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‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. These famous words, attributed to Saint Augustine, have inspired travellers through the ages to adjust their habits to the local customs of the areas they visit. But they also demonstrate a flexible attitude that is particularly relevant today. The world is becoming more and more interconnected, and with that comes the need for us to be adaptable. In the workplace, this means adapting to hybrid working models and to the changing needs of your people.
The changing role of offices
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the trend towards more flexible use of workspaces, increased focus on employee engagement, and a changing role for office buildings into a place to meet colleagues and get inspiration. Looking back, we see that the COVID-19 crisis was a catalyst for a huge leap in the adoption of these trends leaving us with a workforce that is completely comfortable with a work life where the office is a place to go only occasionally to ‘meet, greet & eat’ rather than part of a daily routine.
Office space is changing into a hub that can be used to meet, work occasionally and connect with people for situations where online tools are inadequate. Organisations will benefit from adjustments in the size and nature of offices. Just think of the reduced number of desks that are needed. Or perhaps a whole floor that is no longer needed, when people work partly from home. Alongside the benefits, challenges also arise.
The workplace is a powerful part of employee engagement
If people are spending less time in the office, they may also be less involved in the ins and outs of the organisation and the workplace. They lack awareness of the availability of spaces or the presence of their colleagues. Booking a suitable space that meets their needs could be more difficult as a result. If it is more inconvenient, they might choose to video call from home more often instead of meeting in the office. The right balance between working from home and working in the office supports improving employee engagement. How can you help your people do this?
Increase engagement with best-in-class mobile solutions
Mobile employees require mobile solutions for workplace engagement. Some standalone workplace apps may be tailored to a single building. However, to expand on the famous words of Saint Augustine, you can expect your international, mobile workforce to ‘do as the Romans do’. They shouldn’t need to install a separate app for each corporate building they visit. Nor should they use a single corporate app that offers only a handful of generic services without all the benefits of IoT, smart buildings and local services. ‘Unburden’ is a key principle in workplace engagement and that means that a single app and a single experience at the front end should be seamlessly combined with the familiar FM landscape of a multitude of buildings, technologies, and services in the background. They just need one single app to book a desk or meeting room, and request services; anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The Planon Workplace App is about more than just requesting services. It is the single portal for an employee to interact and view information about the connected building, its service providers, and their colleagues.
Offer an optimal work experience
At the time Augustine spoke these famous words (4th century AD), the Roman empire was losing its power to set overall directives for the rules of engagement and had to find a new balance between central regulations and a local approach while still using a single language for the entire empire. Today’s workplace strategists (facility managers, HR and IT professionals) can face employee engagement challenges which require a similar flexible approach and need one corporate workplace app to make sure that the other travellers' wisdom also stays true: ‘All roads lead to Rome’.
The Planon Workplace App provides a sustainable, simple, and efficient way for building occupants, and workplace strategists to stay connected and achieve the optimal workplace experience. Are you interested in trying out this new mobile app? Request a free 14-day trial version to understand what it has to offer and see some important use cases.