A significant number of large businesses are anticipating a reduction in their global workspaces, according to a recent survey conducted by property consultants Knight Frank and commercial real estate firm Cresa. Out of the 350 businesses surveyed, half of the largest organisations with more than 50,000 employees expressed their intention to shrink their workspaces. While most companies are planning to decrease their workspace by approximately 10% to 20%, this trend highlights a growing shift in how organisations are approaching their physical office requirements.
More recently, global organisations have shifted their hybrid policies to mandate employees return to the office. Whether that be on specific days or a minimum number of days each week – including Amazon, Disney, IBM, JPMorgan. Earlier this month, Meta joined the list, announcing the end of full-time ‘work from home’ for its employees and requiring them to work from office 3 days a week.
Although various organisations have different ways of implementing hybrid working, their main objective is the same: ensure the office remains an appealing destination for their employees.
To make this possible, and to create a seamless and easy experience, more and more organisations are turning to space reservation systems.
A key focus area of space reservation and being able to collaborate with colleagues to make the office visit productive and enjoyable. The typical reservation requests include:
- Workspace (i.e., desks, collaboration areas)
- Meeting rooms
- Car parking
- Amenities (i.e., IT equipment, lockers)
A Host of Benefits
Reservation systems help to streamline a variety of processes, bringing transparency, convenience, and efficiency to the workplace. In short, they allow organizations to better manage their resources. By automating processes like room booking and resource scheduling, reservation systems can save businesses time and money that would otherwise be spent on manual labor or traditional methods of resource management.
A good reservation system will provide features such as configurable rules, usage tracking, and notifications to ensure that resources are used appropriately and efficiently. This allows businesses to improve workplace productivity by ensuring that everyone has access to the right resources at the right time, without any unnecessary delays or wait times.
Workspace Reservation
A notable example of the evolving workspace dynamics is demonstrated by the recent relocation of HSBC, one of the largest employers in the UK financial services sector. In their move from Canary Wharf to St. Paul’s, HSBC now faces the challenge of accommodating up to 8,000 hybrid employees during peak hours within a workspace that is roughly half the size of their previous headquarters. Workspace space reservation enables effective management of employees working from home for a certain number of days a week and in the office for others.
Key benefits include:
- Enhanced productivity: by booking desks with the appropriate facilities, such as screens, employees can optimise their work environment.
- Collaboration & teamwork: utilise a booking tool to reserve spaces next to your colleagues, which allows employees to easily interact and exchange ideas.
- Resource utilisation & cost savings: allocate spaces or only allow certain spaces to be booked, such as opening areas when others are full, to ensure optimal utilisation of workspaces resulting in cost savings.
Meeting Room Reservation
Meeting rooms are the epicentres of collaboration and innovation. These dedicated spaces provide a platform for teams to come together, exchange ideas, and drive meaningful outcomes.
Key benefits include:
- Tailored meeting spaces: understand the room setup and configurations in advance, ensuring that the space meets your specific needs for productive meetings.
- Avoiding disruptions: gain control over room availability, preventing unnecessary conflicts with other teams or departments, enabling seamless scheduling and smooth operations.
Car Parking Reservation
Businesses can optimise parking utilisation while encouraging sustainable commuting habits by implementing car park reservation systems. Such systems provide employees with the convenience of reserving spots in advance and organisations with valuable insights on capacity planning. Moreover, this streamlined approach to parking management reduces stress and improves overall efficiency.
Key benefits of car park reservation solutions include:
- Transparent availability: employees can easily view the availability of parking spaces on specific dates and times across different office locations. This visibility empowers employees to plan their commute and ensures they can secure a parking spot conveniently.
- Effective management: car park reservation systems provide businesses with the ability to track and manage reservations effectively. By implementing policies to address no-shows or cancellations, organisations can mitigate the impact of unused parking spaces, ensuring maximum utilisation and minimising wastage.
Asset Reservation (Amenities)
Asset reservation is a system that organisations often overlook but actually need to optimise their work environment effectively. Research published in Science Direct highlights the substantial impact that the characteristics of the office environment can have on employee behaviour, perceptions, and productivity. Therefore, prioritising the fine-tuning of the work environment becomes imperative for organisations seeking to create an optimal workplace experience.
Popular benefits of asset reservation are as follows:
- Simplify asset access: streamline the process of reserving and accessing assets such as lockers, ensuring that employees can easily secure the resources they need for their work.
- Centralise asset management: enhance security and efficiency by providing a centralised system for asset management, tracking, and availability.
By leveraging an integrated reservation system, employees can enjoy the benefits of personalised workspace selection, streamlined meeting room management, hassle-free car parking, and efficient asset reservation. These features contribute to a more productive and seamless work environment, ultimately leading to increased employee satisfaction and improved overall organisational efficiency.
The Freespace app empowers organisations with a comprehensive suite of convenient features, revolutionising the workspace reservation experience. Let’s explore some of its key functionalities:
- Easy booking: the Employee app provides a user-friendly interface that allows employees to effortlessly book workspaces, meeting rooms, car parking, and assets with just a few clicks. This streamlined reservation process saves time and ensures a seamless booking experience.
- My Circles and My Teams: with the Employee app’s innovative features like “My Circles” and “My Teams,” employees can easily coordinate and book spaces adjacent to their colleagues. This fosters collaboration, enhances communication, and strengthens teamwork within the organisation.
- Locker integration: the app seamlessly integrates with locker systems, allowing employees to reserve and manage lockers for their personal belongings. This feature ensures secure storage and convenient access to belongings, promoting a clutter-free and organised workspace.
- Real-time availability: the app provides real-time information on workspace availability, allowing employees to view which workspaces, meeting rooms, or assets are currently occupied, and which are vacant. This feature enables employees to make informed decisions and avoids wasted time searching for available resources.
Book a demo of our integrated solution today and experience the power of efficient workspace reservation first-hand.
