5 Ways Desk Booking Software Makes Hybrid Work More Efficient

As a manager, you know that remote work can offer many benefits. Employees spend less time commuting and have more flexibility in the work day. But there’s no replacing the value of collaborating in person. Fortunately, a hybrid model offers the best of both worlds. Learn more about hybrid work and how using desk booking software can help your organization.

What is Hybrid Work?

Hybrid work isn’t new, but in the past few years, more and more companies have realized that they can move away from traditional work models. A hybrid approach supports a mix of onsite and remote work. Employees may work from home, at a main office, or work while traveling to branch offices or client sites. 

This system gives employees more autonomy over where and how they work. While there are many different kinds of hybrid work schedules, they generally fall into two broad categories:

• Fixed: A fixed hybrid schedule means that teams have specific onsite and remote days. For example, employees may be in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays and work from home for the remainder of the week.
• Flexible: In a flexible hybrid schedule, employees can choose when they work remotely and when they work at the office.

What is Hot Desking?

One benefit of hybrid work is that it provides more flexibility in your physical office space. If your entire workforce isn’t onsite each day, you don’t need as much square footage or a designated desk for each employee – which can offer significant cost savings.

Many hybrid workplaces use a flexible seating arrangement called hot desking. Instead of being assigned to a specific desk, cubicle, or office, employees use a flexible workspace for the day. Desks can be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, but a better system is to use reservation software that lets employees pick and reserve the workspace they want.

How Does Desk Booking Software Support Hybrid Teams?

If your company is moving to a hybrid work model, you might be worried about how managers will keep track of employees or how you’ll allocate workspaces. Hot desk booking software is a great tool for hybrid workplaces, and it addresses many of the concerns managers have about flexible work arrangements. The benefits of booking software include:

Improving Efficiency

Without a reservation system, employees have to pick out a desk when they arrive at the office. It can take time to find the right space, especially if they need to be near certain colleagues or find a desk with specific equipment. 

Desk booking software takes away the guesswork: before an employee gets to the office, they can search available workspaces, filter by amenities or location, and reserve a desk. Once they arrive, they can get to work right away. When they’re done for the day, they simply check out from their phone or computer so that the desk becomes available for others to book.

Helping Teams Collaborate

Many booking platforms let users see who else is in the office, and where they’re working. That makes it much easier for managers to keep track of their hybrid teams, and for colleagues to check in with one another or book side-by-side workspaces.

 When employees can be in the same space, it’s much easier to bounce ideas off of one another, collaborate on projects, and quickly troubleshoot questions or challenges. In addition to individual desks, booking software can be used to reserve conference rooms or meeting areas. That way, teams can make the most of their onsite work days by meeting in person.

Creating Dedicated Spaces

A booking platform gives employees the flexibility to reserve the workspace that best suits their needs on any given day. For example, if an employee has a day full of phone calls, they might not want to sit at a row of open desks where they’ll disrupt their coworkers. 

Instead, they can book a private office or a desk in a more secluded area. Conversely, if two or more employees need to work together on a project, they can reserve workspaces at the same table or pod. Offering this flexibility gives your hybrid workforce more autonomy over their work and can even improve employee satisfaction.

Enhancing Visitor Experience

If you use desk booking software at your company, you don’t need to limit it to your employees. It’s also a great way to offer flexible working arrangements for visitors who might only need a desk for a short amount of time. This includes:

• Freelancers and temporary employees
• Consultants
• Interns
• Vendors
• Clients

Having a user-friendly reservation system helps improve the visitor experience, ensuring you make a positive impression on all your guests. Plus, it’s an easy way to maintain a digital record of everyone who uses your office, which is important for security and health and safety compliance.

Minimizing Administrative Work

Desk booking software automates the reservation process, eliminating manual logs or cumbersome spreadsheet systems. It also frees up your administrative staff – because they don’t have to coordinate seating charts or assignments, they can focus on other priorities. 

Many booking platforms can also track key analytics, so your company can gain insights into office occupancy, space utilization, and other trends. This helps with long-term facilities planning and can even identify areas for cost savings.

Manage Your Hybrid Workforce with Robin

If you want to set your employees up for success, you need an intuitive reservation system that makes it easy to book desks, offices, and meeting rooms. Robin is a human-first booking platform that lets you quickly set up an office map, add workspace filters, and set roles and permissions for end users. 

Our desk booking software integrates with leading workspace tools like Microsoft 365, Slack, and Zoom. And with powerful workplace analytics, you can learn what’s working well in your hybrid setup and what needs adjustment. 

Want to learn more about how Robin can help your organization? 

Contact us to schedule a demo or get your team started for free today.