8 Ways to Streamline Workspace Booking

In the last few years, many employers have shifted work models to hybrid or flexible with employees working remote for some or all of the week. Only about 22% of employees work full-time from the office today, and organizations have moved towards more flexible office layouts. Some have eliminated permanent offices altogether and opted for coworking or shared spaces.

Moreover, according to the Coworking Industry Report Q1 2024, the coworking inventory experienced an impressive 6% growth (more than 346 coworking spaces) throughout the U.S. by the end of the first quarter of 2024. This is unsurprising given the projected growth of coworking spaces worldwide from 2021.

But how can organizations successfully operate a hybrid or flexible working model given this data? A dedicated solution for managing workspaces can help streamline and simplify the workspace booking process, to drive operational efficiencies, foster a more positive company culture, and enhance employee productivity, satisfaction, and collaboration.

Below we look at eight ways to streamline workspace booking.

What is Workspace Booking

Before we dive in though, when we talk about workspace booking, we’re referring to the process of using a workplace management software to maximize business space usage. This includes meeting and conference rooms, hot desks, coworking spaces, cubicles, and other workspaces.

Manually managing workspaces can waste a lot of employees’ time, create unnecessary administrative burden, increase the chance of human error (duplicate bookings, no available spaces for critical meetings, etc.), and reduce the cost-effectiveness of your operation. And that leads us to our first recommendation, using a workspace management software solution.

How to Simplify Workspace Booking

1. Use a Workspace Management Software Solution

Employees need workspaces and resources to do their jobs. Using workspace management software can help any organization accurately support employees while ensuring their workspaces and resources are used efficiently. The right workspace management solution can help you automate and optimize booking processes and management, and drive cost-savings and higher productivity levels by removing burdensome administrative tasks and lowering the risk of human errors.

2. Mobile App Integration

On average, people spend about 3 hours and 15 minutes a day on their phone, with one in five smartphone users spending upwards of 4.5 hours. And on average, one third of Americans spend four to 12 hours a week in meetings per person. That’s a lot of time and impacts productivity.

It’s also why having a mobile app for workspace management is key. Employees are going between multiple meetings and likely won’t be walking with their laptops open. In fact they could be walking across different buildings, driving across town, or going to a meeting after a doctor’s appointment.

Having a mobile app for workspace bookings that works with existing Microsoft applications and connected devices, can help take the burden out of scheduling and managing meetings, finding open workspaces, and let employees book on-the-go and in advance. This in turn helps employees reduce the amount of time spent on bookings and allows them the flexibility they need within a hybrid or flexible working model.

3. Centralized Booking System with Automations

Another easy way to simplify workspace bookings is to make sure you’re using a centralized booking system that connects to existing office technologies, calendar solutions, and leverages process and resource automations.

Using a solution like this can help eliminate the need for manually setting up recurring meetings and verifying and processing orders. Automations can also help to ensure workspace availability is accurate at all times, making it easy to provide a real-time visibility view to employees (regardless of location).

Another benefit is using automation within workflows. Our Resource Central solution, for example, uses automated workflows for changes and cancellations to adjust workspace and resource bookings so employees don’t have to do each one separately.

4. Integration with Outlook®

As hinted at above, integration with employees’ email and calendaring solutions can go a long way to simplifying workspace booking and management. Choosing a solution that integrates with your existing software also provides a host of operational benefits:

• No need to migrate user or booking data
• No need to worry about uptime
• Easy implementation and adoption by employees
• Access to a ready-to-go meeting room booking system
• Real-time updates to ensure employees can accurately see workspace and resource availability

5. Self-Service Kiosks and Booking Display Screens in the Office

In the office, self-service kiosks and desk booking display screens can provide touchless solutions that create better flow and enhance visibility. These two solutions can help employees quickly see available workspaces and book desks and meeting rooms, anywhere around the office. Simply place the kiosks or displays throughout the workplace in areas where employees may wish to work or are passing through to go to meetings.

Read more about the benefits of using self-service kiosks here >

6. Real-Time Availability Tracking (Sensor Solution)

Another touchless solution to consider using is a workplace sensor. These could go on hot desks or in meeting rooms to automate check-ins, cancellations, and no-shows. Sensors can also help turnover meeting rooms faster and provide a clearer picture of employee workspace usage and behaviors.

Add-On Products’ sensor solution works directly with Microsoft solutions to make workspace booking faster and easier.

• Detect when meetings end early or last longer than planned
• Create instant bookings by walking into an open meeting room or sitting at an available desk
• Cancel connected resources when sensors don’t detect activity in a booked room
• Track occupancy in real-time to quickly see available workspaces in Outlook®

7. Analytics and Reporting

It may seem a post-booking item, but analytics and reporting are key to streamlining workspace booking. Insights around workspace usage, behavioral trends, and workspace utilization patterns can help an organization to make more data-informed decisions about workspace layout, the number of workspaces needed, and make updates to processes and resources to reduce overhead and operations costs while continuing to properly support employees.

See how workplace analytics and reporting can help maximize the use of workspaces >

8. Clear Signage and Labels

This may seem like a given, but around the office, making sure workspaces are clearly labeled and marked is important. This includes visual markings for occupancy and daily availability. When clear signage and labels are not utilized, employees are often running around trying to find open spaces or accidentally may take another team’s booked room. With hybrid and flexible models, it’s critical to always provide visible transparency around workspace availability and usage.

Digital conference room signs are an easy way to meet this need, while also furthering brand communication and engagement efforts. With Add-On Products’ digital signage solutions, employees can book, confirm, extend, and end meetings directly on the sign. The signs automatically sync with Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365 as well to make sure it’s clear to employees when a workspace is taken.

Want Help Improving Workspace Booking?

There are a lot of ways to improve workspace booking, so if you’re unsure where to start or want to talk about options, our team is here for you. Set up a time to connect, and we’d be happy to talk through your organization’s needs, workspace management struggles, and look at options that could help you streamline.