8 problems resolved through workplace management software

MRI

Facilities Management

November 18, 2021

Discover how introducing workplace management software resolves numerous problems affecting employee satisfaction and overall business performance.

Today’s top-performing companies understand the influence their work environment has on employee productivity and wellbeing.

A welcoming, well-structured atmosphere will boost morale and engagement. A disorganized, demanding environment will have the opposite effect. To avoid falling into the latter category, organizations must introduce systems to overcome workplace management issues and achieve the agility and stronger user experiences they desire.

This is where workplace management software enters the picture. Below, we will explore the variety of workplace problems this technology resolves, and the positive difference this can make to businesses of all sizes and industries.

What problems can effective workplace management software solve?

1. Wasted space

Space is a valuable resource in any workplace. Yet, many companies are unaware of just how much space across their facilities goes to waste:

Approximately 60% of available office space is used in a typical workday
The average company has 30-50% more space than needed
Workstations are often vacant 50-60% of the day
Just 13% of companies say their workplace is utilized over 80% of the time

Statistics provided by iOffice

Poor space utilisation can cost businesses thousands annually, cutting a sizable chunk into their operating costs. Having no solution in place to oversee the organization of space can also be the catalyst for several further workplace management problems, including:

Poor space design, hurting workplace collaboration and making it harder for people to navigate their surroundings
Overcrowding in certain areas or rooms, while other space is left completely unoccupied
Overlapped bookings of desks and workstations, particularly for companies with hybrid working models

Workplace management software overcomes these hurdles by capturing real-time spatial data across your facilities. This will identify any areas of your buildings that are left unoccupied most of the day – and the costs attached to these.

With this data in clear view, you can improve space planning significantly, whether it’s repurposing rooms or adjusting layouts to make these more efficient and collaborative. This will help you cut down unnecessary overheads and create a better environment for your teams.

2. Inability to harness BIM data

In a similar vein, BIM technology is playing a bigger role in building construction and management with each passing year:

The NBS 2020 BIM Report demonstrated that BIM adoption has risen to its highest level yet, with 73% surveyed saying they currently use BIM

When harnessed effectively, the data generated by BIM can help FMs understand facilities with absolute accuracy, and use this to maximize the lifecycle of buildings and the assets within them. However, all too often this data is left untouched, or cannot be comfortably translated into their existing FM software.

Effective workplace management software helps you reap the full benefits of BIM, allowing you to translate this data across all project document types, including COBie, wexBIM and IFC files. With this, FM teams can integrate this data into one, manageable 3D model, and gain total oversight over the lifecycle of buildings, facilities and assets.

3. Disorganized meetings and bookings

Few things grind productivity to a halt in the workplace like a poorly organized meeting. In fact, it is estimated that these cost UK companies over £43 billion annually.

On top of costs involved in meetings that overrun or aren’t run optimally, this can also cause a great deal of frustration or tension among colleagues. From a double-booked meeting room for two crucial client meetings, to arguments over who has dibs on a shared workstation, the lack of reliable facility booking software can cause a deeply unpleasant atmosphere.

Workplace management software can eliminate this problem by making room bookings straightforward and self-managed. Employees can always know what rooms are available and seamlessly communicate details to all attendees. With these systems in place, meetings run like clockwork, so people get the most out of them.

Find out more by reading ‘8 Ways Room Booking Solutions Boost Business Efficiency’.

4. Minimal data-driven decision making

Data drives modern businesses forward. However, if this cannot be captured or kept under control, it offers no value in how companies strategically plan their next steps.

That is a problem that many organizations face – they need data and analytics to guide their path, but these aren’t kept in one central location. This means that they tend to lead with assumptions, which will not reap the same benefits for company finances and overall growth.

Solutions like Live View, part of our workplace management software package, ensure that all crucial information is displayed in clear, easy-to-digest visual displays. With this oversight, teams are empowered to use this data to guide meaningful improvements to business processes.

Plus, by setting custom parameters for areas such as asset performance, stock levels or task completion, this helps you monitor whether your workplace is performing optimally according to your business goals.

5. Health and safety struggles

Part of creating a positive, productive workplace is reassuring employees that it is clean, safe and secure. If they feel uncomfortable in their surroundings, or that they might be at risk of either hazards or illnesses, then this will have a negative impact on their happiness and performance.

Workplace management software goes a long way to guaranteeing the cleanliness of a workspace is never in question. Through it, organizations can establish cleaning schedules that maintain a hygienic environment for everyone.

It can also give employees full vision of what activities are happening at what times. This provides them with reassurance that their workplace facilities are being looked after, which will encourage them in their approach to work.

For examples of how these solutions can tackle health and safety struggles, check out a number of our dedicated workforce apps:

Cleaning Now
Task Manager
Adhoc Tasks

6. Uncoordinated workflows

Workplace management solutions can also play a powerful role in organizing the tasks that keep workplaces in top condition. If the workflows of engineers, cleaners and other technicians are not coordinated effectively, the core functions and cleanliness of a building can gradually decline.

This will hurt employee morale and, if left unchecked, could inspire them to walk away. To prevent this possibility, this software helps to arrange and automate the delivery of these tasks. As a result, duties aren’t missed due to human error, and engineers have all the information they need to fulfil their role in making the workplace as welcoming as possible.

This means:

Better workplace environments, allowing team members to thrive
Boosted employee satisfaction, leading to stronger productivity
More structured, less intensive experiences for technicians and FM teams
Minimal unplanned downtime or disruptions

7. Poor project management

Approximately only 22% of organizations use a form of project management software (Workamajig)

Project managers are tasked with handling challenging processes with the aim of achieving positive results. Unfortunately, between them and these results is an extensive list of obstacles that may make or break the entire project.

Problems managing projects can emerge due to internal or external factors. But no matter the source, without a system in place to monitor and manage all aspects, this can cause costly delays and mistakes that send project planning completely off the rails.

This is another area where workplace management software can make a massive difference. A fully integrated Project Management solution can help teams oversee each milestone of a project through a straightforward, single task grid interface.

With this single, unified view of all activities, obstacles can be navigated smoothly, potential risks can be rectified, and profitability is preserved.

8. Overburdened helpdesks

Operating a helpdesk can often feel like a thankless, burdensome task. It is all too easy for requests and calls to overwhelm these teams, making life more difficult for the operators and causing jobs to bottleneck, delaying work from being completed.

Workplace management software can ease the strain on helpdesks and make their position more agile, while at the same time empowering employees to initiate maintenance tasks themselves.

Solutions like our Integrated Services Module (ISM) raise the responsiveness of helpdesks, enabling them to easily assign tasks through a simple drag-and-drop system, and rapidly complete data entry and task assignment.

Furthermore, apps such as ChatLog give employees the ability to directly report workplace issues to the FM team. This alleviates the burden on the helpdesk, and gives them a clearer indication of how tasks are progressing, improving their own wellbeing.

What is an IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System)?

Integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) is an all-inclusive solution to support modern facilities management responsibilities. It fulfils five fundamental areas of FM:

Real estate management
Facilities/space management
Maintenance management
Project management
Environmental sustainability

Through this, IWMS software covers every aspect of making workplaces as comfortable and efficient as possible, both for those working within them and the organisation overall. It is why MRI Evolution is designed to be a combined CAFM/IWMS solution – to be a total business management platform, sitting at the core of all FM operations.

Workplace management and workforce management

Our overarching workplace software incorporates a wide range of workplace management and workforce management apps – all built with the aim of streamlining operations, improving connectivity and creating the best possible workplace environments.

Workplace management

Our workplace management apps focus on engaging with people within a workplace, encouraging them to be actively involved in maintaining the quality of their environment and supporting overall employee satisfaction.

Together, these uphold a positive company culture, reinforce the cleanliness of workspaces, and inspire greater communication between employees and their FM teams.

Explore our applications below for more information:

Our Info
Our Say
Our Events
ChatLog
Visitor App
Book It
Our Classified

Workforce management

Our workforce management solutions meanwhile concentrate on creating a smart network that connects your entire workforce, no matter where they are. This enables your remote engineers and teams to focus on their tasks without the need for constant in-person supervision.

Through this flow of data from remote sources directly and instantly into your CAFM/IWMS solution, you will be faster and more responsive, while everyone in your organisation has access to real-time information at their fingertips.

Explore our applications below for more information:

Cleaning Now
Task Manager
Audit Now
Adhoc Tasks
Asset Manager
Portering App
Supervisor App

Is IWMS software suitable for small businesses?

Often, smaller businesses and start-ups will overlook the need for workplace management software, presuming that this technology is more applicable to larger organizations with broader property portfolios. Although their needs may be less pressing, ensuring employees have the best physical environment to work in applies to companies of all sizes.

Therefore, in order to compete with larger companies for talent and market share, smaller businesses should be seriously considering their workplace management solutions. This technology will help give their employees ideal workplace conditions, support recruitment and retention, and enable them to work at their most productive.

Plus, with access to space management software, this enables organizations to scale-up personnel or effectively restructure their environment to maximize efficiency as their business evolves over time.

Unlock the benefits of workplace management software

This article merely scratches the surface of the advantages that successful workplace management software can deliver to organizations at any scale. We hope that this has given you a stronger understanding of the problems this technology can resolve, and encouraged you to seek out the full benefits for yourself.

If you are ready to start that journey, speak to our experts at FSI. For over 30 years, we’ve helped businesses run smarter, empower their workforces to take ownership of their environment, and streamline facilities management duties into simple, effective solutions.

Get in touch today for more information on our workplace management solutions.

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