“Don’t be afraid of desk sharing” — How Flexopus optimizes workflows

In an interview with Head of People & Culture, Stefanie Maamer

Thank you for taking the time. Can you describe yourself and your company to us at the outset?

My name is Stefanie Maamer, I work at Banauten GmbH as Head of People & Culture. We are a digital agency that was founded 6 years ago and focuses on implementing social media projects. As far as the working model is concerned, we have a hybrid working model. This means that our employees work both from home and on site in the office.

How long have you been using Flexopus?

We use Flexopus since the beginning of 2020.

Why did you decide to integrate desk sharing software into your company?

First and foremost, as a digital agency, we are very interested in digital tools and would like to always be at the forefront of this for ourselves, but also for our employees, when it comes to new technologies and, above all, with tools that help us in our everyday work and make it easier for us. Flexopus is just such a tool for us.

In addition, we have grown significantly in recent years, much faster than our offices did. In the beginning, Flexopus helped us to optimally manage our presence in the office and at some point also to recognize that we needed a larger area. I had already mentioned at the beginning that we work in a hybrid model, which means that the colleagues work partly from home and partly in the office and we didn't have a separate workplace for everyone for a long time, so there was a risk that you would come to the office and find no more space afterwards.

Among other things, we also have changing project teams and it is very helpful for us when employees join the Book workplaces so that they sit together in their teams. We also wanted a simple Booking our meeting rooms and our parking spaces, which can be booked by both customers and employees.

Which aspects were important to you when deciding on a desk sharing software provider and who was involved in the decision-making process?

On the one hand, we focused on usability, that the tool is easy to use and that it also looks good. Of course, it was also important that the effort for administrators was limited and also because it was easy to use.
Other reasons for us were Data protection And the data security, that was an important issue for us and ultimately the price also plays a role. Our management and IT were involved in the decision-making process.

Why did you choose Flexopus?

We were impressed by the range of functions that was perfect for us, which simple and intuitive user interfacethat Flexopus is developed and hosted in Germany and, of course, the price-performance ratio.

How long did the integration process take (from contract conclusion to use for everyone) and what challenges or difficulties did you encounter when integrating Flexopus?

After a good week, everything was set up and ready to go. I think we were among the first users of Flexopus and at the very beginning, we didn't have all the features that are available today. The biggest challenge was to encourage employees to use Flexopus regularly.

How did you approach change communication?

At the very beginning, we were still a small team and also had a separate workplace for each employee. At that time, it was not entirely natural for employees to always book a place via Flexopus, because it was clear that there were enough places. However, we grew quite quickly and there was no longer a separate place for each person. So it was pretty quick that Flexopus was integrated into the work workflow by the team. Workplace booking has now been integrated into the onboarding process, we are introducing Flexopus and it is a matter of course for everyone that the tool is used.

How has Flexopus affected your way of working and productivity?

Flexopus is particularly useful for our project teams because they can sit down on a daily basis, which makes coordination easier. In addition, booking meeting rooms and parking spaces saves us time because availability can be viewed at any time, meaning that even short-term bookings can be made super quickly at any time.

On the other hand, the pandemic has also had a major impact on usage. We started using Flexopus shortly before the pandemic and when there were new regulations every day, we were able to react quickly and, for example, only activate a certain number of seats so that the safety of our colleagues was also guaranteed at all times.

How well does the integration of Flexopus software work with other tools or systems that you use in your day-to-day work?

We use Flexopus with Microsoft integration, which means we can use the Microsoft Teams Use Flexopus add-ons in teams, in Outlook Book and also use all meeting rooms directly when making an appointment single sign-on and that works wonderfully.

Lastly, what recommendations would you make to other companies considering desk sharing?

As a company, we can Desk sharing Fully recommend and encourage other companies to introduce a tool like Flexopus. I find Flexopus particularly recommended for companies that have a hybrid working model, because it can of course also save office space that may no longer be needed. However, it is also definitely worthwhile for companies that, for example, have many meeting rooms to manage. You should definitely not be afraid of desk sharing, as in my opinion it has significantly more advantages than disadvantages. And a tool like Flexopus supports the principle perfectly.

Thank you so much for taking the time.