How to deliver all-important team collaboration while maximizing real-estate ROI with an integrated digital room booking platform

Hybrid Shift

Across many parts of the world, transport systems are busy with commuters, children are back in school, and we no longer need to repeat ‘you’re on mute’ for the tenth time in one day. On the surface at least, we are fortunate to be enjoying a return to a level of normality once more.

However, the reality is that for many of us, the office is no longer the de facto workplace five days a week, and a ‘hybrid’ model is now a more usual work pattern. Employees have enjoyed greater flexibility between their personal and professional lives and are not in a rush to relinquish it.

Initially driven by necessity and now driven by desire, according to McKinsey research, 80 percent of people questioned, report that they enjoy working from home meaning premium office spaces are now rarely fully occupied, and desks stay empty for at least half the week.

This is backed up by research from the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management which shows most employees expect a level of ‘hybrid’ working in the future – with nearly half(44%) of the workforce planning to work from the office for three days or fewer a week.

Collaboration

For those responsible for managing office resources efficiently and ensuring a maximum return on the real-estate investment, this creates an unenviable headache. It is not necessarily as straightforward as reducing footprint but reimagining the space available. Trends are already leaning towards an increase in ‘hot desking’ and less permanent individual workspaces on which employees stake their claim.

However, with a lack of collaboration perceived to be one of the main barriers to delivering productivity, supporting culture, and keeping talent, styling inviting spaces and meeting rooms for brainstorming, meetings and co-working are the new priorities to support organizational goals.

With fewer permanent desk areas where members of the same team may be located, finding an available collaboration space without traipsing around a building, becomes more important. This is where savvy AV and facilities teams can help!

Centralized room booking

Installing modern customizable digital room signs outside key spaces and which blend seamlessly with the design of the workspace, can be fully integrated with centralized calendar systems making booking a room simple and efficient.

Unlike manually updated check-in and conference room booking solutions, including unsightly paper-based alternatives, a digital solution will ensure meeting changes are instantly and automatically updated on a room sign.

Employees can then see at once whether a room is available via a sleek touchscreen interface on the room sign and green/red status LED indicators.

And when not being used for room booking, flexible room signs can easily switch to displaying any other digital content – whether that’s internal messaging, upcoming events or simply the day’s lunch menu, a completely flexible and dynamic solution.

Measuring Real Estate ROI

Furthermore, intelligent analytics dashboards allow organisations to watch meeting space use and plan resources accordingly through displaying individual user behaviour data and room use data. The technology resources within the meeting spaces can also be reported on; all of this is vital information where spaces are being so significantly repurposed.

Team Collaboration

So, as we continue to navigate the new world, for employees to remain productive as they head into the office, it is important not to let valuable real estate be left behind in the old world.

As spaces are reimagined, an efficient room booking platform can help to ensure workspaces offer flexibility for employees to easily find and book areas where they can work together in person once more, and to actively encourage that much-missed team collaboration.