I emailed the department that handles everything badge related. I told them I had a ring with an NFC chip in it and asked if they could enroll the UID for me to use it.
I received the fastest response I have ever received from anyone at work.
“no sorry company badges only”
I mean literally less than 30 seconds. Got a good laugh out of it anyway. 
Small update!
I found a tear down of the reader with the antenna locations called out on the FCC’s website. Nice to actually see my tax dollars paying off.
https://fccid.io/JQ6-SIGNO40/Internal-Photos/Antenna-Location-4601581
It looks like the HF antenna goes all the way around the perimeter, with the LF antenna being in just the middle of the reader.
I want to get my NExT perpendicular to the LF antenna correct?
I’m thinking I should start dead center and slowly move up?
Yeah. If I’m understanding these correctly, the LF antenna is on the back behind everything.
Looking at the first photo in “Internal Photos - Pigtail”, you’re right.
I’ve looked through a few of their readers now and it seems like HID just likes putting the LF in the back 
You can see it trigger LF first then HF at the edge. Despite knowing exactly where the antenna was, I still couldn’t get the field detector to work.
Seeing you get a LF read makes me very hopeful! After realizing the antenna is in the back I wasn’t expecting much lol.
Wil try again tomorrow and report back!
Haha, so the exact OPPOSITE of what I said 
I should just sit in the corner, shut the fuck up and Let the big boys talk
I still can’t get a read on the NExT, but I think I know why.
It just occurred to me today that all of the readers are mounted directly to metal buildings.
I figured this was bad, but I googled it just to be sure, and sure enough HID specifically says not to do it, and if you have to, to use a spacer (no spacers here).
So hopefully this!
It’s bad but also, the antenna is offset by the pigtail connector. The reader I was playing with is also on a metal wall.
This is the way.
If after that you still have problems, a flexEM, as @Pilgrimsmaster suggested, will sort you out.
Don’t have much of an update, other than I’ve (obviously) been trying every day work and a couple of different readers to no avail.
I did a reader that is mounted to drywall or plaster, not for sure which, it’s a pretty old building. Still won’t read.
I’m still 5 days out from a full 2 weeks though.