Imagine you’re thinking of eating out at your favorite Italian restaurant over the weekend. Now, you can either make a table reservation in advance or check in directly.
In the first case, you’ll receive a confirmation that your table has been reserved successfully on the restaurant’s second floor as per your specific requirement. Meanwhile, in the second case, you will get a table on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll have to take whatever table is available at the time.
A desk booking software works in a similar fashion. It is essentially a sophisticated software crafted using a system of codes that allows employees to book a “desk” or “cubicle” for a day or more depending on need. Workers can also claim a desk through a desk booking software depending on proximity to colleagues or amenities required, such as notepads or desktops.
All the bookings are made using an app integrated with the desk booking software that demonstrates a visual map of the entire facility, including individual workspaces, offices, common rooms, conference rooms, etc. And each booking request is either approved automatically or by a company manager/supervisor (or a management team) responsible for overseeing the reservations.
How Does a Desk Booking Software Work?
A desk booking software allows employees to reserve a workstation at the physical office using any interface.
Whether they prefer using a desk booking software for on-the-go desk reservations or a browser to book a desk beforehand, they can access any software-enabled platform to:
- Identify and reserve workstations on demand
- Check out details, pictures, resources, floor maps, and other related information for a particular space
- Filter choices depending on availability, location, and type
Now, there are primarily two ways desk booking management works: Hot Desking and Hoteling. This is also the reason why such booking software is occasionally called desk hoteling or hot desking software.
While each term defines a set of more or less similar processes, there are specific particularities you should know about.
Desk Hoteling
This is a flexible workspace practice wherein employees can find and claim any available workspace in advance for a certain period. They can rely on a desk booking software app or web browser to make the reservation. Want to more about hoteling in the hybrid workplace?
Hot Desking
Here, the employees show up directly at the office facility and book a workstation depending on the availability and demand at the time. Employees can use QR codes, RFID tags, etc., to check available desks, which are then assigned in the order of arrival. We have put together a list of advantages of implementing hot desking.
Undoubtedly, the desk booking software is incredibly user-friendly for individual employees. But what if a team or group of employees needs to collaborate? How can they reserve a specific area for use? In such a case, the management can permanently book a huddle of workstations for the team as a “neighborhood” to facilitate easy collaboration.
To give organizations the best of both worlds, most desk booking software allows both hotel desks and hot desks for the employees to use.
How to Implement a Desk Booking Software?
The sudden move to remote work after the COVID-19 outbreak was unarguably a jarring experience, especially for employees used to the traditional work model. To spare them another similar experience, you must carefully implement a desk booking software to get the hybrid workspace strategy rolling.
The transition from a 9-to-5 workspace model to an asynchronous one should feel seamless to your employees, not interruptive. With that said, let us understand how you can get started successfully.
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