- Control office temperature to enable autonomy and comfort.
Too hot or too cold is a common workplace complaint. This can affect your teams’ productivity and overall experiences. However, with new technologies like smart thermostats and in-app temperature control functionality, you can take command of your office temperatures and create a more comfortable and personalized environment for your employees. Temperature controls allows you to adjust the temperature with a few clicks in your app or you can grant permissions to employees so they have the ability to change the temperature of the workspace themselves. This experience is similar to one they have at home with Google Nest, Honeywell Home Smart, or Ecobee Smart. In order to get these controls, ask your building to allow command and control access to the HVAC equipment. Many times office buildings will be hesitant to grant access, but we encourage you to push your buildings to allow access. After all, we are in 2023 and smart offices are a thing.
“Recently, we moved offices and the temperature cannot be worse! One day I’m wearing my parka and one day I feel like I need my beach wear. I’m not sure why I need to come into the office to constantly be shedding and putting on clothes, when I can be comfortable at my house and just as productive.” – Senior Legal Director of Major Airline Company
- Provide app functionality to book conference rooms and desk reservations.
Hybrid work is here to stay, and more employees are looking for flexibility in their workspace. One way to achieve this is by allowing your employees the opportunity to reserve conference rooms or desks on an as-needed basis from anywhere and for any office which they have access. Employees can seamlessly reserve those desks or conference rooms next to certain colleagues for better collaboration and with the right technology to do their best work. This not only provides flexibility, but it also offers you valuable insights into how spaces are being utilized, allowing the ability to truly optimize your space based on your employees’ needs.
- Unify access and never lose keycards with a new seamless and touchless experience.
Are you tired of your employees constantly losing their physical keycards? According to Proxy’s 2019 Physical Security Trends Report, 17.3% of physical key card users have lost at least one card in a year and it takes a security employee an average of 12.2 minutes to replace one. With a unified access system and mobile keycards for your workplace, you can streamline access management and ensure your employees don’t misplace their keycards. This not only provides a more seamless and touchless experience but also enhances security by ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to specific areas that you choose. Not all enterprise access control systems are the same – some have mobile keycards and some don’t. We can confirm that tools to integrate your access control system with your keycards exist in the market – and the best experience is one-touch configuration. This means that in an app, you and your employees can click a button and the keycard sets up instantly. In addition, Apple, Google, and Samsung are starting to allow the storage of keycards in the wallet so that employees can enter permissioned spaces, even if their phone is dead.
- Manage all people in one place, including vendors and visitors
If you're in charge of managing vendors or visitors to your workplace, you know how time-consuming and inefficient the outdated process can be. However, with new digital solutions, you can manage vendors and visitors in one place, making the process much more efficient and streamlined. This not only saves time but also enhances security by allowing you to track and monitor access to your workplace. You also can make the best first impressions possible by offering a fully digital and seamless experience for your visitors. Have you wondered why you have to use so many tools to manage people in the office?
- Monitor and optimize indoor air so your employees can breathe easier
As we've learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor air quality is a critical factor in the health and safety of employees. With new technologies like air quality optimization, you can monitor and optimize indoor air quality to ensure that employees are not exposed to high concentrations of harmful pollutants. This not only provides a healthier and more productive work environment but also demonstrates a commitment to employee wellbeing and safety.
As you can see, there are a lot of workplace tools that you should consider. The age of your office and systems, who owns your office, the ability to negotiate with your landlord, your appetite to spend capital, and the technology prowess of your team all factor into what strategies you actually implement. But, our advice is to ask more questions – why can’t we do this? Why shouldn’t we do this. We promise that if you dig deeper, you will find that you can do a lot more than what’s on the surface. The overarching theme of the above options is that by utilizing technology and data, you can create a more comfortable, efficient, and safe workplace that enhances productivity, employee satisfaction, and overall wellbeing. According to WiredScore’s report of The Office in 2028, 91% of their corporate decision maker respondents said they would consider spending an average of 4.5% more to work in a smart-enabled office.
So – ditch the multiple tools for an all-in-one workplace experience that unifies people, spaces, resources and experiences within your workplace portfolio.
