Remember water-cooler moments? That’s the name we used to have for those delightfully unexpected collaboration colleagues used to gain when chatting over a quick drink.
In those days, offices were divvied up into fixed spaces. Everybody had a desk that stood empty quite a lot of the time time, and meeting rooms were only used on the most formal of occasions.
Today, we still converse at the water-cooler, but the way we work looks completely different. We now set up our workplaces in a far better way to encourage the casual interactions that can spark inspiration.
In the connected workplace, staff move about at will, using agile desks. Meeting rooms are now used for many purposes, and informal meeting spaces are common.
There are now many generations working together in the same space – Generation Z are now joining the party – and each has individual needs and strong working preferences.
Giving every member of staff an ideal space to do their job improves happiness and wellbeing at work, and also has a positive effect on productivity.
However, it can be difficult to keep all the elements in such a flexible system working well together – and that’s where room reservation software provides the answer.
Many organisations such as DLA Piper use room reservation software to streamline their operations and make agile operations genuinely agile.
So what are the 4 benefits your organisation gain with room reservation software?
- Employees with empowerment
Flexible working gives your colleagues more control over how they tackle their workload and creates a positive working environment where talented members of staff are happy to stay.
For instance, a recent survey found that 33% of office workers in the US said they want to be more trusted to manage where they work.
But many people say they still lack the tools and technology to work agilely and confess they would spend more time in their office if it had better facilities. Room reservation software can make it happen.
- Perfect meetings every time
The most savvy organisations use dedicated workspace management technology to make their working environments operate more efficiently, and to automate time-consuming tasks.
Room reservation software allows your staff to spot suitable workspace and book it easily online via an app. They can also book resources including AV, video conferencing and even catering in the same transaction.
Meetings become easy to organise even when they are being held in multiple locations, with the software adjusting for timezones and automatically informing all concerned if meeting details change.
It’s the perfect way to eliminate tiresome admin drudgery from the working day – so your talented staff can get on with tackling their real work.
In addition, keeping everyone in the loop automatically reduces no-shows, a common problem that often makes meetings fail.
And the result? Perfect meetings, every single time.
- Better collaboration
The benefits of collaboration tools such as video conferencing and AV are well-known. It’s a great way to teams together despite distances, without the stress and cost of travel.
Companies rightly adore these tools and invest heavily in them, but staff can be reluctant to use them if they are difficult to organise.
Room reservation software demolishes the obstacles to employee buy-in by making it simple to locate and book rooms with the necessary equipment and resources in any number of locations.
It means you never turn up to your video conference and find the equipment is not ready – your meeting organiser has booked it in one click while reserving the meeting space.
- Better utilisation of space
Getting an end-to-end view of a flexible work environment can be a real headache for office or facilities managers.
Tracking how office space is utilized can be tough, particularly if your organization is based in many locations or if you need to recharge other departments within your company.
Room reservation software – Rendezvous by NFS, for example – integrates with space occupancy sensors that monitor room and desk utilisation in real-time, and creates useful management reports.
This provides accurate data at your fingertips so you can make informed decisions about space and make sure you are spending in the right areas.
What about Return on Investment?
With the best technology in place so these elements can act together, it creates a connected workplace that gives your staff and managers an unprecedented level of control over the working environment.
For managers, the captured data provides a complete view in real time of whether your space is being maximised, and reveals where it can be improved.
The result is that you can configure your space to meet the changing requirements of your workforce perfectly – no matter how they and their tasks evolve.
And when your people can find the room they need within your organisation, they’re less likely to book costly external space, adding to the rapid ROI provided by room reservation software.
In these days when competitiveness and productivity are crucial, and talented staff are hard to come by, that’s got to be good news for your business.
