Survey: Why Do Companies Choose Workplace Management Software?
When it comes to supporting our favorite teams, we all have our reasons. For many, those reasons are deeply rooted in decades of braving the elements to cheer on the sidelines wearing lucky jerseys and hats. Whatever brought us to the big game, we all just want to share in the excitement of our tribe and watch them bring home a win…or a World Series championship. (Go Astros!)
When it comes to choosing workplace management software, companies have many individual reasons, but most share a common goal: To see their workplaces succeed.
They want a better way to manage space, provide a strong employee experience and help everyone be more productive so they can knock it out of the park.We wanted to know more about what factored into workplace leaders’ decisions to choose a workplace management software, so we asked our own customers. The survey, conducted in partnership with TechValidate, gives workplace leaders more insight into how their competitors are using integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) and what they should look for in a software platform themselves. Read on.
Most Choose Workplace Management Software for Space Planning
As more organizations move toward more flexible working arrangements—such as activity-based working and working remotely—they need a software platform for real-time space management.
They need to know how many people will be in the office on any given day and ensure they have enough workspaces available. In fact, 72 percent said a workspace management strategy was ultimately what led them to select iOFFICE.
Perhaps not surprisingly, space management software remains a key driver of the decision to select an IWMS. Without it, there is no workspace strategy—only a chaotic game of musical desks. There’s more to space management than floor plans, however. An effective space management software should should offer visibility into other areas of the business, including asset management, lease management, maintenance management and move management, so workplace leaders can ensure everything is in working order and plan for the future.
Facility Management and HR Own the Employee Experience
There’s been a great deal of debate about who is actually in charge of the employee experience. Ultimately, every department carries some responsibility. However, with the physical workplace and workplace technology playing a more prominent role in an employee’s overall perception, more than one-third of survey respondents said facility management professionals owned the employee experience at their workforce.
This was followed closely by the HR department, which captured another third.
Although we tend to think of the CEO as having tremendous influence over a company culture and whether or not employees ultimately want to work there, only 7 percent of respondents said the C-suite owns the employee experience.
Most Companies Support Flexible Workspace Strategies
While our survey found that the traditional route of assigned work stations is still the dominant approach, it’s encouraging to see most organizations support activity-based working to some extent, while the majority also have at least some of their workforce working from home or working remotely.
Having the right workplace management software in place gives organizations the ability to offer greater flexibility to employees when it comes to the way they work.
Most Employees Use Calendaring Apps for Room Reservation
The majority of employees still use office tools such a OFFICE 365, Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook to schedule meetings. Other solutions, such as kiosk displays and room reservation software, are beginning to catch on but are much less prevalent, as the data shows.
Fortunately, workplace technology solutions like iOFFICE Hummingbird connect these calendaring apps to kiosks and mobile apps so employees can see which rooms are available in real time and reserve rooms and equipment wherever they are.
Most Companies Have No Way to Reserve Workspaces
The majority of companies—66 percent—either have no way to reserve workspaces or do so on a first-come, first-served basis.
This may work fine for small startups, but as companies grow they are increasingly realizing the need to use room reservation software and put it directly into employees’ hands in the form of an app.
When it comes to scheduling meetings and technology, the process largely falls onto the IT department, according to our data. Forty-two percent of respondents said IT owned the conference room, while the responsibility is shared between IT and FM at 36 percent of organizations we surveyed.
While IT has historically owned the technology assets of a conference room, the facility management department is most often involved in managing the physical space. Going forward, we expect to see more collaboration between the two departments.
Most Still Rely on Email and Phone For Maintenance Management
While many organizations use an online service ticketing or help desk to manage a service request or work order, nearly half of all organizations we surveyed (45 percent) say they still rely on phone calls or email.
Not only is this inefficient for facilities management professionals, it also offers no accountability or transparency into what type of maintenance has taken place and when. When the request is changing a lightbulb or fixing a desk chair, that may not seem like a big deal. However, when your facility manager is servicing an expensive piece of equipment for the tenth time in one month, it might be time to re-evaluate your lease or consider preventative maintenance.
The Next Evolution of Workplace Management Software
The modern-day workplace has a lot of moving parts to manage, with people working at multiple locations and needing various equipment in any given day. Organizations that need to keep track of it all are recognizing the value of workplace management software. The next evolution is to make these tools more accessible to employees no matter where they are, which is what we’ve done with our new Hummingbird workplace technology. Hummingbird allows employees to find people and places, reserve space, request service and receive visitors and packages from a mobile phone or kiosk.
Several of our customers have already told us this technology has enabled them to create a more flexible, efficient and employee-friendly workplace. We look forward to introducing it to across even more organizations in the coming months. Want to see Hummingbird in action? Watch a demo now.
