Blog The office of the future: office environments develop thanks to desk sharing

The COVID-19 pandemic forced office environments to change the way they work:
working from home was the exception; it’s now become the rule for many
businesses. In the UK, 54% of employers say they don't provide their employees a clear option about when and where they work.
In the post-pandemic era it is needed to find a right balance in terms of work models like hybridworking or remote working. This turns out to be more difficult than expected, according to research conducted by Avanade.

Companies require long-term solutions to prepare for a post-COVID labour
market.

Employees are having a hard time with technology, security and flexibility. It is necessary to have access to the tools and applications, but unfortunately 53% in the UK does not provide a cloud-based platform to be able to work from home.

In particular, HR, IT, and office managers are looking to implement an
efficient and employee-friendly office of the future. In this article, you will read
about the challenges and solutions involved in creating the office of the future.

What are the challenges and opportunities in the post- pandemic era?

An office space with more than 30 workstations is no longer required if only two
members of a 30-person team are present on any given day. Hybrid working
concepts have made office workstation requirements more difficult to define: it
has become even harder to predict how many employees will be present in the
office and how many workstations are physically being used.
For an efficient workplace layout, smart technology solutions are essential for
resolving challenges such as more straightforward management of unused
workstations. Individual office spaces will rarely or no longer be available in the
future; each workstation will be available to whoever needs it on any given day.
This concept is also known as the ‘clean-desk model’. Smart tools such as desk-sharing software for booking flexible workstations simplify workstation management.

Applying smart communication technologies

The implementation of hybrid workstations gives rise to a new challenge: flexible
working models makes it increasingly harder to schedule meetings because
meeting participants are dependent on digital forms of communication.
According to Deloitte’s findings, the office of the future should be equipped with technological gadgets such as video walls and mobile office apps. The Flexwhere desk-sharing solution offers a smart function that allows you to link hot-desking software to other
applications such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. Employees can locate
colleagues in the building through a search function integrated into the desk-
sharing app.

Saving costs on unused office space

Another challenge companies are faced with is office space cost management.
The risk of wasting money on unused office space is high if companies do not
know precisely which and how many workstations are being used at any given
time. Simply by implementing desk-sharing solutions, thereby costs can be reduced.

Provide workplace solutions systems, make flexible working possible

With desk-sharing software, HR, IT, and office managers can make the office of the future a reality. To provide solutions to all these challenges, companies need workplace systems
that make flexible working possible. With smart technology, office managers not
only centralise the organisation of workstations, but can also make use of cost
management statistics.

A simple solution for businesses is the FlexWhere desk-sharing booking system,
where employees can book workstations. Whether they are working from home
or on the road, the mobile app allows them to book workstations and meeting
rooms easily and schedule the time and place. Colleagues can locate each other
and check their attendance through the integrated search function.
Moreover, the building manager can use desk-sharing tools to monitor and analyse the reserved workstations and the actual workstation occupancy rate.
The software features a heat map to visualise which workstations are popular and
which stations are not. Furthermore, HR and office managers can use precise
data from the Control Centre to plan out office spaces and manage costs.

Efficient workplace management

FlexWhere can also be used for cost management. Data and statistics from the
shared-desk software help businesses gain insight into a potential increase or
decrease in the number of utilised workstations and opportunities for cost
reduction.

Challenges in organisation of flexible workstations

The biggest challenges facing the office of the future are the organisation of
workstations and meeting rooms and the reduction of costs in terms of office
space. The importance of traditional offices will continue to diminish, and clean
desks are a rising trend. The office of the future will consist of flexible workspaces
and function as a space where innovative and creative exchanges take place.
Businesses will remodel their spaces and offer their employees flexible working
models such as the desk-sharing model. This implementation does not require
any major physical renovations in the office. However, it is essential to use smart
technologies for an efficient and cost-effective implementation of the desk-
sharing model.

Simple start of the workday

The FlexWhere desk-sharing solution is a solution that allows employees to book
workstations and meeting rooms through an app. With FlexWhere, the
organisation and communication between departments and employees
concerning office space is brought together into one comprehensive tool.

With the functions in the FlexWhere desk-sharing tool, HR and office managers can
also use statistics to analyse the actual office occupancy rate. In addition, the
FlexWhere app can be integrated with other popular applications such as Google
Calendar or Microsoft Outlook.

In short: with FlexWhere, you will take the first step towards transforming your work
environment into the office of the future.

The desk-sharing concept can be implemented remarkably quickly and easily with FlexWhere. Your office building’s floorplan is fully integrated into the FlexWhere software for free, so your
employees can start booking their workstations in no time.

Read more information about FlexWhere’s functionalities.

If you would like to learn more about the software first, please do not hesitate to start with our trial version or request a free demo with us.