Five reasons workspace booking solutions are essential
Introduction
Workspace booking solutions are seen as a crucial return-to-work technology in the hybrid world of today.
What's a desk booking app?
A desk booking app allows users to book a desk from their phones and it can be used in the office to assist staff members in locating and reserving a seat in advance or on-site. By giving them the information and resources employees will be able to check details including desk status and location. Your employees can browse a number of workspace possibilities with desk booking software and choose the one that best suits their particular tastes, which can enhance their creativity, attention, and productivity.
In today’s difficult period, a desk booking app also resolves various office management issues. In the beginning, it gave workers the freedom to decide where they want to work so they may communicate safely by maintaining social distancing with their coworkers. It’s as hygienic as any touchless technology because they’re using their phone to reserve a desk. Additionally, because end users are actively utilizing the service, your desk reservation system is collecting additional data that workplace managers can simply use to track space utilization, make necessary adjustments, and remain on top of their crucial duties like maintaining shared workspaces clean.
Here’s a closer look at the benefits of desk booking apps and how to choose the best one.
Why is a desk booking app necessary for your workplace?
New requirements for the workplace
Simply put, it’s what your staff members may anticipate when they go back to work. In a 2020 Gensler survey, 52% of respondents stated they anticipated seeing a wider distance between workspaces after the pandemic struck. Some firms achieved this by changing their office layouts, while others postponed reopening plans or only let a certain number of workers to use their space at any given time.
Buildings are reopening their doors as the pandemic is officially ended, and people are eager to interact and socialise in person once more. But according to Gensler’s most recent US Workplace Survey, which was performed in Winter 2021, more than one-third of the respondents felt that their employer had not yet equipped the workplace to support a hybrid model.
Best working model for hybrid workspaces
Businesses are anticipated to adopt flexible work arrangements in the future to provide staff members more freedom over where they sit when they arrive at the office, such as desk hoteling or hot desk booking.
Employees do not, however, see all hybrid seating arrangements equally. Some claim they want their employer to completely stop using hot desks. Why? With hot desking, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis, employees can take any desk on a less formal basis than with workstation reservations. Finding a workplace that is open can be more challenging with hot-desking solutions. Additionally, it is quite difficult to determine which desks have been utilised and when they were most recently cleaned.
What advantages do desk reservations offer?
Desk booking has various benefits for your team’s leadership as well as your employees. Here are a few brief arguments in favour of desk booking via an app in case you’re running into opposition to the idea.
Here are a few significant advantages of desk booking:
Increased adaptability
Employees have been requesting more flexibility in selecting when, where, and how they work for a long time prior to the pandemic. Today, that is more true than ever. 77% of respondents to a recent survey by The Adecco Group said they felt this way about going back to work.
Even before the pandemic, a Gallup survey indicated that 37% of workers would be open to quitting their current position for one with more flexibility.
Clear work schedules
Before even arriving at the office, employees can reserve any area from home using a desk booking app. Or, if they forget to make a reservation in advance, they can do it while driving to work or when they arrive there. This gives them the freedom to work from home a few days a week and visit the office when it makes sense, such as when they need to find desks close to their team to work on a large project with their coworkers or when they simply need a break from their noisy home and need to find a quiet place to work where they won’t be disturbed.
Easy for planning
Your executive team can more easily prepare for future real estate demands if they have access to real-time information about which desks are being used at any one moment as well as the ability to spot trends over time. In a time and place where office utilisation varies, leaders may alter their space to better assist occupiers by having the capacity to examine insights from their desk booking data.
Savings
The opportunity to save real estate expenditures is among the main advantages of desk booking from a management standpoint. When you book more desks than employees, you may accommodate more people while using fewer dedicated offices. According to 73% of senior real estate executives who participated in CBRE’s 2020 Global Occupier Sentiment Survey, flexible office space will be a part of their long-term real estate strategy.
Resource scheduling made simpler
It frees up workplace resources to book desks. At least half of the employees spend most of their time working remotely or at home. The management team quickly realised that almost half of their reserved workstations could be made available to the rest of the personnel and guests.
Employees can more easily discover what they need without feeling like a hassle by using desk booking software that incorporates a desk booking app.
Easier cleaning schedule
Assigned desks can attract clutter like a magnet. It is challenging to maintain these areas clean because staff members frequently use them as a place to store a collection of jackets, blankets, food, and other personal stuff. Because any desk could be used, a desk booking system democratises your workplaces and increases employee motivation to keep them tidy.
What qualities should a desk booking app have?
Make sure you pick the appropriate technology if your office is using desk hoteling for the first time or transitioning from hot desking to a more formal desk reservation system. The finest desk booking apps are simple to use but powerful enough to provide data that aids in planning.
Here are four essential qualities to consider.
A simple user interface
Find a desk booking tool that enables staff to quickly locate open workspaces on a map of your floor plan and reserve them. The reservation ought to show up on their current Outlook, Microsoft 365, or Google calendars.
Enables the scheduling of conference rooms
An average day for a worker includes three meetings. They require access to a space that is open in addition to a quiet location to work. Many organisations have conference room scheduling screens, but if a worker is organising their day or their week from home, it’s simpler to book everything through the same app. Modern businesses would benefit greatly from a space booking system that serves as both a desk reservation app and a conference room reservation app.
Desk usage statistics
The desk booking app you select should be supported by a reliable software system that offers you insightful data on which areas are frequently booked, the typical booking duration, and which days of the week have the most demand for desks. This facilitates planning for your executive team.
Advantages of utilising the mobile desk booking app from Neoffice
Increases engagement and output
According to one study, hybrid workers with access to the proper tools had the best levels of production and engagement. Employees may get the data they require and act when they are ready with the help of desk booking software. For instance, the employee desk booking app from Neoffice enables users to:
- Real-time access to a desk’s availability status
- Find the ideal location for the day by using filters.
- Utilize the app to access their work calendar and maintain sync with their reservations.
- Reserve desks in advance or immediately
Getting back inside the office without any qualms
Making a smooth transition back to work possible for your staff requires offering them a simple alternative for booking rooms and desks. Additionally, you may send significant announcements to keep your staff updated on any changes or notifications using Neoffice desk booking app.
Employees can quickly book desks with Neoffice by following a few easy steps:
- Find a desk or room by capacity, proximity, or availability.
- Choose how long they want to reserve the desk for.
- Check in when they arrive
Additionally, if no one checks in after a predetermined amount of time, the desk or room will open up again. This function is quite useful for clearing space when customers fail to cancel their reservations since with a hybrid workforce, schedules are likely to fluctuate and alter on a dime. This leaves the area unoccupied and safe for others to utilise.
Neoffice Hybrid Workplace Management Solution
Neoffice is built with a suite of workspace tools that help employees choose how and where they work while providing organizations with a platform to manage their hybrid workplace with ease and complete control.
The solution comes with 9 features on one single app – Team planner to manage a collaborative effort for a team, Seat Scheduling, Meeting room Booking, Hot Desking, Car park Slot Booking, Digital cafeteria to pre-order your meals at work, Employee commute solution, Survey forms. All Features are modular and the client can choose to subscribe to the relevant solution.
To know more about the solution, do drop a mail to [email protected] or a call us on our Helpline +91 80 4680 5757
