Top Features to Look for in Workspace Booking Solutions

When you have limited workspace available, it is important to take a well-organized approach to managing it. Minimizing errors and frustration involved with this can keep your operations productive and your stakeholders happy. As a result, a solid workspace booking solution is key to your success.

Yet, there are a growing number of platforms on the market. Knowing which is right for your business and your space can involve various factors. Chief among these is likely to be what features the platform has. We’re going to examine a few of the top characteristics that make for a reliable and effective solution.

User-friendliness

When you’re investing in a workspace booking solution, the main thing is to make sure that your stakeholders are actually likely to use it. There’s little worse than dedicating not just the capital and time, only to find that employees choose not to engage with the software correctly. Overcoming this is often about selecting a platform that is easy for stakeholders to use. Employee satisfaction and retention can be impacted by the software tools they work with. Therefore, one area of top features to look out for is user-friendliness.

Bear in mind, too, that many solutions are in continuous development. When performing your research, look at what the developers are focusing on with their updates. If they show commitment to continuously improving user-friendliness elements, this is a good sign for a system your stakeholders may engage with in the long term.

Automation

Your workers know their time is valuable and are likely to have to juggle a variety of essential tasks throughout each day. There are techniques employees can adopt to improve time management. Alongside realistic goal setting and delegation, one of the key steps is to embrace automation. When workers have access to tools that minimize unnecessarily repetitive tasks, they can focus on more creative or complex aspects of their days. Investing in a workplace booking solution that has automated features can ease some of the administrative burden from your workers and may boost their engagement.

One approach is to prioritize workspace booking software that can interact with the Internet of Things (IoT). In essence, this IoT is an ecosystem of connected devices that collect data and share it with software. Workplace sensors can detect whether a room is occupied. When combined with a well-designed booking solution, this enables you to automate check-ins as soon as people enter the room and update availability if there is no registered action in the space for a set period of time.

Another automated feature is sending invitations and reminders to attendees. Booking software that includes this function cuts down on the time stakeholders have to spend informing each of their collaborators of the dates and locations for their meetings. Importantly, automated reminders can reduce the disruption to productivity that no-shows due to forgetfulness can cause.

Data Analytics

Reliable information is an invaluable resource for all businesses. This isn’t just regarding your consumer demographics and marketing. Gaining data about how your workspace is used means you can make more informed decisions to optimize your business. It can tell you whether staff are utilizing the spaces you have allocated for their intended purpose or whether they might need different resources. It also communicates how efficient the transfer of rooms between meetings is.

One of the features you need to look for in workspace booking solutions is data analytics. Some platforms will give you the option to generate reports on a number of metrics. These may include the amount of time each room is being used and the times of day they’re most popular. Others will measure the electricity and other resources occupants tend to use in each space, especially when your spaces have IoT sensors.

If you want to make more agile decisions, though, you might consider prioritizing a platform that has a data analytics dashboard. These offer real-time insights into your space usage, so you can make swift adjustments before issues become really problematic.

Make Your Choice

Finding a workspace booking solution with the right features can influence how organized and effective your business is. Tools that support good time management, usability, and business intelligence can be great systems to prioritize.

When making your choice, consider how it supports your company as you grow. By identifying tools that don’t just have great features but are also scalable, you’ll have a powerful system that addresses space challenges now and in the future.