Overview
Workspace Manager helps University Health Network’s Shared Information Management Services (SIMS) department extract more value from existing real estate, through the provision of flexible desk booking; negates the need to move to larger, more costly premises
Data captured on workspace usage by BusinessSolve’s Workspace Manager enables informed decisions to be made during proof of concept trials
Workspace Manager wins support from senior management and user community for effectiveness and ease of use
Workspace Manager fully supported by BusinessSolve’s Professional Services Team during Pilot Trial at SIMS facilities
For more than 200 years, the health requirements of the citizens of Toronto have been catered for by the three hospitals that today comprise the city’s University Health Network (UHN). Each hospital – the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital - is globally recognised by the medical industry as a pioneer in the field of research, treatment and patient care. It is equally well respected for its reputation as an employer, too; for the sixth year running, it has been has been honoured as one of Canada’s 100 top employers.
Underpinning the medical treatment and care for patients at UHN, is the Shared Information Management Services department (SIMS), which is dedicated to supporting the IT strategy and support requirements of the 15 organisations that in total comprise the SIMS Partnership.
Challenge
The SIMS team faced a problem shared by many organisations today. It had to balance the seemingly conflicting needs of accommodating more SIMS staff in the future at its current premises, which were already close to maximum capacity.
With a move to a larger site ruled out for economic reasons, SIMS’ management realised the need to more closely address their space capacity issues.
SIMS concluded that this challenge could only be addressed effectively by adopting a holistic approach to assessing and transforming working practices and space utilisation.
Responsible for instigating work practice change are Melanie Bowers Desktop/Device Service and Support Team Lead at SIMS, and Karen Pinto SIMS’ PMO Operations Team Lead, who were tasked with conducting the research into workspace management, and developing a strategy for more effectively optimising the existing space.
Melanie Bowers explains: “As the Partnership grew, the nature of SIMS’ work became increasingly collaborative. Although team members often found themselves away from their dedicated workspaces in meetings or at Partner sites, they still had their own designated workspace. In order to optimise real estate efficiency, we had to move away from the culture of desktop ownership, and adopt a model that was more in tune with real usage requirements rather than outdated practices.”
To help encourage change, SIMS decided to follow a model outlined by Cisco in its Workplace Redesign Methodology. This methodology proposes far-reaching changes – such as the allocation of rooms and areas for different functions, areas with complete audio silence, or spaces that facilitate more collaborative work – to changes than can be made more easily, such as sharing desks; this has been the starting point for workplace transformation at SIMS. However, encouraging staff to surrender a desk can be a difficult challenge to overcome, as staff typically view their desk as their territory, and its permanence as a symbol of the security of their position and status within the company. Staff are more willing to surrender desks if they understand that the move forms part of a broader, beneficial workspace change, and if they are assured that pre-booking hotdesks will be an easy and reliable process.
Product Evaluation
The technology underpinning the change in working process was therefore critical to the success of the proof of concept, particularly when it came to the resource solution that enabled the SIMS team to pre-book desks. In this case, SIMS chose to take advantage of a Pilot Trial of Workspace Manager, from BusinessSolve, a world leader in resource scheduling solutions. BusinessSolve’s Workspace Manager is platform independent, and its interface can be customised to adhere to an organisation's branding guidelines.
Deploying a resource solution
Given the scope of the dramatic transformation that SIMS was aiming for, and the time frame needed to achieve it, the organisation has benefitted greatly from BusinessSolve’s Pilot Trial, an initiative that enables organisations to assess Workspace Manager prior to full scale deployment. The Pilot Trial Program is fully supported by BusinessSolve’s Professional Services Team, which has been commended by Bowers: “With a project of this magnitude, you need time to assess the Proof of Concept before committing to change or the products that will facilitate change. Among competitor solutions, BusinessSolve was unique in offering a Pilot Trial. BusinessSolve’s Professional Services Team has been extremely supportive throughout and that has been one of the most important things for us, as we work to make these fundamental changes to the work practices. Time after time, they proved to be extremely responsive in terms of addressing any enhancement requests, and answering any questions. Whether via WebEx, or conference calls, they’ve been there for us 100%. Their support during this initiative has made a huge contribution to its success.”
While the availability of the Pilot Trial was a major attraction, SIMS immediately saw another benefit that Workspace Manager had over competitive offerings. “One of the other strengths of Workspace Manager,” explains Bowers, “is that it has a graphical interface. Visually, it is easy to use and indentifying floor plans is simple and straightforward. Users can quickly see what space is available for them to book, which removes a lot of uncertainty. This gives users the confidence to use the system, reassuring them that the resources they need are available. This trust is central to the success of the whole workplace change initiative, and it is reflected in the results. Careful coordination of resources has seen hot desks used by up to as many as twenty people, which is a dramatic increase in workspace efficiency.”
With the Proof of Concept and the Pilot Trial were working alongside each other, SIMS was able to utilise another function provided by Workspace Manager. The application is able to capture data about the use of resources. The information can then be analysed to create a detailed overview of which resources are under or over-used, and at what times of the day or week demand peaks. This wealth of information can then be analysed to further refine future working practices. Additionally, the hard data can be used as a proof point, validating the efficiency and real estate gains that have been achieved since trialing the new working practices. On a practical level, the system also makes it easy to pinpoint where staff are based, so locating a colleague in the building is a quick and easy process.
SIMS also praised the flexibility Workspace Manager offers when booking resources; as much of the SIMS team is mobile, being able to book a desk from a laptop via a browser – as well as onsite – provides users with maximum booking convenience wherever they are.
Results to date
Currently use of the application has been limited to staff specifically within SIMS or one prime location. 25 members of the SIMS team are participating in the proof of concept; long term, the Workspace Manager application will support up to 500 staff. In a further development, BusinessSolve recently introduced Workspace Manager Mobile Suite. This is a service that facilitates the pre-booking of resources via smart phones, delivering even more booking flexibility to the user community.
The user-community has praised the changes. Bowers explains: “The Pilot Trial went a long way to convincing senior management and users believe that we had all the tools in places to make the new way of working a success. In particular, they have commented on how easy Workspace Manager is to use, and the reassurance it provides when booking desks.”
Summary
Hot desking application at SIMS by the pilot group has assured staff that the concept works, and allowed them to see that the concept is effective and convenient
Staff assured of a desk to work from when arriving on site
When booking workspaces, staff now have more desk options available, providing more choice and flexibility
Booking resources can be done any time, any place, any where
Understanding workspace usage has been made easy through detailed data captured by Workspace Manager
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