Month: August 2017

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Best Practices for the Modern Workplace Environment

Workplace strategies to transform your office property from cost liability to business asset.

Are you facing mounting pressure to provide a modern workplace environment that attracts talent, drives collaboration, boosts productivity and improves employee experience?

CRE is moving beyond reducing space and cost, and taking on initiatives to transform the workplace experience. Fueling that shift is mounting evidence that the quality of the workplace impacts a company’s ability to produce and innovate. What are the best practices companies are following to meet those expectations?

Here’s what you’ll learn from this guide:

  1. The smart workplace strategy that helps you be ready to accommodate changing business needs
  2. How workplace can help attract and retain talent
  3. The one thing you must provide to improve employee experience
  4. Ideas for enabling collaboration and boosting productivity in the workplace
  5. The modern technology you need to successfully transform your workplace
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Creating an Activity Based Working Strategy

Strategic companies have transitioned to an activity based working environment in order to meet the needs of the evolving workforce and align with business goals. Those companies are feeling success with increasing productivity, lowering property costs, and talent attraction and retention. But, how did they create their strategy?

Here’s what you’ll learn from this guide:

  • What is an activity based workplace
  • How to address misconceptions about the modern workplace
  • The four steps required for successful transition  
  • How to measure success of an activity based workplace 

We’ll also reveal why culture is crucial to success and how to implement change during the transition to a new working environment.  

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5 Ways to Get Management Buy In for Flexible Working Arrangements

This is a guest post written by corporate real estate expert Roland Chua. The opinions expressed in this article are Roland’s own and may not reflect those of his past or present employers.

Flexible working arrangements have traditionally been viewed as a special privilege for employees. Organisations often struggle to embrace this idea and integrate it into the management structure and culture.

More often than not, organisations will have some generalised policy on flexible working arrangements, with ambiguous wordings which basically allow managers to opt out of the option very easily. Statements like “we encourage flexibility in the workplace;” “we offer various work life balance options;” “we have an open and trusting workplace culture which encourages flexibility;” etc, all come to mind.

The typical policies on flexible working arrangements are never specific, and they always fail to list the actual rights that an employee has. And they always include a statement which puts the staff’s line manager in full control of the outcome.

In order for flexible working arrangements to be successful, the plan must have top-level endorsement.

Driving cultural change around flexible working arrangements

The leaders of the organisation must live and breathe flexibility. Their practice of flexible working arrangements must be highly visible, consistent, and regular. This will drive the culture of flexibility into the organisation and infiltrate into the mindsets of each individual.

Taking it one step further, flexible working arrangements must be well documented with very detailed and specific guidelines for all staff and managers to reference. Flexibility should be an expected way of working, not a right or a privilege. It is through flexibility that people will really feel trusted and appreciated. And in turn, they will give their very best performance due to an increase in satisfaction and morale. It is a proven phenomenon that human productivity increases consistently with higher levels of flexibility and job satisfaction.

 

5 strategies for encouraging top-down support for flexible working arrangements

So what are the essential steps to enable a top-down approach to flexible working arrangements?

1. Share success stories of peers and competitors

Present case studies of similar organisations that have successfully embedded flexible working arrangements into their culture, and achieved greater success.

Witnessing a peer organisation achieve results through specific measures and changes always sends a very powerful message to leaders. Forward-thinking organisations are constantly seeking for process and productivity improvements. Being able to look towards a peer or competitor is one of the most powerful ways to justify improvement initiatives.

Leaders will be empowered to consider innovative ways to move the organisation forward and continually remain relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape. By offering more attractive flexible working arrangements, organisations increase their ability to attract and retain top talent. This is key to the success of any organisation.

2. Quantify potential savings

Make sure you can quantify potential hard and soft savings. This is probably the most tricky but very important step. It is all about being able to quantify time savings due to productivity improvements, and what direct and indirect cost savings that equates to.

Work/life balance and employee satisfaction always has a direct and positive impact on productivity. When a person is more productive, he/she will produce a higher quality and quantity of outputs. This will in turn free up his/her time for additional tasks and responsibilities. As a result, the organisation can increase production and/or operations without any need for an increase in resources. It also means an organisation could improve on their existing offerings through a better engaged and higher performing workforce.

 

One method to estimate potential hard and soft savings from productivity improvements is by assessing the potential time savings per individual, and then referencing the standard hourly rates. The estimated cost savings can then be compared with the cost of hiring an additional resource.

Note that productivity improvements should not be mistaken for resource planning.

3. Highlight the benefits of flexibility for individuals

Even leaders have needs outside of work! Every individual, no matter what their level within an organisation, has basic needs within and beyond the workplace. Some of these basic needs include recognition, feeling appreciated, being in control, and being trusted and respected. And outside of work, everyone faces different life challenges.

Having a workplace that actually supports a person’s life challenges and embraces each individual’s unique and diverse life situation is vital to a person’s wellbeing and satisfaction.

The leaders of an organisation must understand and appreciate the fact that flexible working arrangements benefit them as much as every other employee.

4. Pilot flexible working arrangements and ABW

There’s nothing more convincing than actually doing it. A pilot is literally doing the real thing but in a limited and controlled environment, typically in a selected location and/or with one or more specific teams.

A truly successful pilot must be carried out as a full implementation, including all the components of a flexible workplace. For some companies, that can include implementing an Activity-Based Working (ABW) environment that eliminates assigned seating and provides different task-oriented spaces for working.

Related article: 10 Factors to Consider Before Implementing Activity Based Working

Implementing a pilot for flexible working and ABW would involve the following:

Technology: laptops/tablets, remote connectivity, mobile communication devices, intelligent printing devices, building population monitoring
Furniture: a full implementation will involve furniture changes to create formal and informal work settings
Management and staff training: to enable flexibility, the people component must be addressed, because users living and breathing flexible working arrangements determines the success of the program

Pilot programs for flexible working arrangements should run for a reasonable period of time, preferably two to three months. This will enable the new culture and way of working to be embedded into the mindsets of employees and managers, and allow for a true assessment of its feasibility and opportunity for success.

5. Report on pilot results

Throughout the pilot, conduct physical audits. Following the implementation period, conduct surveys and report on results to highlight benefits and learnings.

Physical audits involve auditors walking floors, observing and recording specific information on how well the flexible working arrangements and ABW environment are performing. Information such as formal workstation usage, collaboration area usage, average office attendance, is typically recorded. Physical surveys give a true snapshot of how well a working environment is performing, and gives very valuable metrics on areas of strength and areas of concern.

Post-implementation surveys are online questionnaires sent to every participant requesting feedback their experience with flexible working arrangements. The questionnaires must be very specific, with fixed multiple choice answers. This enables quick analysis of results and the ability to draw conclusions. Online tools such as Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com) enable quick production of user defined surveys which can either be emailed to users, or set up on a kiosk where users can simply select answers while entering or leaving the office.

What’s essential for flexible working to work

With top-level management endorsement and a solid HR policy in place, flexible working arrangements can be fully embedded into an organisation’s heart and culture.

Flexible working should be an expectation. It is a total departure from the traditional schools of thought where flexibility is considered a privilege, and sometimes a taboo.

True flexibility in a workplace will always lead to higher levels of satisfaction, and in turn higher staff retention and increased productivity. The long term benefits include direct and indirect cost savings, and being able to attract the best talent to help maintain and further the success of the organisation.

Create an Activity Based Working Strategy. Download your copy today.

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IWMS Priority Applications – What’s Important? What Can Wait?

The following post was originally featured on Bell’s Blog and was authored by Michael Bell. Michael originally defined IWMS while at Gartner and is currently senior advisor to Visual Lease.

In years past, someone asked the infamous bank robber, Willy Sutton, why he robbed banks.  Sutton responded, “Because that’s where the money is!” Sutton’s pragmatic answer could be the guiding principle behind software prioritization for facilities and real estate applications. In other words, what are some guiding principles for selecting and investing in software functionality in support of your facilities and real estate operations? To use Willy Sutton’s logic, CRE managers should follow the money in the prioritization process.

In corporate real estate, it all begins with the leasing process. Having a well thought out leasing and portfolio strategy is the first step in developing a software application strategy. Everything in corporate real estate begins with the lease portfolio. Corporate leases define obligations, tenant rights, options, costs, and in terms of new accounting rules, assets and liabilities.

We know that company lease obligations represent  the second  largest cost on the P&L statement behind labor, and thus the systematic and attentive management of these costs is crucial to company profitability. Leasing is a complex and labor intensive activity. Typically a medium to large enterprise must  handle hundreds of distinct transactions per  month  generating thousands in leasing cost and related expenditures for utilities, insurance, amortization, taxes, and other related costs. Beyond the lease negotiation and contracting activities, the enterprise must administer a myriad of tasks, including rent payment, lease renewals and extensions, escalations, CAM charges, and cancellations. Thus, the first priority in selecting a software application is to start with a lease management tool that becomes the central focus for developing a company wide leasing strategy.

Following the money trail, the second priority is acquiring a space management tool to support space planning and to assist in space forecasting. This includes  moves, adds, and changes as well as the myriad activities and tasks in managing the details of facilities demand and capacity. As we wrote in an earlier blog, the space management module can be readily integrated with the lease portfolio application so that a leasing record can be linked to space layouts, furniture plans, and human resource data. The space management tool can be enormously effective in planning consolidations, expansions, reductions and collocations of related staff offices.

The third priority in the IWMS prioritization process is the selection of a maintenance management tool to handle the various maintenance tasks, such as predictive and preventive maintenance, repairs, and major refurbishments. There are a host of best in class software products to support the maintenance process. Like the space management tool, it is paramount to integrate these tools with the lease management applications and portfolio database. Like virtually all the applications related to the CRE process, it is important to ensure that the maintenance applications are adapted for mobile use, so that maintenance staff can access and input data from the field.

Underpinning all these applications will be a best in class project management capability, so that whatever corporate real estate function is being considered has a well conceived operating process supported by the project management application. These tools are typically role based and have pre-determined approval and calendaring functionality, designed to streamline and control the various processes governing the leasing, construction, and maintenance processes.

Selecting and configuring software in support of the real estate and facilities management process can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor. For many larger enterprises with vast portfolios, it may be wise to go with a single integrated IWMS system, adding modules over time. This offers a single source, with “one throat to choke” if things go off the rails. But now with cloud computing and powerful middleware, it’s possible to select best-in-breed solutions on a prioritized basis, and integrate over time. No longer are user organizations confronted with the “big bang” possibility of going with a full suite of applications at the outset, costing millions and taking years to implement. So going on a prioritized basis is smart like Willy, because, “that’s where the money is!”

Download a guide to managing workplace utilization today.

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Look Beyond IWMS Magic Quadrant for Better Space Planning

For corporate real estate professionals, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for IWMS has been the go-to resource for facilities management software since the 90’s. So when you need to take control of CRE space planning to reduce costs and plan for the workplace of the future, you might automatically turn to the IWMS Magic Quadrant for guidance.

While this is a great place to start, forward-thinking organizations are looking for additional tools to augment the features and functionality of traditional integrated workplace management systems. When a strong IWMS is partnered with space utilization software, CRE leaders are better equipped to meet the demands of the modern workplace. 

The modern workplace requires more modern tools

The increasingly mobile workforce and the rise of the digital business are impacting the way companies manage and use office space. As a result, the market for facilities management applications is changing rapidly, especially for space management and strategic planning.

In fact, Gartner has acknowledged these new requirements in their 2016 Market Guide for Integrated Workplace Management Systems. In their report, Gartner recommends that CRE and FM executives must:

  • Manage facilities while providing for the needs of the digital business for “agility, mobility, collaboration and innovation”
  • Collaborate with IT and HR to “drive a more effective, agile digital workplace” that can improve the employee experience, engagement and productivity
  • Implement “collection and analytics of actual workplace utilization data… to effectively manage the digital workplace.”

Many traditional IWMS providers (especially those recognized as Magic Quadrant leaders) do a great job integrating your workplace data into one system. Although they weren’t necessarily designed to manage the digital workplace, they can work with other systems, like Serraview’s space planning and workplace optimization tools, that do.

Related article: The Myth of IWMS: Why One Solution Does Not Fit All

How Integrated Workplace Management Systems work with utilization software and workplace optimization systems to address space planning

Now that CRE leaders are focused on creating workplaces that foster those important qualities (“agility, mobility, collaboration and innovation”), they need to start taking a more active approach to the data brought together in their IWMS.

Support the collaborative culture and agile working

The traditional systems in the IWMS Magic Quadrant are built on the assumption of workplaces with assigned seating. So what happens when you want to implement a shared workspace model to engage your workforce and enable a collaborative culture?

To successfully make those kind of changes—and in turn, see more collaboration, employee engagement and productivity—you need a tool that captures accurate, real-time utilization data. For example, Serraview’s workplace optimization software receives activity data from badge swipes, sensors, beacons and other technologies. When you overlay that data with the floor plans and allocations in your IWMS, you can discover opportunities to shift your workplace model.

As these types of space utilization tracking technologies continue to advance and see wider adoption, CRE leaders who don’t supplement their IWMS with tools that can handle that data may face additional, unexpected challenges as they try to optimize their workplaces for a modern workforce.

And with as many as 60 to 70 percent of companies implementing agile working in at least part of their workplace portfolio, this becomes a serious deficiency. Luckily, youcan continue to reap the benefits of a product in the IWMS Magic Quadrant—lease management, asset tracking, energy management and more—and just layer agile workplace optimization software for proactive space and scenario planning. 

Enable the mobile workforce

In an agile environment, employees need additional tools to help them navigate the space. Collaborative working often means moving around quite a bit throughout the day and finding spaces for meetings or work sessions spontaneously. Wayfinding apps help them locate and reserve open workstations, book conference rooms or find colleagues. These tools can be used on desktop computers, but more often employees use mobile apps or kiosks that can be located throughout the workplace.

This is something that traditional IWMS systems aren’t designed to do—but they can provide the foundation for a workforce enablement tool that will.

Streamline decision-making

A decade ago, the idea of right-sizing a global portfolio or supporting non-assigned seating was rare. That’s why features like strategic scenario planning tools aren’t included in products in the IWMS Magic Quadrant.

Related article: Why Corporate Real Estate Leaders Must Pay Attention to Space Planning

But when coupled with workplace optimization software, CRE leaders can effectively serve today’s workforce—without sacrificing the valuable features and functionality their IWMS offers.

For example, products in the IWMS Magic Quadrant excel at lease management—reminding CRE leaders when it’s time to start reviewing their leases and considering whether they should make a move or adjust their footprint in their current space. Workplace optimization software speeds up the process of reviewing your current space usage and comparing different potential scenarios. 

Look to “IWMS 2.0” for integrated best-in-class applications

If you want a workplace that truly supports agility, collaboration, mobility and innovation, workplace optimization software excels at partnering with products in the IWMS Magic Quadrant to accomplish that.

Look for best-in-class space planning and workplace management tools that are designed from the ground up to support the modern workplace. You can get the space planning capabilities you need to drive CRE optimization, more reliable data, and better analytics to help you make better decisions. With both systems in place and working together, you get the best of both worlds. The IWMS assists with every aspect of facilities management, while the workplace optimization software improves your space planning.

This new workplace technology framework is possible because today’s standards make it much easier to integrate multiple cloud-based, best-in-class systems with a common database and process engine. That means you get better tools for a much lower cost—and once you start capturing real-time utilization data, you can take action and see results in a matter of months.

Think of products in the IWMS Magic Quadrant and workplace optimization software like salt and sugar while cooking: when you use both appropriately, you bring out the fullest and best flavors in the dish.

Here’s an informative resource that can help you focus your evaluation on the capabilities that will bring you the best return on your investment: 5 Critical Comparison Points for Workplace Management Software.

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Serraview Welcomes Tom Montesi and Chris Keen to the Global Business Development Team

New York, NY – June 17, 2016– Serraview, a leader in space management solutions and real estate portfolio optimization, is pleased to announce that two workplace experts have recently joined the company: Tom Montesi to lead Serraview’s Global Sales and Chris Keen in Business Development. Tom and Chris both have extensive experience with IWMS and workplace management; and will be working alongside Simon Davis and Sonya Verny.

The appointments address the growing demand for Serraview’s space management solutions as corporations look to decrease real estate spending and move toward adopting agile work environments.

“Serraview is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth,” said Serraview CEO Stephen Macnee. “As we expand into new markets and grow our customer base, we are thrilled to gain the expertise of Tom and Chris, who thoroughly understand corporate real estate and the IWMS marketplace. Their knowledge and experience will help our clients move toward the workplace of the future and right-size their real estate portfolios. ”

Tom Montesi joined Serraview in June. Tom brings 20+ years of IWMS experience, and has previously worked in similar roles where he was instrumental in helping grow the companies into leading providers in their areas. At Serraview, Tom is tasked with leading the global sales team and expanding Serraview’s customer base worldwide.

“Serraview is laser-focused on portfolio optimization, which represents the highest value opportunity for companies among all the IWMS disciplines,” said Montesi. “Most importantly, Serraview is the clear leader in enabling free address working and space utilization. There’s no doubt that this is the future of the workplace, and my goal is to extend Serraview’s leadership position and help companies get there faster.”

Chris Keen joined Serraview in May. Chris has deep experience in this space with a number of the leading players in the IWMS arena. At Serraview, Chris is tasked with expanding Serraview’s customer base in the New England and Toronto areas.

“My decision to move to Serraview was a simple one,” said Keen. “Serraview is a leader in the marketplace in delivering disruptive technology. Serraview is leading the way in supporting the agile workplace and utilization technologies. They have also made it possible for companies to have both agile and fixed environments in the same workplace, which to me is the hottest thing on the market.”

Interested in joining Serraview? Learn more.

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IWMS 2.0 – Chief Characteristics

The following post was originally featured on Bell’s Blog and was authored by Michael Bell. Michael originally defined IWMS while at Gartner and is currently senior advisor to Visual Lease.

Advances in technology and changes in user behavior are driving significant transformation in Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) software architecture and delivery.

IWMS in the Cloud

Cloud-based delivery has the effect of disaggregating the functionality of IWMS solutions from multiple vendors. No longer must users choose one vendor to deliver all the functionality of an IWMS suite. Alternatively, users can choose best-in-breed solutions, and then integrate in the cloud with a common database, performance metrics, and process engines. The user client can join multiple best–in-breed solutions, realizing higher performance, while reducing the cost of configuring and installing the applications.

This approach avoids the “big bang” implementation of a major IWMS solution which can take years to implement and millions in cost. Cloud-based delivery can significantly reduce costs, by eliminating the need for server and storage hardware, data center staffing and facilities and energy costs. An ancillary benefit of moving to the cloud for IWMS delivery is to avoid the accounting effects of leasing hardware for premises-based delivery. In a few years all leases, including IT leases, will be capitalized and put on the balance sheet. Cloud-based delivery avoids this accounting impact.

Growth in User Mobility

IWMS 2.0 is influenced by a rapid growth in user mobility. Most corporate real estate staff, particularly construction, maintenance and real estate project staff, will access IWMS functionality via wireless devices. Lease data, maintenance orders, construction schedules, and other portfolio data will be readily entered and retrieved via mobile technology connected via the internet to cloud-based applications.  This trend greatly enhances the productivity of in-field professionals, by minimizing office time and increasing time in the field. It also shortens response time by closing the gap between data input and output. For example, leasing specialists have ready access to lease terms, notices, and other time sensitive data while on site at a company location.

Sharing Data Between Systems

Today, most modern cloud-based software systems (if not all) expose what is called an “API” that allow that system to seamlessly talk with other systems.  An API is, by definition, something that defines the way in which two entities communicate.

These APIs are completely invisible to Web-based software users; their job is to run silently in the background, providing a way for applications to work with each other to get the user the information or functionality he needs.  The important part of the API in this context is not so much what it is at a technical level, but what it does at a practical level. Simply stated, APIs are the glue that allows all of the great software you leverage today to share data.  This has become so commonplace in today’s world that if you use almost any website today, I am sure you have unknowingly been using APIs. APIs are the KEY to building seamless IWMS 2.0 solutions.  (More to come on APIs in future discussions.)

Conclusion:

IWMS 2.0 represents the natural evolution from large, complex (and expensive) enterprise solutions to small, aggregated solutions that take advantage of cloud-based delivery. Many large companies will continue to acquire large multi-functional applications (and even these are moving to the cloud), but smaller organizations with relatively small to medium sized portfolios will opt for aggregated “best-in-breed” solutions, to achieve lower cost, faster implementation, and more rapid return on investment.

Download a guide to managing workplace utilization today.

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IWMS – A Historical Perspective

The following post was originally featured on Bell’s Blog and was authored by Michael Bell. Michael originally defined IWMS while at Gartner and is currently senior advisor to Visual Lease.

As a Gartner analyst some years ago, I focused on the real estate/ facilities management software space. I had spent nearly thirty years in corporate real estate, and was perhaps the only analyst at Gartner who had a broad and varied background in corporate real estate. I wrote one of my first research notes in April of 2003 on the corporate real estate and facilities management space when I identified the key components of what I later named IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management Systems). These elements included:

  1. Real Estate Management
  2. Facilities Management (CAFM)
  3. Design and Space Management; and
  4. Maintenance Management (CMMS)

Subsequently, facilities environmental sustainability was added to the list of core functionality.

In November of 2004, I published the first Gartner Magic Quadrant on what I defined at the time as Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS). Initially I received “push back” from the corporate real estate community on the acronym. Many felt that the absence of “real estate” in the acronym diluted the prestige of their position and function.  Software vendors were particularly annoyed with the acronym, but several began to use it in their subsequent marketing. Within a year, the acronym became widely adopted.

I chose these words carefully since I truly believed that the power of these applications lay in the four dimensions. First, “Integrated:” data and processes from the full life cycle of facilities management would benefit from being tied together. Second, I chose the word “workplace” over real estate or facilities, since the nature of how and where people worked was undergoing transformation from places to a multiplicity of settings from home offices, shared work settings, and virtual offices. I viewed IWMS applications as the primary platform for workplace services. Third, I chose “management systems” to emphasize the enterprise nature of the suite of applications. Like ERP, HCM, and other enterprise class software, IWMS was truly in all its dimensions an enterprise level of functionality and data management.

Today, the IWMS market has matured greatly. The fact that major software vendors such as IBM, SAP, and Oracle have committed to IWMS with major acquisitions and product development testifies to its market maturity. Another dimension of its market growth is the global reach of its proliferation. The current Gartner magic quadrant (June, 2014) cited Manhattan and Planon as “Leaders” for their broad global presence, and multi-language, multi-currency functionality.

In a future blog we’ll explore the future of IWMS, what we call “IWMS 2.0.” The advent of cloud computing, combined with the rapid growth of mobile computing has redefined the meaning and nature of integrated systems.  No longer do we think that IWMS can only be achieved through a single massive (and expensive) premises based system. Best-in-breed solutions united in the cloud is now at hand, drastically reducing total cost of ownership, install time and rapid achievement of ROI.

Download a guide to managing workplace utilization.

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Wayfinding Apps Help Employees Work Smarter & Faster

Don’t you hate searching for things? Lost keys, sunglasses, that report you know was lying on your desk just a little while ago… Looking for something that should be easy to locate is not only incredibly frustrating, but it wastes a great deal of time in the workplace.

According to a McKinsey report, workers spend more than an hour and a half each day searching for information they need to do their jobs. Wayfinding apps help you take back some of that lost time while providing a better employee experience at the same time.

Wayfinding apps increase productivity

How much time do you think the average employee spends looking for co-workers in a large facility, or searching for a conference room or other space for a meeting? Now multiply that by tens of thousands of employees for a large corporation. The lost productivity figure can be staggering.

What if people could find co-workers and places in your corporate facilities in a few seconds, using a wayfinding app on their smartphone or tablet?

Just imagine the time that could be saved in each of these situations:

  • Finding a co-worker in an unfamiliar part of the building (a minute or less with wayfinding apps vs. 20 minutes of walking the floor)
  • Locating an open conference room for an impromptu team work session (a minute or less with wayfinding vs. half an hour searching the room booking calendar, then getting there and finding the room in use and having to start all over again!)
  • Finding a meeting room with the right technology such as video conferencing (a minute or less with wayfinding vs. 30 minutes searching a booked-solid calendar, then walking around to find that the room you want is open after all.
  • Navigating a different building or facility (find where you’re going in a minute with wayfinding apps on your phone or a kiosk, vs. time getting directions in advance or walking around lost on arrival!)

Having wayfinding apps for your employees is like having Google Maps just for your company’s workspaces. It makes it simple for everyone to find places and people throughout your facility.

Wayfinding tools enable agile working environments

Are you considering moving to a modern agile work environment, where assigned desks are replaced with task-oriented work spaces that workers choose each day?

These new types of workplaces can save millions in property costs while also promoting a collaborative culture within an organization. But they can create complications for employees if the right tools are not provided.

The last thing you want is for employees to have to waste time looking for the right workspace each day. Well-designed wayfinding apps allow workers to quickly find space based on the type of work they need to do, or to choose a space near people they need to work with. They might also choose to work in a particular area of the building due to comfort issues, such as proximity to amenities or a window. With the right tool, they can find the perfect space in seconds, right from their smartphone.

Implementing wayfinding apps can also be useful for reducing people’s anxiety about changing to a new style of working. Demonstrating these modern tools during the planning stages for a move to agile working is a way to increase comfort level, by showing how quick and easy it will be to find a space in the new environment.

Related article: What does the agile work environment look like?

Wayfinding apps: a secret weapon for CRE teams

Corporate real estate teams may have even more to gain from having modern wayfinding apps. These useful tools can provide the much-needed leverage to gain cooperation from business units about reporting their usage of space.

That’s because wayfinding apps are powered by data about your company’s space and up-to-the-minute data about how it’s being used. Property teams need the same data to handle space requests, manage moves, and work towards right-sizing the workplace to reduce real estate costs. However, getting business units to agree to provide or even validate data about their space usage can be a challenge.

Wayfinding apps can be an enticing carrot that motivates business units to comply with requests for data, since they gain a useful tool that uses the data they provide.

Features to look for in wayfinding apps

To get the most benefit from wayfinding apps, choose a reliable system with these essential features:

Ease of use. If it’s cumbersome or time-consuming to use, employees will be unhappy, putting your workplace transformation project at risk.

Multiple platforms. Don’t force people to use a wayfinding system that’s only available on their laptop. To be truly useful, wayfinding apps must be available on kiosks in convenient areas such as lobbies and elevator banks. Even better, give them access to the app on their mobile phones and tablets.

Powered by accurate data. Wayfinding apps are only as good as the data behind them. They must be powered by a workplace management system that tracks occupancy as well as near real-time utilization data from multiple sources such as badge readers, networks and sensor technology.

Learn more about the utilization tracking technology that powers wayfinding tools from this useful guide to Managing Workplace Utilization.

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Why ABW is a Better Alternative to Open Office Design

Open office design plans that minimize private offices and eliminate walls and doors have been gaining traction since the idea was introduced in the mid-20th century. There’s a good reason why: the premise is that open office design floor plans tend to promote collaboration among workers, since the lack of barriers encourages more interaction.

Tech companies such as Facebook and Google are leading the movement to open office design, and the idea has become mainstream in Australia and the Netherlands: the Sydney Morning Herald reports that nine out of ten offices in Australia are open plan. In the US, open office design plans are used in about 70 percent of offices, according to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).

At the same time, in recent years there has been a flurry of negative press about open office design, with critics now saying that it hinders productivity and worker attitudes.

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the open plan office, and an emerging idea that can combine the best features of open design and private work spaces.

Open Office Design: The Upside

Here are some of the touted benefits of the open office design plan:

Increased collaboration. Particularly for functions such as sales and marketing where interaction is beneficial, open plan environments do tend to encourage employees to work together more than private office environments.

Creative thinking and innovation. When workers are able to easily get input from others without having to schedule a meeting, it can lead to better ideas.

Lower build and fit-out cost. Without the need to build so many walls (or even purchase cubicles), the costs of constructing a space with an open office design can be as much as 20 percent lower.

Energy savings. Having an open plan workplace also may reduce heating, cooling and electricity expenses thanks to improved flow of air and light.

Reduced office equipment expenses since the open office design plan makes it easier to share printers, copiers and other office supplies.

Easier layout changes. Open plan offices can more easily accommodate increases in headcount, or rearrangements of groups due to changes in company structure.

The Challenges of Open Office Design

Here are a few of the reasons behind the criticism of the open plan office:

Noise and distractions make it more difficult for employees to focus on their work and conduct business. Decreases in productivity can result, especially for work that requires concentration or privacy, such as finance, accounting or human resources.

Lack of privacy. This becomes a concern with open office design spaces, because computer screens are easily visible to those passing by. It’s also difficult to have a sensitive telephone conversations without being overheard. There is also the possibility of ethics issues arising from confidentiality issues, particularly for legal or HR staff. Plus, workers just don’t like feeling watched.

Implied lower status is another common complaint, especially from senior workers who felt they had earned their private office. The resulting worker dissatisfaction can also lower productivity and job performance.

The best of both worlds: Activity-based working (ABW)

Office design trends in some regions and industries (especially in Australia and the tech industry) are moving in a new direction: Activity-Based Working (ABW) environments, which provide a combination of open office design spaces with other task-oriented, private spaces. Especially when an ABW office design is combined with a non-assigned seating model (also known as “agile” or “flexible” working), many of the problems associated with open plan are eliminated.

In an agile office setting, workers don’t have an assigned desk, but instead choose where they want to work each day. Not only do agile environments greatly reduce real estate costs by maximizing space utilization and reducing footprint, but employees get to choose the space that’s best suited to their work.

That’s where the ABW plan is most beneficial. Someone who needs to make confidential phone calls can choose a private “phone booth.” A team brainstorming session can take place in a comfortable lounge that encourages creative thinking. Someone writing a legal brief can choose a small quiet space for thinking and concentration.

A Harvard Business Review article supports this idea. According to the authors, “Our studies show that the most successful work environments provide a range of spaces—an ecosystem—that allow people to choose where and how they get their jobs done.”

Related article: What Does the Agile Work Environment Look Like?

The use of mobile office furniture is another useful design trend (especially in an ABW environment) that mitigates the problems of the open office design plan. Instead of traditional desks, moveable furniture can be rearranged to accommodate different activities. It can also be quickly and easily rearranged to meet a business need such as increased headcount or a business unit reorganization.

ANZ is a company that has reaped enormous benefits from adopting modern activity-based work spaces, to the tune of $33M in additional revenue and avoided costs. The company has implemented what they term a ‘Playbox’ of 14 different workspace designs and flexible furniture products to match the way people work.

Not only did ANZ reduce build costs by 30%, the move increased team engagement and even improved work performance. Decision making speed went from 4 days to 4 hours, and a new banking app was completed 6 months ahead of schedule.

Read more about ANZ’s successful ABW program: Bank offers flexible work pick’n’mix.

The company will also be presenting a case study about their ABW program at CoreNet Global in October.

Technology helps drive the right workplace design

So how does a company go about designing the right environment for their workers and their bottom line? The planning process starts with workplace management technology that can help you understand how your current space is being utilized.

That means gathering data about each building, floor, conference room and desk, and tracking who is using what. It also means implementing space utilization tracking technology, such as sensors and network tracking, to determine exactly when and how often spaces are used. That data can help determine the right mix of spaces and ratio of people to desks.

You can read more about the process in this article: 10 Steps That Drive Better Space Efficiency in the Workplace.

Insight from data-driven technology can help design workplaces that meet everyone’s needs. What’s more, that data can also power wayfinding tools that help employees find spaces and find people in an agile working environment.

Here are a couple of helpful resources that help you understand how to evaluate workplace management and utilization measurement technology:

5 Critical Comparison Points for Workplace Management Software
Managing Workplace Utilization