Why move from a traditional desk and room booking system to a Workplace Experience Platform
Driven by the shift towards more remote work and a greater emphasis on work-life balance, employees now expect flexible, modern, and user-friendly workplaces that cater to diverse working styles and cadences.
To meet these needs and enhance satisfaction and productivity, organisations must adapt their workplace strategy and technology, looking beyond traditional tools like desk and room booking. This involves integrating workplace solutions that support communication, collaboration, and overall employee well-being.
In this blog, we explain what a workplace experience application is, how it is used by organisations and why you should consider moving from your desk and room booking system to a workplace experience platform.
What is a Workplace Experience Platform?
A workplace experience application is a digital platform designed to enhance the overall employee and visitor experience as they navigate the office environment. It streamlines various aspects of an employee's workplace experience by bringing together a cohesive set of capabilities, features, and processes in one place. It allows employees to pre-plan their day in the office effectively. It also serves as a centralised hub for facility, IT and HR leaders to gain a range of insights and analytics on office usage and employee behaviour.
What is the difference between a Workplace Experience Platform and a desk or room booking system?
Dedicated desk booking and room booking systems are primarily designed for managing and reserving desks, meeting rooms, and other workspaces within an office. Their main features revolve around displaying real-time availability, allowing users to book desks or rooms, and managing reservations. While they may integrate with calendars and communication tools, their scope is generally limited to making reservations.
Some desk booking or room booking applications may provide basic analytics on space utilisation, but they typically lack the comprehensive data collection and analysis capability.
In contrast, workplace experience platforms can ingest data from across your entire workspace, including third-party tools, to create a unified view of workplace utilisation. This comprehensive data empowers these platforms to deliver time-saving services that significantly improve the employee experience. They also are highly configurable.
Why are organisations now turning to Workplace Experience Platforms?
A recent Ricoh study conducted with the Centre for Economic Research found that one-third of employees say their work setup hinders their productivity. 70% reported that they lack the technology for seamless collaboration. Employees require adaptable workspaces to perform their work well. However, organisations often struggle to meet these expectations, leading to dissatisfaction and high turnover.
70% of employees reported that they lack the technology for seamless collaboration*
Among employees who are considering leaving their jobs in the next 12 months, 1 in 3 said they would reconsider if they had better flexible working arrangements*.
* Ricoh Europe's 2024 research on fulfilment through work
What to do next?
Read our Workplace Experience Platform Buyers’ Guide to learn more and get useful insights to help you select the right solution for your organisation.
Lisa Topliss
Director Digital Workplace, Ricoh Europe
