Dutch not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider PGGM uses Neat devices with Microsoft Teams to ensure its hybrid teams are more closely aligned.

Note: For security purposes, PGGM requested we not show its employees in any of the images.

Neat devices, including Neat Bar, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Pad, Neat Board, and Neat Board 50, play a pivotal role in PGGM’s online communications. They are seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Teams in about 65 rooms, with PGGM planning to deploy Neat devices in an additional 15 rooms this year. Once its security advisors approve, PGGM plans to manage its Neat deployment through Neat Pulse.

PGGM is a beacon of financial management. It is a 2,300-employee Dutch not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider in Zeist, Netherlands. Since July 2024, it includes a 300-employee office in The Hague, Netherlands, after merging with another pensions provider. PGGM offers comprehensive pension management, asset management, and management advice. With its expertise, PGGM manages the pensions of various pension funds, affiliated employers, and their employees. As of 31 March 2024, PGGM has successfully managed pension assets worth a staggering 245 billion euros for 4.3 million participants. It is a testament to its commitment and capability.

Rick Hagen, the Product Owner of Modern Workplace at PGGM, is a key figure in the company’s technological landscape. He ensures the smooth operation of all programs on the managed Microsoft Surface laptops provided to all employees. He oversees Microsoft’s 365 productivity software and manages the hardware components PGGM’s employees use, which include laptops, smartphones, and over 80 Microsoft Teams Rooms.

Neat Symmetry was the key to successful hybrid work

Like many companies globally, PGGM initially relied on video technology for online communication only during the pandemic. However, the company soon realized that its initial investment in devices was non-intuitive, non-user-friendly, complex, technically unstable, and unreliable. As a result, Rick began searching for a better solution. Following unsuccessful tests of various vendor products, PGGM’s AV supplier, Communicativ, stepped in and recommended trying Neat.

After a standard, simple Neat installation and setup, once operational, our innovative, patented Neat Symmetry quickly gained popularity with PGGM’s hybrid teams, particularly those on the far end, as they can now see everyone in the room up close. “Participants in the room are no longer mere dots on the screen,” Rick commented. “It’s more natural and inclusive, and no one feels like a fly on the wall. Neat Symmetry was an important factor in successfully unlocking hybrid work.” PGGM has recently begun testing our Neat Center companion device, further expanding the capabilities of Neat Symmetry and enhancing the sense of everyone being in the same room, especially in PGGM’s larger rooms for groups of 10 or more people.

Neat Symmetry is great. The quality is unsurpassed, and many of our employees are genuinely excited about it, especially the people working from home.

Rick Hagen, Product Owner Modern Workplace, PGGM

Transforming the workplace into a more vibrant space

PGGM’s hybrid teams operate as follows: Employees typically alternate between working from home and the office on any given day. Individuals usually stay at home for ‘activity-based work’ that demands more concentration. On the other hand, approximately 1,200 employees work from the office to facilitate closer collaboration, social interaction, brainstorming, etc., most frequently on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nevertheless, some employees choose to work in the office to focus because it provides them with convenient access to colleagues, which PGGM aims to promote further by transforming it into a space where individuals can work, meet, and socialize effectively.

This objective would suit the many meeting spaces PGGM has throughout its Zeist HQ and The Hague office, ideally its huddle spaces for meetings with five to ten people. In these spaces, which include most of its Neat deployment of Neat Bars, Neat Bar Pros, and Neat Boards, it could quickly and easily add Neat devices without changing any pre-existing features, furniture, or, most importantly, room acoustics for more of its employees to enjoy seamless hybrid communication.

To reiterate what we already touched on, before PGGM discovered Neat, Rick and his team spent considerable time sorting out support issues in these rooms, mainly because, with its previous equipment, people didn’t know how to start a meeting. There were also connection issues and poor sound and picture quality. Updates were a pain, too. As a result, customers complained about inferior online communication. Not anymore. Neat makes everything beautifully simple!

We used to receive many negative comments from customers regarding our old video tech. But with Neat, everything’s much more stable, and people are far happier, which is a huge relief for our organization.

Rick Hagen, Product Owner Modern Workplace, PGGM

Read more about PGGM.
Read more about Communicativ.

Discover Neat’s pioneering devices and Neat Symmetry or see them in action in our live Virtual Demo – Neat Devices and Experiences. Better yet, book a demo and experience them for yourself.