8 things to look for when choosing a desk booking system for hybrid working.

Choosing the right desk booking system for hybrid working is crucial for ensuring your employees can choose and book the right space to work productively when they come in the office. Remember to involve key stakeholders, such as IT, facilities management, and employees, in the evaluation process to ensure that the selected desk booking system aligns with the needs and expectations of your organisation.

Here are eight things to look for to help make the right decision for your business:

1. User-friendly, mobile accessible interface

In a hybrid work environment, employees may need to book desks or check availability on the go. Ensure that the desk booking system has an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This is important for easy adoption by employees, regardless of their technical proficiency. The system you choose must also be accessible via mobile devices, offering a responsive and functional mobile interface.

2. Enhanced information for team members

Many desk booking systems give users information about the amenities and equipment available at each desk or in each room to help them when selecting which space to book. The best platforms also give users information about who else is booked into the workspace on any given day, along with the ability to assign tags to help show who is a key holder, team leader or identify which team someone is part of.

3. Flexibility and customisation

Look for a system that can be customised to meet the specific needs of your organisation. This includes the ability to define and modify desk booking policies including reserving desks for selected employees, creating reserved zones or neighbourhoods, and configuring workspaces.

4. Workplace compliance

Every business has compliance responsibilities and roles that it must meet. The practicalities of adhering to these becomes harder when operating a hybrid working model where staff can often decide which day they are in the office. Choose a desk booking system that gives your company the tools to be help with this by identifying who the first aiders are and those in charge of health and safety so you can make sure you are meeting the necessary requirements for your business.

5. Real-time availability and updates

The system should provide real-time information on desk availability and updates. This prevents double-bookings and allows employees to make informed decisions when choosing a workspace.

6. Analytics and reporting

A good desk booking system should provide real-time analytics and reporting features. This allows administrators to track desk usage and utilisation against workplace capacity, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimise the workspace.

7. Supporting safety protocols

In the context of potential future pandemics or other health considerations, the system should support the integration of safety protocols. This should include features that make it easy to quickly implement appropriate distancing and compliance with health guidelines including being able to see who is in, or was booked in, the office on any given day.

8. Scalability

The best office space booking system needs to scale with your organisation. It should be able to accommodate changes in workforce size, office locations both locally and internationally, multiple workspaces and have the flexibility to enable different types of spaces to be booked including desks, rooms, parking and any other type of space.

There are very few platforms available that can meet all these requirements. Viewteam, ticks all of these boxes though making it a compelling option when considering desk booking systems for your company.