Choosing the Best Space Management System for Your Workplace
Space management, a core concept for maximizing real estate ROI, has steadily made its way into small and medium businesses alike. Most organizations have implemented software and strategies to track company assets, manage space utilization, report on occupancy information, and create spatial plans. And, they’ve reaped the benefits of streamlined workflows and intelligent space planning with space management.
However, over the past two years the pandemic has changed the workplace landscape and the importance of space management has become unprecedented. With the cost of real estate ranked as one of the largest business expenses, companies can’t not afford to have a clear understanding of their spaces and the management of them. The ROI is just too large to ignore.
Many companies now are looking to return to physical workspaces or offer a hybrid work solution for their employees. Either way, to ensure everyone’s safety, this pursuit involves a lot of planning and rearrangements in compliance with physical distancing policies, crowd control codes, and increased cleaning schedules.
Not to worry, whether you're a space management veteran or just starting to shop for a solution, the perfect space management system may be the ticket to reopening your workspace.
In this article, we’ll outline the benefits of a great space management system and what to look for when choosing one for your office.
What Is Space Management?
Much like the name suggests, space management is the planning and scheduling of any space where people work or perform an activity together. Spaces here include co-working facilities, offices, cubicles, huddles spaces, or any space that requires management.
Space management software provides a comprehensive view of who’s using your office workspace alongside real-time analytics on how a space is being used. Thus enabling you to optimize and control your workspace fully.
Do you know if your spaces are being used efficiently? Do you know when your bookable resources are being utilized? Are your employees wandering and wondering instead of using their time to do the work that matters?
With the data provided by space management software, you can solve these issues and make the most efficient use of your space possible. That’s because space management software allows for the automation of your facilities planning and management processes. With great space management software, you can quickly find available spaces, reserve resources, and access key reports on utilization to seamlessly and easily manage your spaces. You can even monitor and manage your facilities globally and remotely.
From the above, you can see why any modern office would want to incorporate an adequate space management system, especially if they wish to operate post-COVID.
Most importantly, let’s dig into all the specific advantages of integrating a space management system into your workplace management plan.
Advantages of a Great Office Space Management System
The many benefits to having an exceptional space management system include:
Productivity
Streamlining employee and visitor experience for navigating, booking, and using your facilities will help free up your employees to do the work that matters most.
Employee and visitor safety
Space planning tools for social distancing, capacity controls, hot desking, and office hoteling make managing your workplace protocols significantly easier.
Fewer scheduling conflicts
By reducing the steps needed to book an individual space or manage a meeting, conference or event, you reduce the chance of scheduling mishaps, or worse double-bookings.
Automated workflows
Space management software allows you to streamline how bookable spaces are requested, approved and invoiced. It lets you manage change requests with automated alerts so everyone has the latest information.
Improved ROI
Understanding how people use and engage with your workspace empowers you to make strategic decisions on how to use your spaces. Space management software gives you the increased visibility needed to make informed real estate decisions and drive value for your organization. Reduce office costs by understanding which spaces are not in use and save money on utilities like HVAC.
Employee satisfaction
Studies show that employees who are engaged with their jobs experience more job satisfaction and stick around longer. By allowing them to manage how and where they work, you provide an exceptional experience that increases employee attraction and retention.
Team collaboration
Scheduling software that integrates with the tools and technologies your team needs can reduce departmental bottlenecks and improve collaboration communication and visibility, even when employees are working remotely or on a hybrid work schedule.
Communication across departments
Space management provides you with increased visibility on your resources and connects your multitude of spaces together in one cohesive system which in-turn improves communications across teams.
How to Choose the Best Space Management System for Your Office
You know you need a space management system, you know it’ll make your job easier, but you aren’t sure what to look for when choosing your system.
Picking the best space management system for your workspace will depend on your organization’s needs and the features of your workspace. What works for one office may not work for yours.
For instance, maybe you want a simple system that shows you which rooms are in use, or maybe you need more extensive data reporting, contact tracing, and visitor management, like Indoor Finders’ workspace management software.
Whatever your needs, there are a few key factors you should consider when choosing your space management system.
Office size, needs and schedules
Before making your decision, consider the important details, like how many employees will be in the office and if they’ll be working at the same time or in shifts. Make a list of all the services your ideal space management software would offer.
For example, if you have a large staff and regularly use a lot of desks and rooms, you may want to spring for a system with all the bells and whistles like cleaning prompts, reservation permissions, wi-fi locks, amongst other features. With software, like Proximity, you can even manage door schedules, digital keys, and receive automatic delivery notifications for more thorough workspace management.
Analytics and data collection
This is one of the most important features of any space management system. Your system should be able to track what rooms are booked, what rooms are in use, which desks are utilized, where an employee is and what resource they're using. Although these metrics may vary in the way they're presented, the data provided should be easily retrievable and analyzed.
Multi-device compatibility
A software that only works on your device might be good for security, but bad for workflow. Employees should be able to use your office space management software on their mobile phones, digital displays, and designated kiosks.
Leading space management software, like Teem, enables employees to book rooms and reserve desks directly from their phones and laptops.
Ease of use and scalability
Your workspace solution shouldn’t be complicated. Employees and visitors alike should be able to understand and operate the software as easily as the resident IT guru.
Your system should also scale with you across locations and as you experience organization growth. In conclusion, go for a user-friendly system.
Seamless integration
A new space management system should easily integrate with your existing workplace technology. It shouldn’t complicate your software or require an entire overhaul of your systems. It should fit into your building, whether modern or retrofitted.
Enterprise grade display displays, like the ASTRO All-In-One Room Scheduling Display, Spot Hot Desking Puck, and Scout Wayfinding Kiosk, integrate directly with your space management system and improve your workflows. Digital displays give you the smart technology your office needs and the clean, professional look your office deserves.
Excellent customer service
This is a no-brainer. Your chosen space management solution should provide reliable support for your systems. This includes onsite or remote trouble-shooting services and routine maintenance checks.
Overall, an efficient space management system and software will save your organization time and money. It reduces the burden of manually managing your facilities and eliminates the challenges of collecting accurate utilization data. With space management, your organization is empowered to dynamically track space, people, furniture, and assets all in one place.
If you’re ready to streamline your workspace management and support your workforce with tools to work in-office safely and confidently, we’re here to help. Speak with the PowerBx team to find the right space management system for your business needs.