Workspace booking vs. Desk booking: pros and cons

Zone booking and desk booking: what are the differences?

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Desk booking: what are we talking about?

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Desk booking is a reservation system where employees choose, through a software or an application, a workstation. If the reservation is done autonomously, it must follow the policy and rules imposed by the company, such as the maximum number of days to choose a seat in advance, for example.

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Zone booking: an evolution of desk booking?

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Zone booking is also a reservation system. Unlike desk booking, it guarantees a free space in a specific area within theworkspace. There is no assigned desk: employees choose a workstation once they are on the premises. The zone booking approach is more human, focused on sharing, collaboration and collective occupation of the space. 

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What are the benefits for your company and employees?

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#1 - Strengthen interaction and collaboration through zone booking

Zone booking contributes to strengthening the employer brand by giving employees more freedom and confidence. In addition, managers have better visibility onworkspace usage thanks to data from the booking software or application.

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With this data, you can therefore distribute employees more intelligently: by department, by project team on a floor, etc. to facilitate exchanges;

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#2 - Secure your individual place with desk booking

The desk booking is ideal to ensure the transition to the flex office The reservation of a dedicated workstation for the day offers a reassuring aspect to employees, especially for more traditional populations and sectors of activity.

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#3 - Reduce your real estate costs with zone and desk booking

For companies, the zone and the desk booking also allow to :

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• Monetize unused workspaces to reduce real estate costs: if telecommuting is mandatory three days a week, offices are empty 70% of the time - so this is an opportunity to rent them to people outside the company;
• optimize the occupancy rate: with desk booking, employees can only reserve a desk within the company. If one of them has chosen a place in advance but all the others are working remotely, this risks creating a feeling of isolation, thus encouraging the desertion of the office. The zone booking, on the other hand, widens the possibilities: the employee can join another work zone to exchange with the colleagues present.

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What are the disadvantages of these reservation systems?

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Zone booking: too global an approach?

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Zone booking can be perceived as a source of stress for employees with a more introverted personality, who would need a little privacy. 

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The last disadvantage of zone booking is the risk of disappointment. The most requested positions (close to a window...) are quickly booked, which leaves less choice for employees who arrive a little later than others at their workplace.

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Desk booking: the return of monotony?

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Employees reserve their workstations on a software or application. The risk is that they continually choose the same workstations, and more or less return to their old habits of allocated desks. Monotony is back: because of the lack of mobility, teams no longer mix.

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Desk booking involves the use of software or an application that must be coupled with hardware, such as sensors to check the availability of workstations. In addition to incurring additional costs, employees may feel a little too controlled.

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What criteria should I take into account when choosing an office reservation tool?

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Whether it is zone booking or desk booking, the reservation is equally reliable. When choosing between the two systems, the objectives for improving the quality of life at the office and the needs of the employees must be taken into account.

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• Is the company more of a collaborative or individual culture?
• Is the office occupancy rate sub-optimized? If so, why?

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Answering these two questions will help you determine the right solution for the company and its employees.

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In just one year, the demand for booking tools has increased by 30%. With the implementation of new ways of workingWith the implementation of new working methods, employees no longer always work in the same place: in the office, in a coworking space, in telecommuting... Reservation tools allow you to better organize workspaces and optimize the occupancy rate.

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Solutions like Worklib offer tailor-made support services to help you deploy a reservation system tailored to your business. Think about it!

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