Workplace platform integrations to prioritize when selecting your solution
In a recent interview with CNBC, Javier Saltero, general manager of Google Workspace, emphasized how badly an incomplete technology strategy can hurt plans to bring employees back to the office.
“A lot of people are still uncomfortable with video conferencing and other tech programs,” said Saltero. That discomfort leads to users “neglecting to learn how to use it to their advantage until it becomes a serious problem.”
That’s why integrations are a major point of consideration when choosing a workplace experience platform.
If the platform you select integrates smoothly with the tools your people are used to, they are much more likely to adopt it.
Most workplace experience platforms emphasize a comprehensive list of possible integrations, but we recommend evaluating these criteria to ensure rapid implementation and widespread adoption.
This approach will help your organization avoid unnecessary hurdles during the transition to a predominantly in-person or hybrid workplace.
1. Room- and desk-booking remain a top priority for a workplace platform
Equipping employees with the ability to safely, quickly, and confidently book spaces at the office is a pillar of a modern workplace strategy. Workplace platforms have become one of the go-to solutions to address this problem.
According to a Verdantix Global Corporate Survey from 2021, 81% of respondents ranked space-booking functionality as “very important” or “important” when evaluating mobile apps.
As a result, your workplace experience platform should seamlessly integrate with a room- and desk-booking app or offer an intuitive hoteling and space-booking tool out of the box.
2. IWMS integration remains an underrated advantage
One of the most important roles that an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) plays in any workplace is to act as the data governance hub. When introducing a workplace app to your organization, it will generate huge amounts of data based on how people use it.
That data can help ensure your workplace platform is being used effectively—and help you understand how people use workspaces in the office after months of remote work.
That’s why it’s so important that your app can easily integrate with and feed information into your IWMS.
3. Occupancy and space design tools pair naturally with workplace platforms
Occupancy sensors and space design tools are additional examples of integrations that make the data collected by your mobile workplace app even more valuable.
You’ll need to accurately measure how people are interacting with the workplace after you give them new tools to do just that. Then you’ll need a strategy for translating those lessons into workplace design suggestions. These critical tasks are much simpler when your workplace app can speak directly to solutions such as VergeSense and Saltmine.
The recent JLL Technologies webinar, “Essential tech powers the return-to-office and the future of work,” provides more in-depth examples of how much value workplace apps, occupancy sensors, and space design solutions can generate when they are integrated.
4. Food delivery brings remote-work comforts to the office
Organizations can make the workplace more appealing by bringing the in-office experience a little closer to working from home.
Remote work changed the way people eat. Delivery services gained huge shares of new customers as a result. This change in employee preferences also makes workplace platforms that integrate directly with these meal services that much more valuable.
Employees will save even more time if the same mobile app can make orders and recommendations without having to switch from one interface to another.
Need more help with selecting a workplace experience app?
In the same way that organizations sit on a wide spectrum between completely in-office and full remote work, their specific needs for workplace platforms can vary by many degrees.
Reach out to our workplace experience experts to discuss potential technology solutions.