Smørum, Denmark

Customer Case: Oticon

Oticon approached us to see if the ADAPT 660, with Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, could solve their challenges and help them be more productive in their busy daily lives.

The Challenge

Oticon’s large open office environment is a hive of industry. But with conference calls, ad hoc meetings, chats in communal coffee bars and the constant buzz of people on the move, the high level of background noise often makes it difficult for employees to concentrate fully on their jobs – or to communicate clearly on calls. It impacts productivity and well-being.


The Trial

A test group of 8 people from different key business areas – IT, R&D, marketing and HR – were selected to test the headsets in a variety of daily work situations.

The Solution

Following a 40-day trial period, participants experienced a significant improvement in their concentration and focus at work. Their ability to communicate and collaborate efficiently was also enhanced – some even experienced a feeling of saved energy. This is because headsets from our ADAPT 600 Series creates a disruption free workspace that makes it possible for users to perform more effectively in noisy office environments.

Open offices have their challenges

“Oticon has very open office environments.” explains Leon Castro Lagunas, Business Relationship Manager IT, “They are important to us because they create a dynamic environment that breeds innovation. We wouldn’t want to live without them. But our open offices also present some challenges.”

Coping strategies

To create the space to work effectively, many employees develop strategies to carve out thinking space in noisy disruptive office environments: From working late, at home to isolating themselves in meeting rooms or with loud music in headphones, these strategies are not the ideal way to work effectively.

Disruption free workspace

After 40 days of hard testing in a variety of work situations, including long distance flights and daily commutes, participants in the test were asked if the ADAPT 660 headsets had made a difference to the way they worked – in terms of creating a disruption free workspace and their ability to communicate and collaborate. They were also asked if the sound quality improved their overall experience.

It’s the only headset I need. It solves the problems I had with Skype meetings and noise in the environment - and I can also listen to music while working”

Peter Møgeltoft


Software Developer

Communication and collaboration

Oticon is a global organization and Skype for Business has been adopted as the communication platform. The ability to hear and communicate clearly is essential in all meetings, but it is particularly important in situations where many participants are not speaking their native language. Heavy Skype for Business users found the ability to communicate clearly helped them maximize the value of their calls.

Interestingly, ADAPT 660 actually encouraged people to make the move to Skype for Business, by making it easy to connect to the system and make calls. The fact that ADAPT 660 is wireless also affected the way that people interacted with their colleagues, increasing mobility and flexibility.

Premium sound

The ADAPT 660 features a choice of sound effect modes to enhance speech, music and entertainment. Many of the test participants use their headset for listening to music and podcasts and found that the combination of noise cancellation and high quality sound made the experience richer.