Question 1

What is a Desk Booking System?

Accepted Answer

A desk booking system allows employees of a business to book their workplace or desk remotely, for example from home or while traveling.

With GoBright Desk Booking, desks can be booked remotely via the online platform and via the Mobile App. This way, it is possible to book a desk before you leave for the office, so that you are guaranteed the workplace you want. You can use the search tool or the interactive Map. This Map shows exactly which desks are occupied and by whom, so you can make a well-considered choice on where you would want to work that day. Within this interactive Map, you can also find a specific colleague with the ‘Find my Colleague’-function. Just type in their name and the Map will show you where they are seated for the day!

Sometimes you need more advanced bookings. Therefore, recurring bookings are possible within the GoBright Desk Booking environment, enabling you to book a desk for multiple days or other preferred periods of time. You can also make Team Bookings, for when you want to be able to collaborate effectively with your colleagues. Team Bookings make sure you can book several desks at the same time, so you are guaranteed to be seated near each other for collaborating.

When you forget to book in advance, or prefer to book ad hoc, you can also check in at desks at your workplace whenever you arrive at the office. You can check in via the GoBright Connect or GoBright Interact on the desk, or NFC stickers. Your desk will automatically be booked by you, and visible on the Map throughout the GoBright platform for your colleague’s information. If you are cautious with your privacy, you can also book a place anonymously. People will know that the specific workplace is occupied but won’t be able to see who’s seated.

Question 2

What are the benefits of a Desk Booking System?

Accepted Answer

Implementing a Desk Booking system into your office environment has several benefits for both the employees and the employer.

1. Facilitates new ways of working

We know that flexible working, or Hybrid Working, is becoming increasingly popular. People want to decide for themselves when they want to come to the office, and when they would like to stay home. If they do decide to visit the office, employees want to be assured of a workplace. A Desk Booking system facilitates this for them. It also stimulates collaboration. It becomes easier to reserve a workplace close to the person you want to collaborate with. Managing the occupancy rates via a desk booking system ensures that pleasant workspaces are always available. With a desk management system, employees are able to filter and select a desk according to their own preferences. This way, you can provide employees with lots of freedom and give them control in regards to when and at which desk they want to work at the physical office.

2. Support collaboration

With desk booking, the collaboration between teams or departments is boosted. Employees can collaborate better by simply reserving desks side by side. For example, the GoBright Desk Booking Platform even has a Team Booking function designed to support these kinds of collaborations.

Besides employee benefits, using Desk Booking is also beneficial to the employer.

3. Cost effective

With desk booking software you are able to manage and control the occupancy at the office. Data that is collected gives you more insight into the way the office is being used. By gaining insight into the actual occupancy, many offices discovered they did not really need the number of desks that they had. This information can be used to make strategic data-driven decisions in regards to reshaping the office and providing your employees with the best office environment. You might even be able to get rid of some real estate costs, because you discover you have way too much office space on your hands. Cost-efficient, too!

4. Sustainability

Desk Booking encourages people to only use the space that they really need. This way, the office becomes a lot more sustainable. No more unoccupied and unnecessary costly office space.

5. Time efficiency

In most cases, not all employees will be at the office at the same time due to new working models and other changes in the office environment. Some days it might be quiet in the office, and some days it might be a lot busier than expected. Regardless of the situation, if an employee decides to come into the office, a nice workplace must be available. Using a desk booking system allows you to assess the situation at the office in advance. By being able to anticipate, you don’t waste any time going into the office and run into surprises.

6. Insight into analytics

A smart data-driven workplace is what it is all about these days. With the data derived from desk booking solutions you are able to understand employee behavior a lot better. You will get insight into how the office is being used. Why do employees often book their desks on a specific floor? What is special about these desks? Perhaps your employees like to work where there is the most natural lighting, or near the company restaurant? These are all valuable analytics that can help you optimise the office. Adapting the office to employee behavior is one of the most important ways to ensure that your office is future-proof.

7. Attract a new generation

Not to forget, the younger generation enters the job market with new ideals. Flexibility and freedom is a must for them. They don’t want to be tied to the 9 to 5 traditional office cubicle. They expect a workplace that represents their standards and accommodates their wishes. Integrating desk booking into the office fits really well with the perspective this generation has on the future office. Because the future office is a smart office.

8. Health and safety

With desk sharing, several people share the same desk at the office. You might assume that this will automatically lead to concerns in regards to health, hygiene and safety. However, there are two sides to the story here. When people use the same desk and this process is not monitored, it will indeed lead to increased risks in regards to hygiene and safety. Yet, with use of a desk booking system, this process is in fact monitored. Especially in times when safety needs to be extra emphasized (e.g. during a pandemic), the use of Desk Booking systems ensures that it does not get too crowded in the office. For example, an office manager is able to block certain desks so that a safe distance is guaranteed. Also, with control over the occupancy rate, you ensure that there are never too many people on the floor at the same time.

Even with monitoring, the fact remains desks are being used by multiple people. How is this going to be safe? GoBright has already thought about this. With the GoBright Connect, you are able to adjust your status while working at the desk. Besides the obvious “occupied” or “available”, it will also adjust to “Needs cleaning” when an employee has checked out from their desk. The facility department will automatically be alerted that the desk needs to be properly cleaned. After it is cleaned, the desk will be ‘available’ again.

In conclusion, there are many benefits to using a Desk Booking system. It supports the new way of working, stimulates collaboration, and is cost and time effective. It is also beneficial for your office’s sustainability, it attracts new talent, stimulates health and safety at the office, and provides insights into your office’s occupancy.

Question 3

Does GoBright have a Team Booking function?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, it is necessary to work together at the office. In these cases, it is time-consuming to have to look for the right colleagues and find available seating areas to work together. This is why GoBright has introduced Team Booking within the Desk Booking System. With this function, other users can be looked up and added to a team. Then, all team members can be assigned a desk. Team Booking is particularly pleasant when you need to collaborate with colleagues.

Question 4

What is hot desking?

Accepted Answer

Hot Desking is a way of flexible working. Most people don’t need the same desk every day, all day long. As a result, desks often remain unused for parts of the day. With hot desking, you only use a desk when you actually need it. By using our desk sharing tool, you can reduce the number of workplaces and you can introduce diversity in the type of workplaces and you can introduce diversity in the type of workplaces. Working in a hot desking environment can stimulate collaboration and creativity.

Question 5

How do you manage the hybrid workplace?

Accepted Answer

One of the drivers of the hybrid working model is flexibility. Employees from all over the world wonder how they can increase their flexibility in and around the office? But, in addition, autonomy, personal responsibility, clear communication and involvement are also extremely important. You want to keep employees engaged and motivated. A sense of belonging is crucial to our life satisfaction, happiness, mental and physical health and even longevity. It gives us purpose and meaning. Research has shown that loss of belonging has been associated with stress, illness and decreased wellbeing and depression.

People want to feel heard and seen. They need to know where they stand. Both at home and in the office. If you decide to come to the office for a day, you will want to know in advance whether a place is available. Companies therefore need new tools to offer the security and insights that their employees so well deserve.

Desk Booking in the hybrid office

By furnishing the office with smart technology solutions, you can increase effectiveness, productivity and flexibility. In particular, a Desk Booking system contributes to the flexibility needed when people work on a hybrid basis. Employees can check the occupation status and book their desk in the GoBright Portal, or Mobile App, within seconds. With GoBright Desk Booking you can stimulate hot desking. Whether employees want to work at home or at the office, they can always manage their workspace.

Room Booking in the hybrid office

GoBright Room Booking also contributes to flexible working at the office. Employees are able to book a meeting room according to their preferences (AV equipment / lighting/ catering services). Our Room Booking system allows employees to be assured of a room that suits their needs. Furthermore, employees can also grab a room spontaneously or make an ad hoc booking for the ultimate sense of flexibility. Again, whether employees want to meet online or at the office, they can control and manage their meetings in the office environment with GoBright solutions.

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