Envoy Office Hacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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/LunchButton

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

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

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.

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

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

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