hack

April 10, 2017 08:00 - 5 minutes - 5.18 MB

However you pronounce it, GIFs are handy animated images great for cat lovers, and office workers looking to turn up the fun so when the microblogging site Tumblr wanted something to snazz-up its New York office, guess what they built? This is Tumblr's GIF Hack. To see photos, GIFs and learn more, check out: http://bit.ly/2oZ1Hj5

#44 - Shutterstock's Wayfinder Hack

March 27, 2017 10:00 - 6 minutes - 5.83 MB

It's normal to feel a little lost when you start working at a new office. But what about disoriented long-time employees? Shutterstock discovered it's one thing to have an impressive, sprawling office in downtown New York City, but it's quite another to ensure your staff can find the washrooms. To see photos and learn more, check out: http://bit.ly/2o9POGv

#43 - HCMA's Artist Hack

March 13, 2017 10:13 - 6 minutes - 5.91 MB

Some companies will go to great lengths to inspire creativity and innovation. But maybe none go quite as far as this architectural firm in Vancouver, Canada. This is HCMA's Artist Hack. To see photos and learn more, check out: http://bit.ly/HCMAart

#42 - Square's Beta Test Hack

February 27, 2017 11:16 - 5 minutes - 4.73 MB

Beta testing new ideas for your product can be nerve wracking. Getting the right environment is key. This is what makes this beta-test hack at mobile payment company, Square, so genius. See photos of this and more on our blog at http://bit.ly/squarebeta

#41 - Runnable's Deploy Hack

February 13, 2017 11:30 - 5 minutes - 5.25 MB

San Francisco-based company: Runnable helps developers test their code before it gets released. Their hack? A novel notification system so officemates can’t help but know when a new feature is being deployed. Because let’s face it - everyone gets busy and new deploys can slip by, causing issues in code elsewhere. This happened at Runnable itself, until it came up with this simple solution. This is Runnable’s Deploy Hack.

#40 - The LinkedIn Band Hack

January 30, 2017 11:30 - 5 minutes - 5.22 MB

Your office may have a coffee bar, or a slick kitchen with much on offer. Perhaps your workplace even has a ping pong table or a video game area. Well, LinkedIn may have you beat. The professional network’s office in Sunnyvale, California has a 4-piece house band. This is The LinkedIn Band Hack. For photos and more info, check out: http://bit.ly/LinkedInBand

#39 - Shannon's Budgie Cam Hack

January 16, 2017 11:07 - 6 minutes - 6.26 MB

Being on the road and working away from home can be lonely.. especially for those bonded to their pets. A live feed between you and your pet would be awesome, but maybe not that realistic. This office hack is the next best thing. This is Shannon’s Budgie Cam Hack. For photos and more info, check out: http://bit.ly/budgieCam

#38 - Unbounce's Sweet Spot Light Hack

January 02, 2017 11:03 - 5 minutes - 5.2 MB

Remote workers and colleagues in other cities can often mean different time zones. But like any busy worker bee, it’s easy to forget someone might still be sleeping when you’re madly pinging them for something. That’s where today’s office hack saves the day. Unbounce created a simple signaling system to free up valuable time-zone-calculating brain cells. This is Unbounce’s Sweet Spot Light Hack. For photos and more info on this hack, check out: http://bit.ly/1gC5tV2

#37 - Mulesoft's Commodore 64 Hack

December 19, 2016 11:27 - 6 minutes - 5.98 MB

Listen to how San Francisco-based Mulesoft used a Raspberry Pi, their own products and unflappable determination to connect a Commodore 64 to the future. For details on how Mulesoft did this, and for photos - check out: http://bit.ly/Muleadore

#36 - Joyent's Mario Kart Hack

December 05, 2016 11:10 - 6 minutes - 5.72 MB

When you think of how you spend your spare time, pursuing pet projects, building, playing, reading… we’re almost positive designing an analytics program wouldn’t be on your leisure-time list. But it did make the list of one guy, and the project brought unexpected benefits to his company. This is Joyent’s Mario Kart Hack. For photos & more info, go to: http://bit.ly/Kartlytics

#35 - The Atlantic's Lunch Button

November 21, 2016 11:13 - 6 minutes - 6.4 MB

It’s lunch time. You’re dreaming of that fantastic little restaurant on the corner but you know others dream of it too, which makes going there an exercise in long line-ups and extended food pick-up. If only you could order your lunch with the press of a button and then breeze in to pick it up. If you emulate today’s office hack, compliments of a reporter at The Atlantic, you can do just that. This is The Atlantic’s Lunch Button. To read more about this hack, go to: http://bit.ly/LunchBut...

#34 - Unbounce's Dejargonator

November 07, 2016 15:55 - 6 minutes - 6.03 MB

There are times for hyperbole in business and then there are… wait, are there ever good times for hyperbole in business? Sometimes, you can read a company’s entire website and still have no idea what it does. Page after page littered with jargon and nonsensical words. Well, today’s office hack takes direct aim at gobbledygook trying to pass as actual writing. This is Unbounce’s Dejargonator. For photos and more info on how this hack works, check out: http://bit.ly/UnbounceHack

#33 - Vector Custom Fabricating’s Beer Hack

October 24, 2016 10:04 - 4 minutes - 4.58 MB

We’re dedicating the month of October to beer. Well, beer hacks in the workplace, to be specific. Today we go to a place that makes architectural metals. Vector Custom Fabricating has a small, tight team of employees. One thing that bonds them? Making beer at work. It’s an off-hours project, but one that has had unexpected benefits for workplace camaraderie. This is Vector Custom Fabricating’s Beer Hack. To see photos and learn more, check out the blog: http://bit.ly/VectorNector

#32 - Sparc's Beer 30 Hack

October 10, 2016 10:35 - 8 minutes - 7.5 MB

It’s October. So what better hack to feature than one involving beer! In fact, we’re dedicating this month to beer hacks only. So pop a top, relax and listen to how Sparc, a software development company out of Charleston, SC, lets its staff know it’s beer 30! This is Sparc’s Beer 30 Hack.

#31 - Lululemon’s Meditation Hack

September 26, 2016 10:40 - 6 minutes - 6.33 MB

Today’s Envoy Office Hack has a name: Danielle. Danielle is changing the work culture at Lululemon’s head office every day, twice a day. This ‘unplugged’ office hack says a lot about the authenticity of the company behind it. This is Lululemon’s Meditation Hack. Check out photos and hear more about this hack at: http://bit.ly/LululemonHack

#30 - Razorfish’s Fish Bait Hack

September 19, 2016 10:48 - 7 minutes - 6.56 MB

There’s nothing better than free food at the office, unless you hear about it after the fact when not a crumb remains. One company created a way to ensure any food up-for-grabs is known to all, easily and automagically. This is Razorfish’s Fish Bait Hack. To see photos and read more about this hack, check out: http://bit.ly/FishBait

#29 - LaunchPad Lab’s Rocket Buzzer

September 12, 2016 11:55 - 6 minutes - 6.5 MB

Let’s face it, the act of buzzing people into your office building is a pain in the neck. That’s why we love this week’s hack. Chicago-based LaunchPad Lab came up with a way to re-route a door buzzer so that there would be no more workplace disruptions. Now, letting people in is as simple as five keystrokes. See photos and learn how LaunchPad Lab created its Rocket Buzzer, here: http://bit.ly/RocketBuzzer

#28 - PlayStudios Rooftop Parking Hack

September 06, 2016 10:14 - 6 minutes - 5.96 MB

Parking can be a frustrating experience at the best of times. But imagine having your car being boxed-in at work every day. Today’s Envoy Office Hack takes us to a rooftop parking lot in San Francisco - and one inventive hack that cooled a lot of tempers. This is PlayStudios Rooftop Parking Hack. To see photos and learn more about how this hack was created, go to: bit.ly/ParkingHack

#27 - Zappos Money Hack

August 29, 2016 10:38 - 5 minutes - 5.15 MB

Money can be such a motivator. Even fake money. Just ask Zappos, the online shoe retail giant. Zappos has its own mini-economy with custom currency, goods, lotteries, even inflation. This is definitely one of our more sophisticated hacks. Here is Zappos Money Hack.

#26 - Twilio's Phone Hack

August 22, 2016 10:46 - 7 minutes - 6.53 MB

Today’s Envoy Office Hack might make you feel a little nostalgic. It comes to us from a San Francisco-based company that specializes in innovating all things telecom. Twilio’s hack involves an old school rotary-dial phone and the modern day text message. This is Twilio’s Phone Hack. To read more about how this hack was made and to see some photos, go to: http://bit.ly/2bJKYLa

#25 - Mozilla's TV Hack

August 15, 2016 10:33 - 6 minutes - 5.68 MB

TV isn’t what it used to be. It’s so much better! Especially at Mozilla where TV content can be programmed by anyone and for any environment. Hear how Mozilla, the makers of Firefox, hacked together a TV system for its offices. This is Mozilla’s TV Hack. To read more about how this hack was made and to see some photos, go to: http://bit.ly/2aYzm6k

#24 - Devpost's Call Serena Hack

August 08, 2016 10:26 - 6 minutes - 5.63 MB

Calling a meeting is one thing. Involving a remote employee in that meeting can be another. A little bit more planning is generally involved. But what if you could hack together a device that launched meetings with remote employees at the press of a button? If that’s music to your ears, you’re going to love this week’s office hack: Devpost’s Call Serena Hack.

#23 - Twitter Unplugged

August 01, 2016 10:40 - 6 minutes - 5.82 MB

When life gets out of balance, sometimes you just need to unplug. Restore peace and calm. Even one of the most social of social media giants agrees. Twitter’s office hack is a quiet room in its Canadian office where nary a tweet can be heard. This is Twitter Unplugged.

#22 - O2E's Imagination Hack

July 25, 2016 10:30 - 6 minutes - 5.79 MB

This is a story about a wall that brought out the grandest of visions and brought together an unstoppable team. This week’s office hack is O2E’s Imagination Hack.

#21 - IFTTT's Sign Hack

July 18, 2016 05:22 - 4 minutes - 4.59 MB

IFTTT stands for If This Then That, which is literally how this web-based service works. IFTTT lets you connect apps and devices through “recipes”. And what better way for IFTTT to show off what its about, than through an IFTTT “recipe” anyone can do? This is exactly what they did, using their company sign as the hackable target. This is the IFTTT’s sign hack. Read more about this hack, and get some handy dandy IFTTT recipes at: http://bit.ly/ifttt_sign

#20 - Slack's Washroom Hack

July 11, 2016 05:34 - 6 minutes - 5.74 MB

In this week’s Envoy Office Hack we visit Slack’s San Francisco office. More specifically, we visit its washrooms. Slack staff more than doubled at this office in a relatively short amount of time, creating a lot more traffic in company bathrooms. More traffic meant more potential for awkward social moments between washroom stalls. The solution? A little French influence… For photos and more details on this workplace hack, check out: http://bit.ly/Slack_Hack

#19 - SapientNitro's Changing Walls

July 05, 2016 04:27 - 6 minutes - 6.2 MB

At SapientNitro, glowing blue walls mean there are bagels up for grabs in the office. Green walls mean it’s time for lunch. And floating kitty cats mean someone hacked the digital walls for fun. The new Toronto digs are designed to inspire creativity and to invite experimentation. These are SapientNitro’s Changing Walls. To see photos of these walls and to read more about how they work, check out: http://bit.ly/ChangingWalls

#18 - Zapier’s Bot Family

June 27, 2016 05:16 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MB

Some people have office pets. Zapier has office bots. Listen to how this entirely remote team of co-workers bonded over a rogue mom-bot and a bad-joke-telling dad-bot. It’s proof that maybe even virtual moms and dads should steer clear of your office. See photos and read more about this on our blog: http://bit.ly/BotFamily

#17 - Weebly’s Secret Room

June 20, 2016 05:44 - 6 minutes - 5.58 MB

Weebly is a website and e-commerce company and it has an extraordinary feature in its San Francisco office. It is something more likely to be found in an adventure movie than a workplace. This week’s Envoy Office Hack is Weebly’s Secret Room. To see stunning photos of this secret room, and to learn more about its creation, check out: http://bit.ly/WeeblyRoom

#16 - The Workplace Washroom Hack

June 13, 2016 05:56 - 5 minutes - 5.01 MB

Washrooms just might be the unsung heroes of the workplace. No one likes to be near them. Yet no one wants to be too far away either. If you do find yourself at a fair distance, then this hack is for you. This is the Workplace Washroom Hack. To see photos and learn more about how this hack was done, check out: http://bit.ly/washroom_hack

#15 - Howdy's Lunch Bot

June 06, 2016 05:14 - 5 minutes - 5.16 MB

We’ve all been there. A group from work is trying to get some lunch together, but no one can agree on where to go. Too many places to remember. Too many decisions; and this happens too often. Enter: the Lunch Bot. Today’s Envoy Office Hack takes on this nagging noon-hour nuisance. For photos and instructions on how to make a lunch bot for your workplace, check out: http://bit.ly/LunchBot15

#14 - Virtual High Five

May 30, 2016 05:16 - 5 minutes - 5.3 MB

Sharing the love at the office has never been easier. This week’s office hack comes to us from Bottle Rocket Studios in Addison, Texas. It takes an Amazon Dash Button, a severed rubber hand and a chat messaging service and makes high-performing teams feel appreciated. To see some of these wacky gifs and to learn how to hack an Amazon Dash Button, check out: http://bit.ly/VirtualHighFive

#13 - The Mozilla Ball Pit

May 23, 2016 05:08 - 4 minutes - 4.08 MB

This week’s office hack is a ball. Or more accurately, 20-thousand balls. Mozilla, maker of web browser Firefox, turned up the fun in one of its conference rooms, but it hasn’t been without a few mishaps. Here is the story of the Mozilla Ball Pit. To see photos and to learn more about this hack, go to: http://bit.ly/MozillaBallpit

#12 - Gamifying The Office Kitchen

May 15, 2016 23:31 - 3 minutes - 3.61 MB

This week’s office hack is aimed at the shirkers, the slackers, and the chore-evaders. A couple of employees from a data back-up company in Texas applied their coding skills to a common office problem: the gross, messy work-kitchen. You know the one. That room that everyone in a company uses but for which no one takes responsibility. Well, no longer. To read more about this hack-turned-app, and to see photos, check out: http://bit.ly/Hack12

#11 - The Ping Pong Boardroom Table

May 09, 2016 02:12 - 4 minutes - 4.48 MB

Foosball and Ping Pong tables have become a startup staple. But one Canadian company has raised the bar. Rethink Communications’ Ping Pong table isn’t just an employee perk… it’s the centerpiece of their corporate boardroom. But that’s not all... See photos and find out how to hack your own office boardroom table here: http://bit.ly/PingPongHack

#10 - Grip Limited's Big Orange Slide

May 02, 2016 04:00 - 6 minutes - 5.98 MB

You can inject play into your workplace... or you can build it in. In today’s Envoy Office Hack we take you down a giant playground slide, smack-dab in the middle of a busy ad agency. See photos of this big orange slide and find out how to hack your own office-turned-playground here: http://bit.ly/OrangeSlide

#9 - The Airstream Edit Suite

April 25, 2016 03:17 - 6 minutes - 6.13 MB

Not all work spaces are created equal. Some were even created not for work, but for play… or long, tortuous family vacations. Today’s Envoy office hack is all about how one family’s rolling getaway became another man’s home office. Take a listen to how this video editor hacked an Airstream into an edit suite. See photos of this Airstream Edit Suite and find out how to hack your own mobile office here: http://bit.ly/AirstreamEdit

#8 - Mozilla’s Hi Fi Raspberry Pi

April 18, 2016 03:23 - 7 minutes - 6.6 MB

This week’s Envoy Office Hack might just be the world’s most unusual music streaming solution. Mozilla, maker of web browser Firefox, has tried all sorts of high-tech music services in their Mountain View offices. But the one that stuck? A homemade hack between a micro-computer, a record player, and a whole lot of vinyl. To see photos and to read more about this hack, check out: http://bit.ly/MozillaHiFi

#7 - Connecting Coffee to the Internet

April 10, 2016 22:25 - 5 minutes - 4.62 MB

This week’s Envoy office hack turns a common everyday annoyance into an everyday convenience. Data streaming company Pub Nub found a way to hack a common kitchen scale to monitor coffee in the workplace coffee pot. See photos and read more about this hack (including how to do it yourself!) at http://bit.ly/PubNubCoffee.

#6 - The Mode Analytics Office Goat

April 04, 2016 03:44 - 5 minutes - 5.07 MB

This week’s Envoy office hack is about the evolution of a company’s culture alongside the evolution of a stuffed goat. San Francisco-based Mode Analytics features a full-sized mountain goat in its reception area. And it may surprise you to hear what kind of impact a mounted beast can have on a growing company. See photos of Marshawn the goat, and read more about this office hack at http://bit.ly/OfficeGoat

#5 - The Hootsuite Ski Village

March 27, 2016 19:51 - 5 minutes - 4.6 MB

Hootsuite is a social media software company based on the west coast of Canada. Every license plate there proudly displays the words “Beautiful British Columbia”... and that same pride can be found throughout the Hootsuite offices. Today we hear about the most spectacular Envoy office hack: a workspace-turned-ski-village. To see photos and read more, check out: http://bit.ly/SkiVillage

#4 - The Robotic Sales Gong

March 21, 2016 14:20 - 3 minutes - 3.67 MB

This is a TRUE Envoy Office Hack - it comes from our own office. You see, we get excited every time we sign up a new customer. So excited, that we like to celebrate with a bang. Or more accurately, by ringing a gong. But we don’t have your ordinary, run of the mill gong. We’ve got a custom robot job. See photos and read all about this hack on Medium: bit.ly/SalesGong

#3 - The Microwave of Shame

March 14, 2016 13:10 - 3 minutes - 3.18 MB

This Office Hack turns healthy eating into a social psychology experiment, making food nukers stand in the middle of the office and have their cooking adventures streamed live on the web.

#2 - The Wall of Lego

March 07, 2016 02:12 - 4 minutes - 4.16 MB

When it comes to creating a cool office space, what you put on your walls matters more than you think. Meet a company that definitely lives up to their name. Rethink Communications have completely “rethought” what can be done with a boring, old office wall. This is the Wall of Lego. https://blog.envoy.com/office-hack-2-the-wall-of-lego-985f4afefab7#.66xus0ioe

#1 - Slack's Rolling Rooms

February 29, 2016 01:58 - 4 minutes - 3.88 MB

Welcome to the brand new Envoy Office Hacks podcast! For our first Office Hack, we're featuring Slack, a white-hot software company that’s reinventing the way teams communicate and work together. Naturally, they decided to take the same philosophy when building their offices. The result? They’ve hacked the traditional meeting room and created a brand new type of physical space, designed specifically to improve the ways teams work. If you like this episode, please subscribe - you might just b...

Envoy Office Hacks - Teaser

February 04, 2016 19:23 - 1 minute - 1.37 MB

Coming soon - a brand new podcast that hacks your office. Envoy Office Hacks is a short podcast that comes out once a week. Each episode, you’ll discover a new workplace that has made their office better, more productive, or just plain fun by re-thinking, re-engineering, and re-inventing the way we work. Subscribe to Envoy Office Hacks, and you could become the ace of your workplace.

Envoy Office Hacks

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