The great return to work has not been as “great” as some expected.
A recent survey shows that workers are coming into the office an average of just 1.4 days a week. The authors of the survey note that even when mandated to attend 2 to 3 three days a week, staff are rarely compliant.
Enticing staff back to the office means that leaders need to create a welcoming workplace environment for employees. This is a top priority for organizations looking to re-engage with their employees. Coercive tactics are not going to be successful.
Let’s explore how technology can help create a welcoming employee and guest experience.
What is the typical journey?
Thanks to hybrid working the employee journey is more fluid and dynamic than before. The old certainties of a fixed desk and seeing the same faces day in and day out are long gone.
On the other hand, for mentoring, for fostering inclusion and for meeting with clients and suppliers, spending some time in the office is still vitally important. Now, any trip to the office needs to be intentional and impactful.
The typical journey includes:
- Reserving a workplace
- Navigating the workplace
- Finding colleagues
- Organizing meetings
- Arranging services.
Thanks to integrated technology these steps can be accomplished efficiently.
What’s needed?
Leaders are now looking at a more human-centric approach to technology. While selecting, say, a desk booking system may address an immediate need this siloed approach is not a long-term solution. Leaders need to be looking at the bigger picture.
To create the best employee experience, we recommend an approach that integrates:
- Meeting room booking software
- A desk booking system
- Occupancy sensors
- Digital signage
- Visitor management
- Desk Panels
- Employee access control
Thanks to this joined-up approach you can make improvements in key areas of the employee experience:
- Staff efficiency
- Wellness
- Collaboration
- A great visitor experiences
- Fostering a culture of inclusion
- Digital transformation
From our experience, getting the key stakeholders together from HR, IT and real estate drives the best outcomes for employee experience rather these teams working in siloes.
How does this work in practice?
A workplace experience platform such as Rendezvous offers a number of key benefits:
Managing unallocated seating – thanks to the Rendezvous desk booking system, staff can select and book desks with ease thanks to an intuitive mobile booking app which is ideal for workers on the go. Desk no shows can be auto-released to people who need them.
Improved staff wellness – extra cleaning times can be built into the desk booking system and meeting room booking software so that staff can also rest assured that they are arriving at a safe working area. Integration with desk panels alerts them to the cleaning status of their desk.
Touch free access – staff can easily access their desks using QR codes or RFID cards or even in-app check in. Desk sensors make it even easier – just sit at an unoccupied desk and they are checked in automatically.
Efficiency and productivity built-in – thanks to seamless integration between the desk booking system and Outlook, all desk bookings are entered automatically and instantaneously into their calendars.
Enhances the meeting experience – complex multi-site meetings can be organized swiftly. All attendees are emailed automatically and all video conferencing start and end point management is fully automated by the system. Integration with Teams and Zoom enabled rooms makes the process even more efficient.
Integration with visitor management – treat visitors and guests like VIPs. All the admin related to the visit is processed automatically by the system once a booking is made. For ease of use, QR codes are emailed to all visitors so their entry into the office is a seamless and efficient experience. Reception staff can focus on making them feel welcome.
Digital signage integration – staff can see at a glance when and where their meeting is taking place. Unoccupied rooms can be booked on the fly using the touch screen – great for impromptu and urgent collaboration.
Fosters community and collaboration – a vital part of the office experience is ensuring that staff get together for ideation and collaboration. A key feature of the desk booking system is the colleague search feature. Based around a floorplan, staff can find their colleagues quickly and then book a seat nearby using the desk booking system.
Conclusion
It is clear that workplace leaders have some way to convince staff to return en masse to the office. Forcing staff is never going to end well as evidenced by the recent Great Resignation.
Leaders need to offer the tools that make organizing a productive day in the office as simple as possible. A great desk booking system is part of this journey but they should also consider the wider ecosystem.
For more insights check out our hybrid working video for strategies and ideas on how you can make a great employee experience a success.
