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Employees are very obviously an important part to any organisation. However, times are changing from inflexible working environments to a more agile approach. This can have a negative impact on employees as agile working means there are less desks than employees. Which, at face value, seems crazy… until you look at the stats. Office space is another very important factor to an organisation but is also very expensive. An agile working approach to workspace is very attractive to facilities teams and CFOs. In contrast with the view held by the HR team who have been told that agile working is going to be rolled out in their organisation. They are tasked with reassuring worried and distressed employees who may not understand the benefits but see it as a management cost cutting exercise.
Put simply, Agile working means that money is saved on facilities as there is no set workstation for every employee and space is utilised so efficiently that the amount of desking required for a specific number of workers can be reduced to an average value of 0.7 per FTE. This is a huge saving on facilities costs and ultimately leads to a more advanced workspace.
However, flexible working like this can be very difficult to implement, facilities managers today are struggling to monitor and analyse their occupancy measurement data and many organisations have employed specific people to patrol the workplace and physically note down the statistics to get some form of result for implementing and maintaining agile working.
Agile working also poses a challenge to HR managers because from an employee’s point of view they think they will be losing their desk in the morning and could face the threat of not having a desk at all to work from. This problem is often articulated by employees, with this move towards agile working. In reality, it makes their lives easier as they can easily find meeting space, silent space and team environments.
Imagine if there was a tool that gave staff visibility as to how much and what type of space is available on a day to day and hour to hour basis. Imagine if this same tool monitored and analysed space utilisation meaning facilities managers could get valid data and could, as a result utilise agile working. This would bridge the gap – wouldn’t it?
Introducing IoTSpace.
IoTSpace is an occupancy measurement and space booking application that allows you to review and enhance the hospitality, productivity and economic efficiency of your office space. Using infographics, facilities professionals can receive powerful insights as to space utilisation and how they can create a more agile office space. Using this same system, employees can book meeting space, quiet areas or team/networking areas from their smartphone as well as having a clear view of what space is available and where their colleagues are working to ensure that the right working space for the occasion can always be found.
IoTSpace works through the internet of things and consists of a downloadable free app and little devices called IoTSpots which are inserted into every desk, team area and meeting table.
For more specific details on this game changing app, have a look on our dedicated website via the weblink below.
However, the question has been asked, has it been proven in large firms or is IoTSpace just another idealistic product. The answer is no, it’s not idealistic. In the Netherlands it has been popular and one of the largest Accountancy organisations in the world has just implemented it in their Dutch offices. It has also attracted serious attention in the UK with telecoms companies and banking organisations. Gone are the questions as to its viability and the theory behind the idea has been proven in real life circumstances. Its effectiveness does vary as different organisations use employees in different ways and the effect can be greater or smaller depending on the volume of staff. This tool is a holistic answer to a smarter and more agile world of working.
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