How a Technology -Powered Workforce Yields Major ROI

Blurred Lines = BetterBOTTOM LINES

THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING,

and now, more than ever, employees are demanding that

their workspaces reflect the way they choose to work.

iOFFICE and, Marketplace partner, Teem know this.

That’s why they’ve collaborated to create customizable

wayfinding solutions that empower employees.

iOFFICE’s comprehensive IWMS and Teem’s

meeting management and analysis

software work in tandem to achieve

harmonious workplaces that

deliver measurable results.

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In no other domain of corporate

real estate have boundaries

disappeared, and lines blurred

more than in the workplace.

— CoreNet Global, 2016

2

This push for increased collaboration is driven by the

need to enable new, more efficient ways of working

to raise employee engagement and improve business

outcomes. Gartner defines this new era as the

Digital Workplace.

Great leaders are recognizing that eliminating silos

and leveraging open systems that share data and

work together produces results.

But while the idea of workers forging greater bonds

and cooperating across teams is worth celebrating,

workplace leaders, like you, bear a tremendous burden.

You’re responsible for supporting the effort to break

down boundaries communicating the value of working

together and sharing data. As a result, the workplace

as a whole can improve and easily integrate new

technology as it evolves. This applies not only to your

internal FM systems and teams but also to your peers in

IT and HR. In fact, many organizations have recognized

the need for a new role of “workplace strategy

consultant” or “digital workplace leader” to

help connect the silos that all play a vital role in

delivering productive, engaging workspaces. This

person is not explicitly from IT, HR or FM, but rather

acts as a unifier across disciplines, using technology

and enhanced collaboration strategies to tear down

walls between departments and move the enterprise

closer to a digital workplace.

Regardless if this role has been defined in your

organization, there’s no doubt that managing these

blurred lines is a lot of work. But by applying the right

technology in the right places, you can help foster the

cross-departmental communication and make your life

much easier.

In this guide, we’ll give you insight into what lies ahead

and share exactly how you can use evolving workplace

technology to support your organization’s collaborative

efforts and contribute to a healthier bottom line.

If you’ve heard a low rumble emanating from the

floor of your workspace over the past several months,

IT’S NOT YOUR IMAGINATIONIt’s the response to the global call for greater collaboration.

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— that’s the sound of walls

between departments

beginning to crumble as

silos are being smashed.

The workspace of today can no longer be effectively

managed through a single, conventional software

package. Your average CAFM, CMMS, IWMS, EAM and

conference room booking solutions won’t do the trick

on their own — at least not if you want to provide your

workers the tools to outpace your competitors.

In many ways, technology has advanced too rapidly,

and the expectations of the C-Suite to effectively

manage both the facility and the workers’ experiences

have extended beyond the capabilities of one single

application.

With the acceptance of the cloud and the rapid

advancement of technologies — including Big Data,

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT)

— an opportunity to blur the lines between applications

has allowed organizations to achieve unprecedented

visibility, and even more successful management of the

workspace and worker experience.

Technological advancement has not only produced

cutting-edge solutions, but it has also facilitated easier

data sharing and integration between unique software

applications. Modern organizations now rely on REST

APIs to accomplish this seamless information flow

as they are highly scalable and flexible — something

workplace leaders need in this ever-changing

technology environment.

The good news is blurred lines create autonomous environments where

workers enjoy the independence and freedom to work in whatever manner

best suits their task and preferred work style. The challenge is it’s thrown the

traditional workplace technology strategy on its head.

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Managing Technology in an

ERA OF CHANGE

That means that these technologies feel like consumer

technologies. They’re easy to use, beautifully designed

and give your employees a sense that you’re ahead of

the times in meeting their workplace needs. That’s a

cultural enhancement for many companies that has a

dramatic impact on employees and their ability to do

their jobs. And we all know, the better your culture, the

more likely you are to attract and retain top talent.

Blurred lines have allowed responsibilities that once

stayed clearly in their own swim lanes to converge in

ways that best serve the company and workers.

The most visible collaboration is happening between

information technology and facilities management

teams. In the new world of work, the FM and IT

departments rely primarily on technology to meet

C-level expectations. But while satisfying top-level

executives seems to be the No. 1 goal, the reality

is, both groups serve the same master: the worker.

IT’s job is to ensure the workforce has secure access

to data and tools that allow them to perform their jobs

efficiently. The FM’s job is to ensure the workforce has

a workspace that supports their performance. In today’s

world, “workplace” is relative, but both IT and FM must

be able to deliver regardless of the employee’s physical,

mobile or virtual status.

In some cases, this may mean reserving a workspace

or conference room using hoteling and room reservation

solutions, or using wayfinding and digital signage

to locate a particular space or asset. Collaboration

between IT and FM is paramount to making these

solutions work as intended.

The blurred lines between departments also allow

your enterprise to take advantage of best of breed

technologies from a host of sources — whether it’s

internal, external, across departments or currently

operated within silos — to create a digital workplace

environment that best satisfies the needs of your

company culture. In other words, a more streamlined

work experience fosters a better work culture.

5

IT + FM + Integrated Technology = Better

WORK CULTURE

Julie works for a large, global corporation. She spends most

of her time working remotely from her home in the suburbs

but occasionally must attend an on-site event

at the company’s sprawling headquarters.

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Let’s take a look at an example.

MAKING MEETINGS WORK SMARTER

As a remote worker, she doesn’t have an assigned

workspace in the building and must reserve one before

she arrives on-site. She’ll also need to find the exact

location of the meeting she’s supposed to attend (which

is no easy feat on the company’s expansive campus).

But luckily for Julie, her company has adopted a fully-

integrated, smart workplace solution.

To reserve a workspace, she opens the office hoteling

room reservation application on her tablet and quickly

chooses a spot. When she arrives at headquarters, she

uses the lobby kiosk to instantly check-in and print her

security badge. The kiosk provides her with the latest

meeting details. To locate the meeting space and easily

find her way around the enormous buildings, she uses

the company’s wayfinding app on her mobile phone,

and the digital signage displayed throughout the facility

guides her along the way.

Minutes later, Julie is the first to arrive in the conference

room. The iBeacon technology scans her badge and

communicates her arrival to the space management

application. As others arrive, the thermostat

automatically adjusts to the optimal temperature for

room capacity, and the meeting begins. Even though her

home office is 100 miles away, Julie’s experience with

the smart workplace is that she is not burdened with

the hassle of getting to the meeting and as a result, can

actually focus on the meeting content and contribute as

a critical member of the team.

Now, let’s take a look at how Julie’s streamlined

experience is possible thanks to blurred

lines between departments and collaborative

technologies that make a digital workplace

possible.

Multiple software tools are needed to deliver this scenario.

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE

If acting independently from one another, each

department is unable to meet the real-time demands

of the worker — HR has to tell IT who Julie is, what

organizational group she’s assigned to, what level of

security clearance she has, which projects she will own

and other valuable information.

For the FM department to deliver, they’ll need all the

above information from HR, but they’ll also need to

provide the mechanism for users to request space and

services and track use. While it appears simple and

streamlined to Julie and her fellow workers, it’s actually

quite complicated – especially because each solution is

a separate software application.

The above scenario leverages various IoT applications,

digital signage, and mobile apps. This cannot happen in

a vacuum. To ensure a flawless worker experience, FM

and IT must come together to integrate each of these

third-party solutions to meet workforce needs. They also

need to leverage integrated analytics to understand how

to adapt the environment to effectively manage costs

and enhance the experience.

While the alliance between IT and FM is crucial to the

bottom line, a third department must be included to

ensure sustainable success: human resources.

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BRINGING HR INTO THE MIX

The work of the IT and FM departments directly impacts

HR’s objective to attract and retain top talent. Because

IT and FM have insights into how the workforce currently

operates and can make data-driven predictions for the

future, they offer tremendous value to HR. From helping

a new employee become integrated into the workspace,

know where to go and where to find various resources

on the first day to offering all the technology they need

for a pleasant day-to-day experience, FM and IT help

HR meet their goal of providing a positive experience

from the first interaction.

In companies that focus on building a healthy culture

and use talent retention as an indicator of success,

HR is in tight collaboration with IT and FM on process

development as well as creating tight technological

integrations among HR systems. In many forward-

thinking offices, the digital workplace strategist is often

present to oversee that these collaborations don’t just

happen, but also meet their intended goals.

If you believe that the employee experience and

workplace culture begin on the employee’s first day

— or even at the first interview — your HR, IT and

FM teams must join forces to support your workplace

culture and ensure employees thrive.

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Here’s an example:

MAKING THE ONBOARDING PROCESS SEAMLESS

Your company has just hired Sam, a new sales

representative. After Sam officially accepted the job

offer, the HR system originated a new hire record.

Because the IT, FM and HR team worked together to

set up an automated data feed between the HR system

and the CAFM/IWMS/IT Help Desk System, the IT and

FM teams are also aware of Sam’s impending arrival.

The information shared by the HR system triggers the IT

and FM systems to assign workspaces, neighborhoods,

computer resources, security access, email and

communication details, not to mention a desk, phone,

computer and critical HR materials. Before Sam even

arrives for his first day on the job, he’s been set up in

all relevant systems and will have no trouble accessing

everything he needs from day one.

Thanks to the blurred lines in these departments,

Sam will also be able to notify the right people when

he arrives for the first time, and easily find rooms and

other work spaces he needs throughout his first week.

Because the systems are integrated, and the teams

are in constant collaboration, Sam will have a seamless

onboarding experience and ongoing support.

The collaboration across FM, IT and HR through a

digital workplace framework is even more important as

companies compete at a global level and can attract

and leverage talent from anywhere. Since “workplace” is

relative, companies are seizing the opportunity to pursue

talent across the globe.

Internal processes to integrate global teams

weighs heavily on all three groups:

• IT must establish a secure, reliable infrastructure

• HR must offer the best systems for onboarding

and training

• FM must deliver a physical workspace that is

easily accessible and designed to meet the needs

of a dynamic workforce

The result of collaboration between these groups and

the integration of technology offer deeper insights and a

better understanding of how to plan for the future.

The most important criteria to judge all decisions

are by output: greater productivity, better space

utilization, better energy efficiency, increased employee

satisfaction or even increased automation and

integration.

To determine which technology solutions to use,

you’ll need to answer one simple question:

WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?

Define your goals across the organization, and

determine what data you’ll need to analyze to gain a

deeper insight into the current workforce behaviors and

future expectations and trends.

Expect plenty of skepticism or even opposition to

blurring lines and tearing down silos. Change can be

challenging and, in some cases, people just like their

walls. (Take, for example, this Washington Post article

that screams open floor plans are killing American

productivity and how the Wall Street Journal reports

that CEOs want their corner offices back.)

But by starting simple and showing workers

how changes will benefit their overall experience,

you can achieve buy-in and begin integrating

more change.

One of the greatest debates in the world of work — and particularly among

facilities management professionals — is which combination of technology tools

is ideal for achieving workforce and workplace harmony.

THE REALITY IS ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.

10

Overcoming Hurdles for a

DIGITAL WORKPLACE FUTURE

McKesson wanted to create the ultimate employee

experience in their new 528,000-square-foot workplace,

and in order to do this they knew they needed to

implement cutting-edge technology that supported the

employee experience while gaining insight into how their

workplace was being used. During the moving process,

McKesson noted a total of 58 different technologies that

were being utilized and knew that in their new space, they

wanted each department to seamlessly work together.

McKesson was able to utilize their FM data to implement

employee experience solutions such as Reservation,

Mail and Visitor modules. By creating a strategic data

usage plan, choosing the right tech tools and combining

floor plans, HR, IT and Finance applications, McKesson

was able to unite these systems with no disruption and

analyze the data through one comprehensive platform.

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Blurring Lines in

MCKESSON’S DIGITAL WORKPLACE

Let’s take a look at a real use case to see how blurring lines

between departments increased collaboration and the employee

experience by streamlining the digital workplace.

Since blurring the lines between their formerly rigid

siloed departments, McKesson has enjoyed a seamless

work experience: HR reconciliation reports, TCO by

floor plan, mobility and hot desking and decreased

response times. Additionally, the Facilities Management

department is now the go-to source for metrics and

data analytics, and the RE Division has been surpassing

employee experience expectations.

Now that McKesson has benefitted from the success

of blurred lines between their various departments,

they’re ready to take their employee experience

solutions to the next level. In the future, McKesson

looks forward to implementing the iOFFICE Visitor

Module and Wayfinding so that it not only tracks the

staff and guests in their facilities, it also tracks their

patients’ whereabouts and what step of the treatment

process they are on. Additionally, McKesson has created

an innovative wellness program for their employees,

which, in the future, they look forward to integrating

with their IWMS.

CONCLUSIONWhile at first the idea of blurring lines and breaking down

silos can seem scary — and the amount of data and

effort to integrate systems can seem dizzying — the

ROI is substantial. With the right tools, processes can

be completed and measured in a reliable time frame.

More importantly, you gain insights on the workplace

that are more accurate, directed and strategic than ever

before. Fueling this sort of collaboration better prepares

your organization for the inevitable move to the digital

workplace.

Overall, the drive toward greater collaboration

among workers, systems and software is

undeniable. Blurred lines allow for integration

of preferred legacy systems with new, more

innovative solutions and greater visibility into each

department’s processes. Blurred lines lead to a

more informed leadership team and a happier,

more engaged workforce.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TEEMLEARN MORE ABOUT iOFFICE

iOFFICE is the leading workforce-centric IWMS software

and the only 100% SaaS platform designed for the Digital

Workplace. iOFFICE equips C-suite executives, CRE, and

facilities leaders with the real-time data and communications

tools they need to plan effectively for the future of their

workforce and workplace. With tools like the newly

launched iOFFICE HUMMINGBIRD, which offers businesses

a transformative and customizable set of employee-

experience solutions such as wayfinding, reservations,

and more, iOFFICE can truly make the workplace hum with

the help of their growing network of Marketplace partners.

Teem is a cloud-based software and analytics platform

for meeting management and analysis that helps

companies maximize their workspace and enable

their employees to work more efficiently. The platform

provides employee-focused meeting tools and activity-

driven insights, including eye-catching conference room

displays, streamlined visitor management and detailed

space use analytics that drive better decisions on space

and facilities utilization. To date, the Salt Lake City-based

startup has raised over $20 million in capital from NGP,

GE, Google Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Zetta Venture

Partners, Origin Ventures, and others.