Part 2: Preparing For A Desk Booking System

In the previous article, we discussed what a desk booking system is, its benefits, what objectives it achieves, and the various components that make up an effective desk booking system. If you are convinced that a desk booking solution will fit your workplace, let us dive into the next step of how to plan for a transition to a workplace that requires a desk booking system. In the process of implementing a desk booking system, there are a lot of activities to cover.

 

In this article, we will cover the initial preparation which lays the groundwork for the eventual execution of the transition to a flexible, open workplace with a desk booking system.

 

Objectives & Goals

At the start of every undertaking is to understand why you are doing it in the first place. And implementing a desk booking system is no different. Understanding the objectives and goals to be achieved provides the reason or purpose for adopting a desk booking system in the office. Usually, the objectives fall into two main categories:

The move to a flexible workplace is driven by employee demand for hybrid work, a major corporate rebranding exercise, or a move to a new office location.

There is a need to monitor and track space usage to bring space needs and associated expenses within control and to meet sustainability goals.

Both cases come with a need to fundamentally change the way employees have been working in the organization. Conscious usage of the office desks becomes necessary.

So, management must play an active role in spearheading this process. The goal of the management is to set the tone for the shift in mindset and provide a vision of how the workplace will be in the future. It also provides the necessary backing and support to the project team to undertake this effort. Finally, it has to give the timeline budget for the whole engagement.

Active participation of the management is essential to ensure that due focus is afforded to this undertaking as it impacts the organization as a whole. For starters, a cultural change in how the company will be operating, the policies and procedures that need to be crafted, communicated, and emphasized. This requires management’s adoption of these aspects in their work so that it permeates the organization – The walk-the-talk.

Questions like What is the rationale of moving to a flexible open seating environment? Why do it? Why now? What are the consequences of not doing it? How does it align with the corporate goals? What are the drivers of adoption? When do we need to do it? Who will be in charge and accountable for this exercise?

Gathering insights into these questions can effectively guide you towards a clear vision set out by management and align the transformation accordingly.

Set recurring meetings at a suitable frequency to ensure that this engagement is top of mind for management. Meet up with the persons who are accountable regularly to brief them on the progress and any updates that need their attention and input.

 

Understand Current Practices

To implement a desk booking system, you first need to understand the current practices around the office. Knowing the current practices provides insight into the usage of desks so you can plan for the new workplace.

 

Review Current Office Layout

Know your current office layout and how the desks are being used. Understand the nature of work that is being carried out and see how the current office desks fit into that work structure. In most cases, the current office layout may not fit the new way of working so changes will likely need to be done. Aspects to look into include:

1. The overall layout of the office space. This includes size, the walls, partitions, dead ends, unused corners, etc.
2. The design of the office space. This includes a spread of usable space, their configuration, ease of access, and so on.
3. The office amenities include a pantry, walkways, lockers, cabinets, printing areas, and so on.

Understand Work Styles

The work styles of many of the employees have changed since the pandemic. Many will already be in a hybrid mode with working from home a major component of their work styles. So, the need to assign fixed desks may not be required. Others prefer to come to the office every day. Also, understand the types of equipment and infrastructure that employees need for their work. For example, while a field agent or sales will only require their laptops, others such as developers, traders, and management may require additional monitors, equipment, and other resources to carry out their work.

 

How do you get this information?

There are several data sources where you can capture information:

1. Look at the current way of work by observing over a few weeks. Task the office administrator or someone to perform observations on office activities. Observe where they sit, what resources they use, whether they sit in the same location every day, and whether they sit with the same group of people every day.
2. Look up attendance logs for work patterns to see how frequently people come and leave the office. Determine days of the week when the office is empty or fully occupied.
3. Look up meeting room bookings in your calendar to see how users use them..
4. Look at vehicle logs, of office messages to learn about travel patterns in and out of the office.
5. Look up Wi-Fi connectivity logs that show when users log in and out of the network.

By looking at all this data, you can fairly come out with a pattern of work styles happening in the office. While all this looks tedious to perform, it will actually help you in formulating a concrete strategy that you can take to management for approval. Decisions backed by concrete data will help you not only understand the reality of the workplace usage but also provide a convincing argument for you to get management approval.

 

Gather Employee Inputs

The best way to gather input into the new workplace is to interview the staff directly to understand their work patterns, expectations, and recommendations. The employees are the ones who are going to be most impacted by the change and therefore it is essential to get their input. Be prepared to have pushback from the members.

Today, our offices span a multi-generational workforce and each has their preferences when it comes to working in the office. The younger generation is comfortable in an open seating area where they can sit anywhere with their headphones on. However, the older generation still prefers privacy and personalization. For them, their desk is their second home, and removing that can cause disappointment and conflict. Understand the challenges each type of employee faces so that they can be addressed in the new way of work. Let them know that this is a fact-finding exercise in advance.

Formulate Requirements

Once the fact-finding is done, You will need to collate and analyze the information. With the insights gained from the analysis, you will have a better picture of how the current office is being used. From here you can conclude what the new office desks will look like and what attributes need to be considered.  For example:

 

Ease of Use

How would staff want to look up and book the desks?

Through the web portal, via mobile app? How will they check in and check out of their desks? Consider the older generation who are not tech-savvy. What alternative means they may need to allow them to use the office? Will a touch screen kiosk at the lobby ease their adoption?

 

Privacy

How many desks are needed for private seating? This is especially required of departments that operate on sensitive information such as Human Resources (HR) or Legal. Secondly, departments that use telephones a lot such as customer support will require desks in soundproof spaces so they can work effectively and the rest of the team is not disturbed by the constant calls.

 

Security

Some desks may be off-limits to others such as desks that belong to secretaries of management. They will require a fixed desk with secured lockers. Also, consideration for lockers is needed if the desks are open seating and staff need to keep their personal belongings secured when going to meetings. Will the lockers be assigned one-to-one for each staff or will it be on a first-come-first-served basis?

 

Amenities

Some staff do not require any amenities other than a power socket and Wi-Fi while others may require multiple monitors and VoIP phone lines. Determine the proportion of such desks and their amenities.

 

Setting Policies

Determine the booking policies that are needed to make booking desks fair and equitable. Booking policies may include zoning, permissions, access rights, booking windows, lead times, check-in lead times and cut-off times, auto-cancellation requirements, cancellation policies, internal charges if required, and so on.

 

Reporting & Insights

Moving to a flexible work environment with an open desk policy requires constant analysis of the space. To perform effective desk management, you will need data and reporting that will help office administrators with insight into the usage while providing management with information that will help them plan for the future. Reports such as occupancy, utilization, and booking and cancellation patterns will help provide insights into how well the space is being used, the areas where it can be improved, and areas that require attention because it causes friction between the user and their in-office work experience.

 

Get Management Buy-In

Once all the information is collected and collated, the next step is to present the findings to the management and get their buy-in. Management buy-in is essential for the smooth execution of the project as it requires extensive revamping of the office. More important is the cultural change in the way the office is going to be utilized.  Management will need to throw their weight behind this push as there will be push-back from the team members which we discuss further below.

As part of the management presentation, these are what you will need to do:

Present the current way of working and how it falls short of the intended objectives and goals. Show data about usage, occupancy, utilization, and work patterns. Highlight areas that fall short and emphasize their importance in the future.

Present the ideal future workplace and how the workplace will operate.

Highlight areas and potential pitfalls in the new workplace and how to counteract them.

Inform them about the fundamental cultural changes and how they will impact the work in the office.

Explain to them the role that they need to play and the importance of promoting, backing, and communicating the new way of working.

Explain to them how their approach to work will need to adapt to walk the talk.

There will be feedback from management on how the future workplace will operate. These need to be recorded and considered for your adjustments.

At the end of the management buy-in you should be able to walk away with the following results:

1. A commitment to back this project.
2. A budget for this engagement.
3. A set of key accountable persons in the top management to be responsible for this engagement.
4. Nomination of employees who will be stakeholders so their time can be allocated for this engagement.

Communicate With Team

Once approval is given by management to go ahead with the proposed changes to the way the office will operate, it is important to communicate this to the team members who will be affected. Communication should be structured through Intranet, Email, and In-person/online meetings.

 

Intranet

Create an intranet page with all the necessary information related to the move to the new way of working. This could include, documents, slides, and videos explaining clearly the current limitations, the forward-looking plan, and management’s commitment.

 

Meetings

Set up and schedule meetings for all staff to be present when presenting the plans of the office. Clearly state the new workplace, policies, changes to the culture, and the management’s confidence and support behind this push.

Open the floor for questions and concerns. At this point, you should be well-equipped to answer and address all concerns. Expect pushback from employees who have been used to the “old ways of doing things”. While acknowledging their concerns, it is important to emphasize the need for change.

We would argue that it will be too late at this point to take in feedback and re-look into the plans again. So, feedback can be taken into consideration for future improvements.

Inform them of change management that will happen during the transition process. We will cover more on change management in the subsequent topic.

 

Email

Send out emails to all employees with details of the meeting that are uploaded to the intranet page. Ensure that all employees receive the information and provide time for correspondence to clarify questions. If possible, update the intranet with an FAQ section so that the same questions are not asked again and you create a database of common questions and the responses that can be read by anyone.

 

Concluding

In this article, we have covered the details of planning for a move to a desk booking system. In the next article, we will delve deep into designing the system’s features and functionality and selecting a product.