The Company
A leading professional services firm providing audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and legal service.
The Challenge
Time is a precious commodity but much of it was being wasted for the properties & facilities team when it came to managing the room booking system. The vast spectrum of variables, ranging from room location and size, right through to how and when people needed to book was absorbing a huge amount of resources and simply taking too long. The properties & facilities team was unable to have visibility of individual room services like; AV, flipchart or WiFi while the need to create detailed reports for the internal catering, room set-up and cleaning teams each time a room was booked meant a huge amount of administration was required.
- Due to its size, this customer uses rooms for a wide range of activities - everything from board meetings to lectures and training. Knowing exactly how a room was going to be used was critical, but not always possible
- Daily reports were required for catering teams in a specific format
- Cleaning teams only clean what has been booked - if people didn’t book a space, or booked it late, it meant hygiene and managing COVID protocols was an issue
“As a result of the pandemic, we’ve seen a huge amount of change in how people book rooms and when they come into the office. Whatever the pace of peoples schedules, we want to provide an excellent experience for staff and that includes everything from booking a desk to the actual workplace itself like the environment, catering and support facilities. We needed to enhance the experience”
The Solution
In order to streamline its processes, the customer turned to Accruent EMS. This system provides the visibility and flexibility required to ensure the multiple teams at the company have the required information to prepare rooms accordingly. Reports can be produced on demand providing critical and detailed information regarding what people booking rooms require and when, streamlining the whole process. This was especially important during COVID because people were required to add visitors, fill in health evaluation forms and book three days in advance. The staff also benefited from a live desk booking service on the system, which enabled individuals to book spaces to work on-demand.
- Reports can be run, on demand, for catering, cleaning and room set-up teams so planning and preparation is much smoother
- All employees can download an app for quick and simple room booking
“At the height of the pandemic, our large rooms went from having capacity for 50 people, down to six. As a result, they were in huge demand. But even now, that demand remains high. People want to come into the office and collaborate with their teams and they need the space to do that. It means the processes and tools we established for COVID, remain just as valuable today.”
The Benefits
The impact of using EMS is being felt throughout the company. It has led to a huge reduction in administrative time required for the properties & facilities team - time that can be invested in improving quality and service elsewhere. Employees can book available rooms and spaces on-demand - even at the last minute. Support teams have the information regarding usage requirements and capacity at their fingertips so can tailor their work to precisely what is needed.
- Reduced administrative time spent managing and preparing for meetings
- Desk bookings can be made late without creating knock-on issues for cleaning
- Enabled their space to reflect their brand personality and organisational culture
- Front-of-house staff retained to provide personal touch and service
“People are slowly coming back to the office, and more frequently. Our job is to make it as easy as possible for them to do that, and fundamental to that is booking desk space and meeting rooms”
The Results
In Ireland, office spaces are leased under long term agreements which is not only a huge commitment, but an expensive one if the space is not being utilised. EMS was able to inform the customer of accurate usage helping it identify and sublet 15% of its estate and save thousands of Euros annually. The company is also making sustainability gains with huge reductions in paper usage with reports and confirmations now being generated digitally and in a manner that is suitable for those consuming them.
- 15% of the office has been sublet, saving the company thousands of Euros annually
- A huge reduction in paper usage
“Previously we would have been emailing an Excel spreadsheet and printing that out for all parties. Now it’s delivered in a way that is easy for the teams to consume without having to print reams of paper.”
