Organizations want to implement hybrid work while fostering a positive workplace experience (WEX). According to Gartner, improving the employee workplace experience is the No. 1 priority for 67% of corporate real estate leaders who are increasingly working with the digital workplace team to optimize the hybrid experience. Many are turning to hybrid workplace technology to make sure their organizations enable collaborative and productive workspaces.
Those testing various approaches to hybrid work have learned that space management software plays a big role in shaping the future of work. For instance, desk reservation systems drive positive workplace experiences. See how EPIT’s hybrid work setup put the ‘human’ back into work. As more companies implement hot desking and leverage desk booking software to support hybrid work, they can intentionally design human-centered workspaces that help people connect and foster positive company culture.
“By 2023, organizations with a persistent cross-functional team tasked with workplace experience strategy will be 80% more likely to have high employee satisfaction with the workplace.”
- Gartner
What Makes a Great Workplace Experience?
Workplace experience is affected by anything that impacts employees’ ability to do their best work. Examples include an employee’s physical workplace, their manager, salary, technology/tools, and company culture, to name a few. Employees with a positive workplace experience are more productive at work and more likely to stay at their company.
“A positive workplace environment can reduce chronic stress and ensuing physiological consequences, such as higher levels of cortisol and increased risk of heart disease.” - Workplace Insights
Organizations are increasingly using space management software to provide employees with great workplace experiences that drive satisfaction with their physical surroundings, access to the appropriate technology to do their best work, and inclusion and belonging. Desk reservation systems can:
- Energize and encourage employees to work collaboratively
- Allow for a large degree of flexibility and employee autonomy
- Connect remote employees with in-office teams
- Empower employees to have control over their work experience
- Emphasize employee safety and health in the workplace
Hybrid workspace technology, which has been shown to promote employee wellbeing and productivity, will continue to transform the workplace experience.
How Skedda Supports Positive Workplace Experiences
Solutions that create a positive workplace experience simplify reserving workspaces, navigating the workplace, finding friends and colleagues, planning the best days to attend, accessing services, and ensuring employees feel safe. Here’s how Skedda supports a positive workplace experience:
A Home Away from Home: Custom Interactive Floorplans
Employees can see all of the relevant bookable spaces in their organization — including images and equipment in the workspace — through Skedda’s custom interactive floor maps. The visibility provided by the platform and ease of use allow employees to choose where and how they work based on their specific needs, whether they prefer a quiet corner, collaboration space, or a standing desk. Organizations can even add their brand color and logo to make their venue look more official.
“If you want to build a culture of high performance, start by taking a look at your office environment.”
- Diane Hoskins, co-CEO at Gensler
Additionally, employees can easily see the various office neighborhoods and where their teams are sitting at any given time. This can facilitate collaboration among employees by enabling them to book desks near their team members or colleagues working on similar projects. Being able to easily connect with a team enhances communication, fosters teamwork, and encourages spontaneous interactions, leading to knowledge sharing and innovation.
Book On-The-Go: Seamless Mobile Booking
Skedda’s fully-featured iOS and Android apps allow employees to reserve a desk while on the go, ensuring they have a dedicated workspace when they are on-site. Employees don’t have to be tied to a desk and can instead make reservations with much more flexibility, which enhances employee satisfaction and productivity.
No Reinventing the Wheel: Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace Integrations
Skedda’s direct integration with platforms such as Microsoft and Google makes it easier for organizations to adopt Skedda into their existing infrastructure. Many organizations already use these platforms for synchronous communication and asynchronous work in a hybrid environment. Thus, the integration makes it easier for employees to also add attendees and conferencing to their bookings and have that information synced to their calendars. Teams can quickly book work areas for collaboration as they are communicating with each other on their project needs.
Thus, the integration makes it easier for employees on their remote days to reserve desks in advance, enabling a positive workplace experience, knowing they will have their workspace when they arrive at the office.
Working with Your Work Style: Space Allocation and Views
Skedda’s space views feature allows you to quickly filter all the spaces by location, buildings, floors, areas (room, desk, lounge), types of equipment, and more. Employees can choose where and how they work to align with their preferences and work style. Employees feel empowered when given more control over their work environment; and empowered employees tend to be more engaged, motivated, and productive.
Additionally, providing employees with a fair and transparent desk booking system can eliminate potential conflicts that arise when employees dispute desk assignments. Space views allow employees to book desks based on individual requirements, minimizing disputes and promoting harmony.
See Also: Rolling Out a Desk Booking System? 3 Steps to Guarantee Adoption
Supporting Safety and Health: Booking Type
Skedda allows you to select different booking types to block off spaces as needed, letting you mark specific rooms or desks as ‘unavailable’ for maintenance or cleaning. This feature supports employee safety and health by allowing for impromptu cleaning of shared spaces and equipment and for needed repairs.
Ensuring Compliance: Sectioning Private Spaces
Organizations can use Skedda’s space sharing rules to automatically block off nearby spaces once a certain area is booked. This spaces users apart physically, leaving space in-between each booking, and supports HR and legal teams that need more privacy to discuss confidential matters.
Reducing Conflicts: Using Insights
Skedda’s Insights feature provides data to help you understand how your office is being used. This data helps identify popular workspaces and booking patterns among employees to allow for effective space planning and policy setting.
Organizations can use this invaluable information to set policies that are fair for employees based on job functions and availability. These guidelines can minimize conflicts stemming from employee disagreements over the same desk and prevent the same person from booking a desired space continuously. Additionally, insights help organizations identify trends, patterns, and optimization opportunities that improve workplace design so it meets the needs of all employees.
Ensuring a Great Hybrid Work Experience
To ensure that employees have a great workplace experience, organizations should provide employees with flexible work arrangements; office designs that encourage collaboration, connection, and efficiency; and a holistic infrastructure that empowers people to produce their best work.
Skedda improves the workplace experience by enabling employee flexibility, collaboration, productivity, and empowerment. It helps employees feel that they have a true ‘home away from home’ whenever they go into the office – one where they have their own desk with the technology that suits their work needs and next to the work besties they’ve missed.
If you’re ready to start scheduling and booking desks and rooms, create your free Skedda account today.
