Category: Video

Categories
Video

Agile Workspace Design: Have you provided enough desks?

When you’re moving to an agile workspace design for the first time, there’s often a perception among employees that there won’t be enough desks for everyone. Watch this interview to learn proven strategies for effectively dealing with this issue.

Read more about agile workspace design and strategy here: Activity Based Workplace Design: Why One Size Does Not Fit All

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:

IAN:
Hi. Ian Morley, Serraview co-founder and Chief Evangelist.
Today I’m joined again by Serraview’s Global Head of Client Success, Jo-Anne Mann. Hey, Jo. Welcome back.

JO:
Great to be here.

IAN:
Quick question for you today from one of our clients. So, a lot of clients are considering a move towards agile workspace design, but they’re wondering how, in your experience, you’ve dealt with the concern from some of your businesses that there won’t be enough free seats when they do move to agile working?

JO:
Yeah, that’s a great question. And I think it’s a concern in many organizations when you first start to roll out an agile workspace design. There’s a couple of things I advise people to remember.

One is to have the discussion openly… don’t shy away from it, number one.

But there is a perception around not enough desks with agile workspace design, because we take the ownership of an individual desk away from a person. So in a traditional workspace, you’ve always had that desk;
nobody else ever sits at it. With agile workspace design, other people will be sitting at that desk.

And so people think, naturally, because you’re not going to give a desk
to every single person, that there’s not going to be enough.

You should be doing a lot of research in your organization before you start agile working. So we did research in our organization that told us 50% of the time, not all people were present in the office.

So for varying reasons around annual vacations, personal time off, they have sick leave, they go to conferences or training courses, and travel between countries, interstate, between cities. Therefore you’re never, ever going to have a full workforce always there.

But there’s an inaccurate perception when people have never been through that transition to agile workspace design before.

So the key thing is to have data. If you’ve got really good data… and that’s where Serraview came in for our organization… around looking at utilization, we can prove to people that they’re not all present every day.

And typically in organizations, if you do that manually and walk around, you can see 50% of desks are not utilized. But people don’t believe perception or what you’ve observed, so I would always turn to a really
good data source.

So use a tool like Serraview that can actually show you that utilization. That will also help your organization sharing that business conversation, and actually taking people on that journey of “here’s the proof in the pudding,” if you like.

Learn more about utilization tracking technology here: Managing Workplace Utilization.

IAN:
And so I imagine that a lot of that’s taking a very emotionally-charged
conversation potentially and changing it into a fact-based one.

JO:
Absolutely. Because there’s a lot of emotions. You know, as you start to implement change to an agile workspace design, people react in different ways.

But if you’ve got some factual data to back that up, that will prove to people that they can actually work in this different way and start being productive.

IAN:
Sounds good. Thanks again.

JO:
Not at all!

IAN:
If you do have any questions for Jo or anyone else at Serraview,
please do reach out to us over Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, using the hashtag #Askserreview. See you next time.

Thanks.

Categories
Video

VIDEO: How Can Wayfinding Technology Shape Employee Experience?

Hi, I’m Alex Crane, Solutions Consultant with Serraview.

Today I’m here to talk to you about a question we get asked often by real estate professionals. That question is, where is Bob? Bob could be a co-worker, or even an office space.

To answer that question, we’re going to talk about how wayfinding technology can enhance the employee experience in any office space.

Let’s take a look.

Let’s say I’m traveling from New York to visit my organization’s office in Australia for the first time. I’m really excited to be teaming up with my colleague, Bob Dory, while I’m there. Wayfinding technology helps me answer that key question: “Where’s Bob?”

I can type Bob’s name in my Search tab, and when I tap the magnifying glass, the Serraview locator will search through all of my co-workers in the organization, as well as the meeting spaces.

There’s Bob! By tapping on his name, I can see exactly where Bob sits. I am also presented with Bob’s contact details, so I can give him a call or send him an email to make sure he’ll be in the office. Instantly I’m connected with someone on the other side of the world.

After I arrive, Bob and I want to have an impromptu brainstorming session with the whole team. We need a boardroom. Going back to our Search tab, Bob finds his favorite room is free. We can see where the boardroom is located on the floor; it’s got the whiteboard we need, and we can book it to use, right now.

But what if that office over in Australia is a flexible workplace? And what if Bob sits at a different desk every day? Whether I’m walking into the building for the first time, or I work there each day, flexible workplaces present new challenges.

The first is: Where is Bob today?

And the second is: Where can I sit?

Serraview uses network technology to track real-time utilization of office spaces. So I can find where Bob is sitting today, and book a desk right next to him.

The benefits brought to the workplace by wayfinding technology help to engage employees, bring corporate real estate into focus, and retain top talent.

More importantly, though, wayfinding technology provides a positive employee experience. People are more engaged, they’re more connected, and they’re happier for it.

Thanks for watching!

If you would like to ask Serraview a question, feel free to post it on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter using the hashtag: #AskSerraview.

Learn more about modern wayfinding technology and productivity from this related blog: Wayfinding Apps Help Employees Work Smarter & Faster

Categories
Video

VIDEO: Workplace Management Cloud Data Security

Concerned about workplace management cloud data security? Watch this video to learn how Serraview keeps your data secure.

Hi, I’m Samual Annis-Brown and I’m a Senior Systems Engineer here at Serraview. I work on a global systems security team that looks after all of Serraview’s data centers in the US and in Australia.

One of the questions about cloud data security we get asked most from our clients is:

How does Serraview keep your data secure?

It’s really a complicated question. One of the most important things about cloud data security is the data center in which we house your data.

Vendor selection at Serraview is something that’s taken very seriously. We only house data in some of the largest and most reputable data centers in the world. All of these data centers are redundant from the network down to the storage level.

On top of that, in each region we have multiple data centers in geographically dispersed locations to ensure that data is fully available at all times.

Ensuring cloud data security is one of our top priorities. To do this, we have monthly automatic penetration tests that are conducted against all of our global infrastructure. The results of all of these tests are analyzed closely by our internal engineering security team.

On top of these automated security tests, every year we have independent third-party providers that also conduct their own penetration tests on all of our global infrastructure to ensure it remains up to date and secure.

Another question about cloud data security that we get asked frequently is:

What are Serraview’s SLAs (service level agreements)?

Serraview has 99 percent uptime on all our global infrastructure for all of our clients. We have a dedicated team that will respond to alerts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We respond to even the most minor alerts in our data centers to ensure that instances are kept up and that we meet our SLAs.

Another question about cloud data security that we get quite frequently is:

What kind of certifications does Serraview have?

Well, Serraview has a lot of security certifications across all of our global infrastructure, ranging from ISO 27001 to SOC compliance, to having our entire information security policy globally based off the Australian government’s Information Security Manual (ISM).

The Information Security Manual is one of the most stringent and perhaps one of the most well-respected compliances in the world. Serraview is very proud to have met all of the requirements for ISM compliance for the third year running. All of our global infrastructure meets that compliance, even though in many other geographical regions it’s not a requirement.

Our cloud data security policy is something that we’ve built upon from ISM, from ISO and even from our clients. It’s something that we strive to adhere to.

Thank you for watching. I hope this information has been useful to you.

If you have any questions at all, reach out to us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter using the hashtag: #AskSerraview.

Thank you very much, and hope to see you again next time.

To learn even more about cloud data security for workplace management systems, read this related article: 5 Security Questions to Ask a Cloud Workplace Management System Vendor

Then find out other essential areas for focusing your evaluation of a workplace management solution with this informative guide: 5 Critical Comparison Points for Workplace Management Software.

Categories
Video

Serraview’s Workplace Management Software Success Stories Featured on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®

SUMMARY: Serraview recently shared its workplace optimization success stories in an exclusive interview featured on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®. Serraview Co-founder Ian Morley, as well as several Serraview clients and partners, explained how corporations are saving millions by optimizing their use of office space.

NEW YORK, NY and MELBOURNE, AUST, July 31, 2016 – Serraview, a global leader in workplace management software, shared client success stories in a Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® exclusive interview. Serraview’s co-founder and Chief Evangelist Ian Morley, explained the company’s innovative approach to corporate workplace management that is saving companies millions in property costs.

Serraview provides enterprise workplace management software that helps companies track actual space utilization and right-size their real estate portfolio based on peak demands and forecasts.

Suzanne Westgate of AGL Energy, one of Australia’s leading energy providers and a Serraview client, said:

“Serraview helps us to offer a workplace that can really enable people to produce what they need to through innovating and through technology. We can see what spaces are being effectively used, which spaces are underutilized. We can look at future projections and growth and use our space as efficiently as possible.”

Serraview’s workplace management software leverages big data and the Internet of Things to help companies make better strategic planning decisions about their property portfolios.

Serraview’s workplace management software leverages big data and the Internet of Things to help companies make better strategic planning decisions about their property portfolios. Serraview partners with utilization technology developers such as Condeco and GE to integrate data from many sources and provide an accurate and real-time picture of space usage to help companies make better strategic planning decisions about their property portfolios and move towards the global trend of adopting agile working environments with the data from Serraview’s workplace management software. Agile working is a strategy that reduces corporate real estate spend while also facilitating a culture of collaboration, innovation and productivity improvements.

Ken Lynch of Australia and New Zealand Bank, a longtime user of Serraview’s workplace management software, said:

“We seek to keep ahead of business requirements and Serraview is on the same page. For example, in 2011 we implemented Activity-Based Working in our portfolio. We worked with Serraview to develop a tool that allows us to see dynamically how use of space changes in the building. Then we can then go back to business units and help consolidate and align space to improve product business outcomes.”

In the interview, Morley explained the potential for companies to save millions on their real estate portfolios by optimizing their use of office space.

“When you consider that property costs are usually the second or third largest expense for most businesses, straight after labor and technology costs,” said Morley, “shaving even a couple of percent off the cost of real estate can add considerable amounts to your bottom line.”

The segment, featuring AGL, ANZ, Cushman & Wakefield, Condeco, Current by GE and JLL, aired Sunday, July 31, 2016 on Fox Business Network as sponsored programming and Bloomberg International.

About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®
Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® is a weekly business television program featuring real world insights from corporate executives from all over the globe which can be viewed on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored programming lineup, as well as internationally to over 50 countries on Bloomberg International.

Categories
Video

VIDEO: How To Create a Stacking Plan to Right-Size Office Space

If you are a corporate space planner, figuring out how to right-size your office space can seem overwhelming. How can you create a new stacking plan that takes advantage of your existing vacancy? You may need room for a new team or just want to consolidate so you can sublease space that’s not needed.

Just figuring out where you have empty seats can take weeks all by itself. And while you are collecting that data, it’s already becoming outdated as people move around. The good news is, there’s a much easier way to create a new stacking plan that consolidates your vacant seats. Watch this video to see Serraview’s Ian Morley demonstrate how to do it in a couple of minutes.

And don’t forget, if you’ve got questions, send us a message on Twitter and use the hashtag #AskSerraview.

Hello, and welcome to Serraview’s first Space Planning Video Blog!

My name is Ian Morley, and I’m here to answer your most pressing questions about corporate space management.To get the ball rolling, let’s start with one of the most commonly asked questions we get from clients.

The question is: What is the best way to right-size my office space?It’s a great question. Let me show you how we can use our Scenario Planning Tools to quickly answer it.First up, I’m going to open up Serraview’s Block & Stack tool and take a look at the extent of the problem.

We’re going to take a look at the stacking plan for our building at 100 Broadway.

Here you can see our current stacking plan for the building, including how many seats are assigned to each business unit.

If you look here at the top right, you can see some key metrics about the building.

The key number I’m looking for is this one here in gray… it’s showing that we currently have 429 vacant seats in the building.

If you look at the floors you can see that they average about 128 seats per floor. In other words, if we create a new stacking plan to right-size the space allocations, we should be able to free up over 3 floors of space.

Putting that into perspective, in most major cities, that’s the equivalent of over $3 million in wasted real estate space.

Ok, so how do we go about creating a new stacking plan to right-size the building?

The best way to do that is to create a what-if scenario plan.

We’ll go to the FILE menu and choose NEW PROJECT.

I’ll add a PROJECT NAME and enter my building.

To right-size my team allocations, I select all the teams, then choose TOOLS, Set to occupants.

You can see that the system has now compressed all of the teams’ allocations, and freed up all this vacancy here in the white.

Now, we may be able to stop here, but I do want to go a step further and quickly restack the building by dragging and dropping our groups around. That way, we can consolidate all our available space into a couple of floors, so that we can hopefully sublet or repurpose for another project team that’s about to enter the building.

An there we have it! In the space of a couple of minutes, we’ve just created a new stacking plan to right-sized the building, and we’ve freed up over three floors of vacant space.

Thank you for joining us for Serraview’s first Space Planning Video Blog!

If you have a pressing question that you’d like us to answer, please send us a message over Twitter, using the hashtag #AskSerraview.

I look forward to it, and see you next time.

To learn more about corporate space planning issues, read these related topics:

Fast-Track Corporate Space Planning: Technology Can Shorten Your Day
10 Steps That Drive Better Space Efficiency in the Workplace

If you’re just beginning a search for the right corporate space planning tool, you’ll quickly discover that comparing the available options is no easy task. There’s a wide range of features and functionality, and it can be tricky to figure out what will deliver the results you’re after. Hone in on the search criteria that help companies get faster results and better ROI with this helpful guide to 5 Critical Comparison Points for Workplace Management Software.