What is office hoteling / desk booking?
Office hoteling / desk booking software allows companies to maximise the utilisation of their workstations by ensuring they are used as much of the time as possible. The technology
allocates desks to staff based on when they need them, where they need them and for how long.
Companies that implement desk sharing schemes - often also named hoteling or hotdesking - increase desk utilization, which enable them to either decrease its number of desk and the office space they take up or increase the number of people working in the office without increasing the actual space or number of desks.
This means an end of the traditional trend of personalizing desks for each individual member of the workforce.
Condeco’s office hoteling software can be accessed by all employees via their company intranet, from touch screen kiosks at their office or via 4.3 inch digital touch screens that are placed on each individual desk.
In addition to allocating desks to various people and improving efficiency, Condeco's desk booking software also features digital assessment capability to highlight areas of low usage, which can be brought to the attention management. If a company is paying out for more workspace than it realistically requires, the software will note this. Companies could then save significant sums of cash either by selling off or ending the lease on part of their premises or finding another more productive use for it.
How is desk booking software relevant?
The way the world works is changing - rapidly. More and more people are working on the move or
working from home, and an increasing number is also choosing to work flexible hours. All of this makes
office hoteling software one of the in-demand products within offices and workplaces across the world in the modern era.
Companies which have a number of
flexible staff working patterns may find desk booking software especially beneficial as the number of workstations required is likely to be significantly less than one per person. The provision of a permanent desk for each employee becomes unnecessary and costly - with the problem of under-utilized desks equivalent to throwing away millions of pounds a year across the economy.
Why use office hoteling software?
In years gone by, many companies have tried to get around the problem of under utilization by scrapping desks and asking staff to sit wherever they choose. However, this has regularly proved extremely unpopular as staff who require a particular workstation regularly are left disappointed.
With Condeco's desk booking system which includes interactive floor plans and desk and user search, staff are able to quickly see which desk are available at a given time and location and then reserve the desk. They can even reserve the desk for several days in one single booking thus eliminating the hassle of daily booking a desk for the following day.
People can also reserve a desk in advance should they prefer a specific desk for some reason or if they wish to collaborate with a certain colleague or team thus requiring to sit next to them.
So, with staff morale maintained, what other advantages can office hoteling spark? With Condeco, savings of approximately 30 per cent are common as desk utilization is significantly maximized and excess space and furniture can be sold off to raise extra funds - a prospect which may be especially appealing on the back of the recent economic downturn.
Another increasingly important factor to consider comes in the form of environmental benefits. Cutting down on office space, workstations, computers and Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) go some way to reducing the carbon footprint of any business.
What’s more, with stringent measures now in place and ambitious targets set by the government in terms of carbon output, saving fuel thanks to desk booking could provide a welcome boost.