Virtually all the office workspace booking systems you’ll encounter these days feature the ability to book a desk, room or even car parking space from an interactive map or ‘floor plan’.
Whilst it’s usually possible to upload the latest architectural/CAD diagram of your office floors into the system, we’ve learned over the last 15 years of working with booking systems that this does not lead to the best end user experience.
In this session you’ll hear from our design guru, Sara Appleyard, on her top considerations when creating a floor plan for your workspace booking system.
It includes:
What you should include on (and leave off) your floor plan graphics
Examples of do’s and don’ts
‘Before’ & ‘after’ images
How to create a future-proof floor plan
How you can leverage your floor plan to boost your hybrid working comms strategy
Check out our desk booking system in Power Apps that uses interactive floor plans.
You may have seen an existing Power Apps template that’s freely available called ‘Book a Room’.
It offers a room booking service that’s accessible via a list view, and links up with your meeting room resource mailboxes in Exchange.
Well, our resource management expert, Nigel, wanted to go one step better and see if it was possible to create a more visual, interactive floor plan, via which users could book desks, meeting rooms and other workspaces.
This video demonstrates the results: A desk booking system built using Microsoft Power Apps.
It features the booking system Nigel created that allows booking using an interactive floor plan.
It also and discusses the various pros and cons of the approach.
See also our accompanying guide that provides a detailed, technical explanation of how to create interactive hot spots that enable booking from an office floor plan.
Hot desking is a common term used to describe the concept of a desk that’s shared by multiple users. Quite literally, the desk (or rather the seat) might still be hot when the next user arrives.
The goal of hot desking is to use office space more economically, especially when not everyone is in the office at once, which – thanks to hybrid working – is now a common scenario.
Why maintain a dedicated desk for each employee when they only visit the office occasionally?
To ensure there will be a desk available for when employees come into the office, companies typically use desk booking systems, which allow hot desks to be booked in advance.
This article is intended to guide you through the process of selecting the most suitable hot desk booking software for your organisation’s needs. We’ll explore key features, benefits, and considerations to ensure you make an informed decision.
Before we delve into the selection process, let’s delve a bit deeper into what hot desk booking software is and how it relates to hot desking.
What is Hot Desk Booking Software?
Hot desk booking software is a digital tool created to simplify the administration of shared work areas.
Since hot desking involves having fewer desks than potential users, this software enables employees to book hot desks ahead of time for their office visits, ensuring they have a workspace reserved.
Hot desk booking systems offer features like selecting desks based on personal preferences, picking desks from interactive floor plans, helping employees find desks that will be near their colleagues so they can collaborate more easily, and providing analytical insights.
Key Considerations for Choosing Hot Desk Booking Software
Whilst the idea of sharing desks is widely recognised, hot desking – and the need to pre-book a hot desk – can still be considered an inconvenience for your workforce.
Making it as easy to pre-book a desk, and then locate it on the day of arrival at the office is therefore essential to making hot desking work for your company.
With this in mind, here are some features to look for when choosing a hot desking solution:
A unified experience across all user interfaces.
Ensuring the simplicity of hot desk booking is crucial for your workforce. If it’s difficult or inconvenient to use, they won’t use it.
Ideally the process of booking a hot desk should integrate seamlessly into their everyday work and scheduling tools. For example, Microsoft Outlook calendaring, Microsoft Teams, and the company intranet.
Additionally, since many individuals work remotely, it’s wise to choose hot desk booking software that’s accessible on mobile devices. This way, employees can easily reserve desks from their smartphones or tablets while on the move.
If you plan to allow on-the-day hot desk bookings, you might also consider providing on-demand desk booking that’s accessible from kiosks placed in foyers or prominent areas, or using desk devices placed on each individual hot desk.
It additionally goes without saying that the experience of booking a desk should have a similar user experience across all platforms.
Ease of hot desk selection.
Not being tied to a specific desk gives individuals the freedom to choose a different desk each time, matching the facilities available to their planned activity in the workplace.
For instance, a quiet booth is perfect for focused work, while an adjustable/standing desk might be preferred by those with back issues.
A hot desk booking system should therefore enable desk selection according to desk attributes.
Some desk booking systems use AI to make intelligent desk booking recommendations based on individual habits and preferences.
An interactive floor plan or ‘indoor map’ is also useful, enabling users to select a desk near the coffee area or a printer, and orientate themselves in an unfamiliar or re-vamped workspace.
Floor plans can also indicate where colleagues will be sitting, enabling users to select a desk nearby.
Features that make it easy to be with co-workers.
A visit to the office often coincides with the need to connect with co-workers face-to-face.
For this reason, look for collaboration enhancing features, such as a “Where’s My Colleague?” tool.
With the ability to view a colleague’s chosen seat and reserve a nearby desk, teams can optimise their productivity during office hours.
It also ensures that teams maximise the rewards of face-to-face collaboration when ‘hot desking’.
Ability to book additional amenities.
Many organisations are seeking to encourage employees back into the office with extra facilities and services to enhance their visit.
So, addition to making it easy to book a workspace, look for a hot desk booking service that makes it easy for employees to book additional facilities such as:
Offering additional services – and making it easy to book them – fosters a more inviting and convenient office experience for employees.
Policy-based desk allocation.
In larger enterprises, fine-tuning hot desk utilisation often requires sophisticated management controls.
For instance, you might want to:
Dedicate certain hot desk areas to specific departments
Make specific desks and spaces available to people with accessibility needs
Set rules that even out utilisation across the week
The ability to set desk booking policies, and leverage systems like Microsoft Entra ID (that hold information on group membership) can be beneficial for this purpose.
A range of desk signage options.
Hot desking systems typically revolve around having a coherent and logical desk numbering system – both on the desk booking system itself and on the physical desks themselves.
In short, if you’ve booked desk 151 in advance but you can’t easily locate this desk on arrival and instead sit at desk 99, you risk upsetting the entire system.
When selecting a hot desking system, we recommend you seek a solution that helps individuals quickly and easily locate their booked desk on arrival to the office.
Elements that help with this include:
Apps that help with way finding, for example, by pinpointing your booked desk in the context of the office floor and key landmarks.
Another key component of an efficient hot desking system is the ability to check in on arrival to your pre-booked desk.
Check ins – or rather a failure to check into a desk within a pre-defined time-window – allow desks to be released and used by other individuals, albeit on an ad-hoc basis.
Check ins also give facilities managers a much more accurate view of actual desk utilisation.
As with all aspects of hot desking – ease of check in is vital (otherwise it might not happen). Therefore, look for a hot desking solution that offers a range of convenient check in options to suit your budget.
Some contactless check-in examples include:
Desk devices that allow check-ins using existing RFID security cards
QR codes that can be used on desk signs and scanned using a desk booking mobile app
A desk check-in link in a reminder email.
A flexible and scalable hot desking solution.
As your organisation grows and evolves, your hot desking requirements may change.
To accommodate these changes, choose hot desk booking software that is scalable and easily updated.
Scalability ensures that the software can handle an increasing number of users and workspaces without sacrificing performance. For example, if you have hundreds of bookable desks on one floor plan, how long will it take to render the latest free/busy status of all desks.
Any changes to desk layouts should also be easy to make for those administrating the hot desk booking software and for your facilities management team.
Data-driven decision making is essential for optimising office space and improving overall efficiency.
Look for hot desk booking software that offers robust analytics and detailed usage reports.
These insights will provide valuable data on hot desk utilisation, peak usage hours, and popular desk choices.
By analysing this information, you can identify trends and patterns, allowing you to make informed decisions about office layout adjustments, desk allocation, and resource management.
Conclusion
As the demand for flexible office solutions continues to rise, choosing the right hot desk booking software becomes essential for optimising workspace utilisation and enhancing employee experience.
By considering key features, integration capabilities, scalability, and reporting, you can make a well-informed decision that aligns with your organisation’s unique needs.
Even with the best hot desking solution in place, the approach to this approach to saving office space costs comes with challenges.
For example, employees may find it difficult to adjust to not having a dedicated workspace, and concerns about cleanliness, availability of desks, and personalisation of work areas may arise.
Ensuring hot desking is introduced sensitively, and with all the relevant benefits outlined.
Providing adequate personal storage in the form of lockers.
Taking the opportunity to redesign workspaces and make them more vibrant and inviting.
Stepping up the frequency with which desks are cleaned – ideally between each usage.
Introducing the Desk Booking for Microsoft 365
Discover how to leverage Microsoft 365 to deliver hot desking for your enterprise
In the not-so-distant past, changes to the office landscape were minimal and a visit to the office meant sitting in your usual, dedicated desk.
With hybrid working, however, enterprises are employing a more dynamic approach, giving employees the flexibility to choose where they sit. This approach typically uses unique and logically-organised desk IDsto provide a structured way to identify and book a desk in advance, and then locate their desk on arrival to the office.
But what happens when your desk layout needs to change?
For example, if you use a desk booking system, you might have office utilisation insights that justify the need to expand or reduce how many desks you have.
You might also plan to do an office re-fit that leads to a ‘desk re-jig’.
The physical lifting and shifting of office furniture is just one part of a workspace re-organisation. There are many more considerations that need to be made to ensure a smooth transition to a new desk layout.
In this article, I will look at the steps we recommend to minimise the impact of a desk layout change – especially where you have a desk booking system in place.
Desk layout scenarios within the office
There are several different scenarios that you might face when adjusting the desk layout of your office.
If you’re lucky, you might be adding or removing desks to the end of an existing sequence, each of which is easy to achieve as there’s little impact on the remaining desks.
Another tip to accommodate future, ad-hoc additions of desks to your floor plan is to plan in advance and for example, leave ‘air gaps’ between logical areas or zones across your office floor. That is, spaces that are separated by walls, room dividers, corridors, etc.
For example, if an area of your office has desks 1-55 in it, but looks as though it may accommodate more, start your desk numbering sequence in the next ‘space’ at 60.
But what if you’re having to add or remove a bank of desks in the middle of an existing desk numbering sequence?
Using out-of-sequence desk numbers can make it difficult for your workforce to find their booked workspaces in a large or unfamiliar office space.
Renumbering your desks to accommodate any change will help keep your hybrid desk booking strategy as streamlined and stress-free as possible, however there’s some things I recommend you do to make this transition as smooth as possible:
Discover best strategies for numbering your desks to support hybrid working
Let staff know well in advance that the desk numbering and office layout is going to change. Explain the reason for the change and then, when available, a timeline for when any steps will be taken.
Create a comprehensive plan for your new office layout
Make a clear plan for the changes that are to be made. Try and figure out the best way to alter the desk locations to minimise effort elsewhere.
Is there any way to better future proof the layout for future modifications? Do the changes need to be made in one go or is a staged approach suitable?
Whichever way you approach it, be sure to create a new layout plan, making this available to staff so that they can locate their desks post-change and in any interim transition period.
Consider any existing desk bookings
If you’re going to re-number your desks, it’s important to think about any existing bookings that might reside on the desks over the coming weeks.
It’s a heavy-handed approach to just cancel everyone’s bookings and get them to re-book once the changes have been made…. It could cause a lot of confusion. Also ask yourself if it’s acceptable to arbitrarily move people.
If Bob has booked Desk 23 because it’s near a window and the bathroom, if the transition moves Desk 23 next to the elevator will this cause discontent?
Update your office wayfinding
Changing your office layout has the knock-on effect of requiring updates to your physical desk signage.
In addition to re-numbering your desks, there may be other wayfinding (both physical and/or electronic) that needs changing as well as any documentation that details desk booking in your company.
You may also need to update any interactive floor plans that underpin a desk booking system.
Discover best strategies for numbering your desks to support hybrid working
Effectively co-ordinate the workload amongst relevant teams
Be sure to pull all available and relevant teams together to share the workload. For example, facilities management may be able to assist with desk numbering and wayfinding changes.
The training department can help with updating documentation. Reception could be trained to help with directions to new locations in the early days of the change within the office environment.
Provide extra support on the ‘transition day’
On the day of switching to the new office layout and numbering system, have staff on hand to assist colleagues with directions to minimise disruption.
Provide a means of ongoing support to address any questions or confusion. Encouraging feedback from colleagues and keeping lines of communication open will help towards achieving a successful transition.
Can technology help with your desk layout?
The simple answer is yes! A desk booking system not only assists with the day-to-day management of a desk estate, it can also help when it comes to desk layout modifications.
Look for the following options to help with any desk layout changes you might have:
The ability to easily move existing bookings between desks
Taking desks out of service for a defined period of time to allow for ‘physical’ changes to your office layout
Desk devices which can be centrally managed in order to re-number desks quickly (i.e. no need to physically remove existing desk signage)
Another strategy you might pursue is to not individually number desks, but to create zones linked to specific departments or ‘area types’, such as ‘Quiet Zone’ or ‘Open area’, that have a specified number of spaces available for booking. Also read our article on pooled resources for more information about this concept in action.
Conclusion
As the ways in which we work continue to change and evolve over time, it’s become ever more important to have flexibility in our approaches to desk quantities and layouts.
Planning and communication are critical parts of executing change and technology can help smooth this process both for those making the changes and those affected by them.
Whatever you plan to do with yourdesk layout within the office, it’s important to consider all the ramifications of what you are doing, alongside the benefits the changes will afford.
Hot desking, also known as desk sharing or flexible seating, is a modern office trend that allows employees to use any available workspace instead of being assigned to a permanent desk.
With the rise of remote work and the need for more flexible and reduced office spaces, hot desking has become increasingly popular in recent years. In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of hot desking and whether it’s right for your enterprise.
Below we outline some of the key questions our customers have enquired about, if you have any other enquiries not answered here, please head over to our contact page and send us a message and we will call you right back.
Hot desking is when multiple employees share the same desk or workspace but use it at different times, therefore, instead of being assigned a specific desk, hot desking allows employees to choose an available desk that suits their needs for that day.
Hot desking can be done in various ways, from a first-come, first-served (hot desking) to desk pooling (hoteling) to a booking system (desk-booking).
By enabling your employees to choose where they sit and work each day based on their needs and preferences, hot desking can encourage collaboration and social interaction among colleagues. This approach in turn can save office space and therefore overheads.
Hot desking can present some challenges, such as the need for clear communication and organisation, the potential for employees to feel disconnected or disengaged especially for those who prefer a more structured or private workspace is ever present and understanding some of the challenges when implementing hot desking into your enterprise, can go a long way in helping your employees enjoy hot desking.
Is hot desking right for your enterprise?
Hot desking can be an excellent solution for enterprises with a large number of employees, a high degree of mobility or a flexible work schedule. However, it may not be suitable for every organisation. Some employees may prefer to have a permanent workspace, and others may find it challenging to work in a shared environment. Therefore, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons and determine whether hot desking aligns with your company’s culture and goals.
Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether hot desking is a good fit for your enterprise
Business needs: Consider whether hot desking aligns with your business needs and goals. Hot desking can be an effective way to reduce real estate costs, increase flexibility, and promote collaboration. However, it may not be suitable for all types of businesses or work styles.
Office layout: Consider whether your office space is suitable for hot desking. Hot desking requires a flexible and adaptable workspace, with sufficient space for employees to move around and work in different areas. You may need to make adjustments to your office layout to accommodate hot desking.
Employee preferences: Consider how your employees feel about hot desking. Some employees may welcome the flexibility and variety of working in different areas, while others may prefer a dedicated workspace. Consider surveying employees to gauge their preferences and concerns.
Technology infrastructure: Consider whether your technology infrastructure can support hot desking. Hot desking requires a reliable and flexible IT system, with the ability to support remote workers and allow employees to reserve and access shared resources.
Policies and procedures: Consider whether your organisation has the policies and procedures in place to support hot desking. This may include guidelines on desk reservations, equipment usage, and cleanliness and hygiene.
Overall, whether hot desking is right for your enterprise depends on a careful assessment of your business needs, office space, and employee preferences, as well as your ability to support the technology and policies required for the system to be successful.
How does hot desking benefit your enterprise?
Hot desking offers several benefits to both employers and employees, for employers, it can lead to cost savings, increased productivity, and better collaboration among teams. Employees can enjoy more flexibility, improved work-life balance, and the ability to work in a variety of environments. Hot desking can also promote a more egalitarian workplace, where everyone has access to the same resources and opportunities. Overall, hot desking can help create a more dynamic and collaborative office environment while also reducing costs and improving space utilisation.
Hot desking can benefit an office in several ways:
Space utilisation: Hot desking allows for better use of office space, since employees don’t have assigned desks, the workspace can be designed to accommodate more people in less space, making the office more efficient.
Collaboration: Hot desking can promote collaboration and communication among colleagues by encouraging you to work in different areas and interact with different people. This can help you build stronger relationships with your co-workers and improve teamwork.
Flexibility: Hot desking offers employees greater flexibility in terms of where and how they work. It allows them to work from different locations within the office or even remotely, which can improve work-life balance.
Cost savings: Hot desking can be more cost-effective for businesses because it reduces the need for expensive office real estate. Instead of paying for individual workstations, businesses can create a shared workspace that is more affordable.
Networking: Hot desking can provide opportunities to network and meet new people within your organisation. By working in different areas of the office, you may be able to connect with colleagues from other departments or teams that you may not have had the chance to interact with otherwise.
Reduced boredom: Hot desking can help reduce boredom and monotony by providing you with a variety of work environments and co-workers to interact with. This can help keep you engaged and motivated throughout the day.
Improved productivity: Hot desking can improve productivity by reducing distractions and providing you with the opportunity to work in an environment that suits your specific needs for that day. For example, you may choose to work in a quiet area when you need to focus, or in a more collaborative space when you need to brainstorm.
Sustainability: If your office is focused on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint, hot desking can help by reducing the amount of energy used for heating, cooling, and lighting unused office space.
The decision to implement hot desking should be based on your company’s specific needs and goals, as well as the needs of your team and organisation. If you value flexibility, collaboration, and networking, and feel that hot desking could improve your productivity and work experience, it may be worth considering.
However, before deciding to implement hot desking, it’s important to consider the potential challenges, such as concerns about privacy, storage space, and employee preferences. It may also be helpful to conduct a trial period or survey employees to gauge their interest and satisfaction with the arrangement. Ultimately, the decision to use hot desking should be based on the specific needs and goals of your office.
What are the challenges and disadvantages of hot desking?
Hot desking is not without its challenges and drawbacks. One of the biggest concerns is the potential for reduced productivity due to distractions or difficulty finding a suitable workspace.
Here are some of the most common disadvantages associated with hot desking:
Lack of personalisation: With hot desking, employees do not have a dedicated workspace that they can personalise to their liking. This can make it difficult for employees to feel a sense of ownership over their workspace and create a space that feels comfortable and inviting.
Reduced productivity: Hot desking can lead to distractions, which can make it difficult for employees to focus on their work and be productive. Employees may spend more time trying to find a suitable workspace than they would if they had a dedicated desk.
Difficulty building relationships: With hot desking, employees may not have the opportunity to build relationships with their colleagues in the same way that they would if they were seated near each other. This can make it challenging to build a strong sense of team spirit and collaboration.
Technology challenges: With hot desking, employees may need to adjust to different computer systems, monitors, and other tools every time they switch desks. This can create challenges when it comes to technology and equipment, which can be frustrating for employees.
Hygiene and cleanliness concerns: With multiple people using the same workspace, it can be difficult to maintain a clean and hygienic workspace. This can create concerns around the spread of germs and illness.
Emotional stress: With hot desking, employees may feel stressed or anxious about finding a suitable workspace, particularly if there are limited options available or if they are seated in a noisy or distracting area.
Logistics: Hot desking can create logistical challenges, particularly for organisations that have a large number of employees or multiple office locations. Ensuring that there are enough available workspaces, booking systems, and other tools can require significant planning and coordination.
While hot desking can be an effective way to optimise office space and increase flexibility, it is important for organisations to carefully consider these disadvantages and take steps to address them in order to ensure that the system is successful. Below we outline tips on implementing a hot desking system to help ease the transition for you and your employees.
Tips on implementing a hot desking system
Planning for hot desking can offer several benefits to your organisation from real-estate costs to employee collaboration but get it wrong and you may be in for some trouble down the line. Introducing hot desking to an organisation requires careful planning and effective communication.
Here are some steps to consider when introducing hot desking:
Assess the space: Before introducing hot desking, it’s important to assess the available office space to determine how many people can comfortably work in the space at the same time. This will help you to determine how many desks or workstations you need.
Address concerns: Address any concerns that employees may have about the hot desking system, such as concerns about privacy, hygiene, or noise. Consider creating a feedback mechanism so that employees can provide feedback on the system and suggest improvements.
Implement a desk booking system: A desk booking system enables employees to reserve desks and workspaces in advance, reducing the chance of overbooking and ensuring that there are enough desks available for everyone who needs them.
Provide training: Provide training to employees on how to use the hot desking system, including how to reserve a desk, how to set up equipment, and how to troubleshoot any issues.
Use a flexible seating plan: A flexible seating plan allows employees to move around the office and work in different locations depending on their needs. This can include open seating, hot desking, and collaborative spaces.
Consider ergonomic design: When designing your workspace, consider ergonomic principles to ensure that your employees are comfortable and productive. This can include adjustable desks, comfortable chairs, and good lighting.
Encourage collaboration: Collaborative workspaces can help to foster teamwork and creativity. Consider setting up designated spaces for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and other collaborative activities.
Implement clear desk policies: A clear desk policy ensures that employees keep their workspace clean and tidy, reducing the risk of clutter and improving productivity.
Develop clear guidelines: Develop clear guidelines for how hot desking will work in your organisation. This should include information on how to reserve desks, how long employees can work at a desk, and how to handle lost or stolen equipment.
Provide adequate equipment: Ensure that each desk has the necessary equipment and resources that employees need to work effectively, such as a computer, a phone, and a comfortable chair.
Consider privacy and noise levels: Ensure that employees have adequate privacy and can work in a comfortable environment. Consider using noise-cancelling headphones or soundproofing materials to reduce distractions and promote concentration.
Monitor and adjust the system: Monitor the hot desking system on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is meeting the needs of employees and the organisation. Consider making adjustments to the system as needed to improve its effectiveness and address any issues that arise.
Introducing hot desking requires careful planning and effective communication in order to ensure that employees are comfortable with the system and that it meets the needs of the organisation.
In conclusion, hot desking can be an effective solution for enterprises looking to optimise their office space and promote a more flexible and collaborative work environment. By considering the pros and cons, implementing best practices, and addressing potential challenges, you can create a successful hot desking system that benefits both employees and the company.
Desk Booking Solutions built on Microsoft 365
Allow our experts to help guide you to select the best desk booking system for your enterprise
The general trend for working from home combined with rail strikes and rocketing fuel costs means that there’s JUST SO MUCH empty office space, you might wonder if there’s a need for booking workspaces in advance.
With energy prices going through the roof, saving energy in the office is vital and a workspace booking system can help you achieve this.
Use office space more efficiently to save on energy bills
A workspace booking system can help facilities managers understand how their office is currently being used, identify popular areas, and effectively close off under-utilised floors or areas that are expensive to heat helping enterprises reduce energy bills.
It will then allow workers to share a much smaller office footprint without contention, on the basis that individuals must pre-book a workspace and not just ‘turn up’.
We’ve had a number of requests from existing customers that want to block out entire floors from their desk and room booking systems in a bid to reduce costs.
For example, a local government customer with a 60’s concrete office has taken the decision to close off an entire wing that is draughty and expensive to heat.
This approach shrinks the overall available office footprint and means that more people need to share a small area.
Our interactive floor plans can be updated to show exactly what workspaces are available and on what days. Individuals simply book their preferred workspace in advance.
Avoid waste when booking workspaces and other resources
Meeting room no-shows, over ordering catering….these are a few wasteful habits that a workspace booking system can help you avoid.
If no one has checked into a meeting room within a specified timeframe, a workspace booking system can automatically cancel the booking, freeing it up for others to use.
Your workspace booking system can also send reminders to meeting organisers, prompting them to cancel the booking if it’s no longer required, or adjust catering orders if the number of ‘in person’ attendees changes.
On this last point, given that many meetings are now hybrid meetings, the right booking system can automatically make suggestions about the size of meeting room that will match the invite number of delegates that plan to ,attend ‘in person’. This could make the difference between heating a 4-person pod versus a 20-seater meeting room.
There’s many other ways to avoid the very wasteful ‘no show’ habit
Ingraining these types of behaviours will benefit your enterprise and add to your overall sustainability.
Use your workspace booking system reports to make informed decisions
A workspace booking system will help you report on trends and make decisions to re-open sections of the office as needed.
You may even use this information to justify closing an office location altogether.
With the help of desk booking systems and occupancy utilisation analytics, you can make sure that you are using your office and resources effectively, for the winter months and beyond.
These are just a few of the ways in which a workspace booking system can help you reduce energy bills. Other technologies include:
Sensor systems that turn lights on/off according to movement detection
Heating for individual meeting spaces that’s integrated with booking
Get in touch and we can chat about what our clients are doing, and what’s working well for them in practical terms.
Workspace and resource booking solutions
Help your enterpise manage your office space and other resources.
Most desk booking systems allow workspaces to be booked directly from an interactive floor plan.
Interactive floor plans are graphics that depict your office layout and are typically navigable via location, floor, or area hierarchy, using familiar pinch and zoom, point-and-click actions.
They are combined with an interactive element that uses colour-coded ‘hot spots’ or ‘pins’ to show the free/busy status of each bookable workspace on the floor plan, for a specified date and time.
Clicking on an available workspace allows a booking to be made directly into the system.
In short, interactive floor plans are a great way of doing things, as they give your workforce at-a-glance visibility of:
what workspaces are available,
where the workspace is located and what facilities are nearby, and
an immediate and convenient user experience.
Depending on the system you choose, interactive floor plans can show the location of specified co-workers (allowing to you book a desk nearby). They can also show the current location of, say, a first aid contact.
Why it’s important to invest time and energy into your floor plan design
At Essential we believe that great-looking floor plans is a valuable part of any hybrid working strategy.
Aside from making it as easy as possible to make workspace reservations, floor plans offer a valuable opportunity to convey the various considerations you’ve made to help an office visit both comfortable and productive for your workforce.
This might include health and safety facilities, wellbeing rooms and new collaboration and personal storage facilities.
If your office has been re-worked, or you have new starts joining the company, well-designed floor plans will also help your workforce quickly familiarise themselves with key facilities, enabling them to locate the optimum workspace and resources for their visit to the office.
Perhaps they need to do some photocopying, perhaps they want to socialise or, conversely, they might need a quiet space in which they can focus.
Regardless of which system you use – or even if you simply want to use printed maps in your reception/lobby areas – here’s our top tips on how to create the best floor plan graphics to use as the basis of your workspace booking system:
1. Consider your floor plan orientation
The starting point for creating your floor plans is typically to use existing CAD diagrams, but before you go any further, check that they will be ‘the right way up’.
The industry convention used for mapping shopping malls, public spaces etc., however, is to have the main entrance of the office building or space at the ‘bottom’ of the floor plan, and with any other entrances clearly labelled– e.g., Car Park Entrance.
Given that most bookings will be made remotely, it’s useful to orientate your floor plans according to the most typical ‘end user experience’ of entering the office space. So everything that’s on the left of the map viewed from your desk, is on the left when you enter the office space ‘in person’.
Also bear in mind that whilst the facilities team will be very familiar with existing CAD diagrams, re-thinking their orientation can give a better overall way-finding experience – especially for new starts that may have never entered your office until now.
2. De-clutter & focus on what’s important
Architectural diagrams are typically overly complex and include detail that’s simply not relevant, such as plumbing and sanitary hardware, risers, and broom cupboards.
Even walls and windows tend to be represented by multiple lines, when just one line would suffice. Similarly, chairs, screens on desks, etc, can be made up of many different lines and shapes.
The level of detail included can make your floor plans difficult to assimilate ‘at a glance’. It can also create accessibility (WCAG) issues.
In our floor plan service, we always remove unnecessary elements and replace them with simpler symbols and lines to improve the UX and the efficiency of the map.
Here are our tips for simplifying your own maps and making them better for hybrid working:
Focus on the basics
Drop the details and leave behind just the components and way-finding elements that will help your workforce select, and then later locate, their chosen workspace such as:
Entrances, lifts, staircases & fire exits
Coffee areas
WCs
Sanitising stations
Accessibility facilities
Storage lockers
Standing desks, quiet areas, huddle spaces
Video conferencing rooms
Use icons where possible
Instead of drawing every cubicle in the loos, just use the relevant symbols. Plus, there’s no need to use a legend for your floor plans if your chosen symbols use standard and recognisable conventions.
Redraw from scratch
CAD diagrams can be large and difficult to optimise for your desk booking system. This is especially the case if vector graphics (e.g., SVG files) are required.
For the smallest file sizes and cleanest results, be prepared to trace over your CAD floor plans using a vector package such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape (available free online).
Before:
After:
3. Use artistic licence
Just like the award-winning design for the London Underground map, helping your workforce choose and then find their booked workspace when they arrive in the office does not demand a slavishly accurate rendition of your actual floor plan.
To ensure workspaces are shown as large as possible and to minimise zooming in, we recommend you make the most of your available ‘screen size’. For example:
Using ‘artistic licence’ to shrink spaces that are not ‘bookable’, such as long connecting corridors. This will help you scale up your floorplans without losing relevant information.
Removing unnecessary borders and architectural annotations so that your floorplan fills the available ‘screen space’.
For larger office areas we recommend dividing the floor space up into zones – e.g., North, South, East & West. These can then be selected from the workspace booking navigation panel.
If there is a strong design element to your office, then reflect this in your diagrams to aid familiarity.
For example, you might use navigation aids such as:
Reflecting the different coloured carpets used in each zone
Labelling ‘external landmarks’. For example, a customer in Canary Wharf wanted to help staff navigate by depicting the view out of each window into their floor plan (i.e., HSBC, the O2, etc)
Picking up on décor such as different coloured meeting rooms.
4. Apply a desk numbering scheme to your floor plans and to your actual desks
Many of the customers we work with that are implementing desk booking systems don’t already have a desk numbering system.
If you already have numbering, it may well be out of date and include ‘out of sequence’ numbers that have been added to accommodate change over time.
A new workspace booking system is an ideal opportunity to re-label your floor plans AND your physical workplace to ensure the optimal experience for end users.
In its simplest form, a desk booking system refers to a software tool or platform that enables employees to reserve a desk or workspace for a specific timeframe.
These systems are invaluable in flexible workplaces, where permanently designated workspaces are uncommon due to infrequent office visits.
By enabling desk bookings in advance (for example, using a web or mobile app, or a system that’s integrated with an existing office platform such as Microsoft 365), employees can secure a suitable workspace for their planned office visit.
In other words, with a desk booking system in place, employees won’t arrive at the office and find that they’ve nowhere to sit.
How do desk booking systems work?
Many desk booking systems allow selection from an interactive floor plan, a feature that enables individuals to select a specific desk by a window or the coffee station. They might also allow the selection of desks from a list according to attributes, such as ‘standing desk’, ‘docking station’ or multiple monitors.
In these examples, desks are uniquely identified on the desk booking system, which corresponds with a physical ID on the desk itself. This way, individuals can be assured they are using the exact desk they’ve booked.
Alternatively, a desk booking system might support the concept of having a pool of desks in a designated ‘hot desking’ area. With this approach each booking decrements the available capacity by one (until zero is reached) but does not tie the bookee to a specific desk.
A desk booking system can also support instant desk bookings ‘on arrival’ to the office.
This might be done via digital display screens (that can be placed in reception areas or foyers) or using desk booking devices that are placed on each workstation.
What happens once you’ve booked a desk?
From a building management perspective, it’s important not to have desks booked and then un-used. A no-show also means that a now limited resource may go to waste.
A key component of a desk booking system is therefore ‘closing the loop’ between booking a desk, and then turning up to use the desk.
This can be achieved by:
Sending regular reminders via which an individual can cancel their booked desk if they no longer need it (e.g., via a link in an email).
Offering different methods of checking-in on arrival, for example, using a mobile device to scan a QR code, or by tapping their security card on a desk device.
What else can a desk booking system offer?
Apart from ensuring your workforce has a suitable workspace reserved for their office visit, and avoiding desks going to waste, another important component of a desk booking system is the ability to gather desk utilisation insights and analytics on usage trends.
These features will help you streamline office space, reduce costs, and cultivate an agile, efficient work environment.
Summary
In essence, a desk booking system is a versatile, multi-technology solution that tackles numerous workplace challenges.
Beyond securing workspaces and avoiding waste, it has the potential to tailor the experience to individual preferences and integrate seamlessly with existing platforms such as Microsoft 365.
It should also empower decision-makers with data-driven insights, promoting efficient office layouts and cost savings, creating an agile, high-performing work environment.
This is just a short introduction to what desk booking systems are all about
For more information, check out our article on the key features you should look for in a desk booking system.
How you can make returning to the office work for everyone
The signs are encouraging, and although social distancing rules have relaxed, June 21st is still the date most firms are waiting on for aiming at to enact a return to the workplace in a meaningful way.
What do we mean by meaningful?
For many organisations it’s not just about getting as many people back into the office as possible whilst social distancing.
It’s about using office space in a new way that delivers true value to individuals, teams, and the company as a whole:
A space to concentrate – working from home isn’t always the best place for individuals to be productive and focused. For many staff members (especially those with young families) a visit to the office can offer a private desk with reduced noise and fewer distractions than they perhaps have at home.
An opportunity to collaborate properly with your team – When we are physically together, it’s easier to avoid distractions and focus on group tasks.
Getting access to resources – Not having convenient access to the equipment you need to do your job can seriously hamper productivity: High resolution scanners, colour printers, shredders, etc.
Learning on the job – One of the main concerns raised by Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon was around new recruits who wouldn’t get the “direct mentorship” they need.
In person training – Although Teams provides a great platform for virtual in-person training (VILT) you can’t beat real breakout rooms.
Team building – Face-to-face interaction enables us to get to know each other informally, build deeper connections and gain a shared understanding that have a positive impact on subsequent virtual meetings.
Cross fertilisation of ideas – that serendipitous water cooler moment, as industry analysts are calling it, when co-workers or employees in completely different parts of the company connect and spark creativity and innovation.
Wellbeing – The impact of being able to meet colleagues in person cannot be underestimated. While many have thrived in a lockdown working situation, for some people the workplace is a key source of social interaction that has been missing for over a year.
See below for our quick summary on what to look for in a ‘next generation’ workspace booking solution to help you return to the ‘new format’ office.
The ‘new format’ office
With this in mind, many organisations have taken the opportunity to re-format their offices:
Providing a variety of different workspaces that employees can choose from, depending on the task at hand.
Creating clusters of various types of space into a neighbourhood or zone where teams working on a certain project or in a particular department can gather.
Providing multi-media resources: Video Conferencing screens, white boards
Investing in a great-looking, funky workspace that offers value add over a regular office, creches, yoga classes and more, with staff well-being front of mind.
What’s counter-productive to the new workspace is:
Having to get in extra early in the morning and be part of a mad scrum to get the workspace you want
Being unfamiliar with the new office layout
Folk hogging the same desk/resources day in, day out
Struggling to get your team into the office on the same day and seated in the same area.
This is where a workspace booking system can help.
Below are some of the scenarios you should expect to support with a next generation workspace booking system:
First off – this is how your workforce should be benefiting:
For your workforce
Solution features (that make this possible)
Make it easy to find a workspace with the optimal facilities for their planned office visit
Convenient workspace booking from Outlook, web or mobile (Android or iPhone)Selection from an interactive floor plan that gives visibility at-a-glanceSearch & selection filtering according to workspace attributes such as riser desk, docking station, quiet space, multiple screens, accessibility, etc.
Build confidence that their visit will be COVID-safe.
Automatically block out adjacent desks when a workspace is booked, orMake only pre-designated, safely-spaced workspaces bookableShow the location of hand sanitisers, occupancy limits & flow of direction on interactive floor plans.
Make it easy to book a workspace for collaboration.
Clearly display team zones/neighbourhoods on an interactive floor planEnable filtering of available spaces according to teams/departmentsBook workspaces for yourself & (named) team members at the same timeFind where a co-worker has already booked a workspace & book a desk nearby for yourself.
Offer additional resources to ‘ease’ their visit
Book a range of ‘supporting services’ that may be available, such as a parking slot, catering, visitor passes, an AV support technician, creche space, yoga class (!) etc, at the same time as scheduling your visit.
This is what facilities managers should be able to do:
For your Facilities Team
Solution features (that make this possible)
Ensure social-distancing and/or address the fact that you have may significantly downsized your office space.
Throttle how many people can come into the office at onceAutomatically block any additional workspace bookings when you reach a pre-determined number for a given dayGet staff to book a ‘daily visit pass’ & limit the amount of passes you haveCreate policies that allow you to avoid ‘peaks’ mid-week (& empty offices on a Monday & Friday).
Designate team areas
Earmark workspaces for different teams for different days of the week or as requiredPrioritise bookings for that team until a pre-defined cut-off point (e.g., 24 hours in advance).
Understand workforce needs
Make office visits subject to approval by a line managerUse questionnaires to determine the reason for a visit to understand trends.
Prevent resource hogging
Stop the same person booking the same workspace according to parameters you define.
Spread office attendance across the week
Create policies that allow you to avoid ‘peaks’ mid-week.
Share resources equally
Limit how long or how many times in a given timeframe an individual can book a limited resource – such as a video conferencing suite.
Maintain track & trace information
Enforce check-in on arrival to get an accurate view of who’s sat whereGenerate reports to support track & trace activity in event of a reported COVID-19 infection.
Schedule between use cleaning
Automatically create cleaning schedules &/or send notifications to facilities staff on check-out or end of sessionOnly allow one use per day to allow for daily cleaning.
Keep visitors safe
Enforce registration of visitor contact details to support your COVID-19 responseAutomatically send visitors safety information in advance of their arrivalProvide visitor information for your front desk & security staff.
Understand utilisation patterns
Track workspace utilisation accuratelySee what workspaces are popular, understand peak demand.
Easily revise COVID-19 measures in the event of change (e.g. in the winter months)
Make it easy to respond to change in Government advice with flexible policies that include the ability to: – Recalibrate auto-safe zoning (e.g., change from 1m back up to 2m) – Revise & enforce the number of people that can come into the office each day.
And this is where the business as a whole should benefit:
For the Business
Solution features (that make this possible)
Help your workforce feel confident to return to the office & reinforce the measures you are taking to keep your workforce safe.
Deliver an easy to use desk booking system that’s accessible from Outlook, web or mobile devicesUse selection filters & graphics that enable staff to quickly find the best workspace for their office visitInbuilt COVID-safe functionality such as auto-distancing & interactive maps with traffic flow indicators, hand sanitiser locations, etc.
Foster healthy group interaction
Make it easy for workers to book a group space. E.g. enable an individual to make a booking of a multiple spaces on behalf of co-workersClearly indicate collaboration zones & team/departmental spaces & neighborhoodsEarmark & prioritise bookings for different groups on different days.
Reap the rewards of spontaneous new connections across your workforce
Create rules to prevent individuals from booking the same desk repeatedly.
Attract & retain talent
Provide an agile workplace management system that will help your business demonstrate your valuesMake it easy for staff to locate their nearest office space, find the best workspace & resources for their needs & feel immediately comfortable coming into an unfamiliar office.
Understand the views & needs of your workforce & adapt your office space accordingly.
Regularly poll your workforce to understand their plans on returning to the office & the kind of workspaces they needUnderstand exactly how your workspace is being used: Are certain types of workspace favoured over others? Are some workspaces being under-used?
See these capabilities & more in action:
Request a personalised product demo or join our webinar which explores this area in more detail
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