It’s already been established that remote work culture isn’t going anywhere. However, that doesn’t mean offices will simply cease to exist. Many companies are offering flexible work environments for their employees, building in the option to work from home for part of the week. This shift to a more hybrid working environment will require some changes to the workspace with the convergence of the physical and virtual office. 

The resulting influx in software products to aid the transition to a hybrid workspace has resulted in G2 creating a new category: Space Management Software. Let’s dive into what this modern workplace looks like as well as the software used to manage it.

The new hybrid workplace 

Of 1,000 U.S. adults that participated in a survey in May, 39% said they would consider quitting their job if they were not granted flexible working schedules. In a separate survey conducted in April, 58% of over 2,100 users said they would look for a new job if they were unable to continue working remotely, and only 2% expressed a desire to work in the office full time. These numbers speak an undeniable truth—the ability to work remotely either full or part time is not only highly desirable but could directly impact a company’s talent retention rate as well as its ability to acquire new talent. 

While some companies are not convinced that a remote or semi-remote workforce is compatible with its culture and work ethic, others are actively redesigning their office spaces to accommodate the shift to hybrid and remote employees. For example, WeWork is planning to introduce touch-less coffee machines across offices in London. Additionally, KPMG is condensing and redesigning its offices and investing in a hybrid working model. Other companies, such as HSBC, are doing away with executive offices and embracing hotdesking or hoteling to reduce wasted space.

JPMorgan Chase is a great example of how companies are redesigning their offices. According to CEO Jamie Dimon, the company will be rearranging offices to adopt a more “open seating” setup. The company will also be reducing overall capacity for offices from 100% to about 60% to reduce unused space and minimize its real estate footprint. Dimon also mentioned that tools will be implemented to help manage seating, meeting rooms, and other office amenities. 

As the demand for hybrid offices increases, G2 has seen a steady increase in product offerings created for the management of these modern spaces. As a result, G2 has launched a new Space Management Software category to accommodate this rapidly expanding market. This category aims to assist software buyers in finding and comparing products that will allow them to make the most of their physical space.

Space management: A software companion to the hybrid office

Space management software builds on traditional meeting room booking systems by allowing users to reserve desks and other shared spaces in an office. Teams can reserve desks together or in a designated neighborhood, promoting team collaboration on days when they are in the office together yet ensuring the space can be used by others when they are working remotely.

Some tools may provide users with a real-time view of who is in the office and which space they have booked, allowing colleagues to easily find one another in the absence of assigned desks. This allows companies to make the most of their space while providing a flexible and adaptive environment for hybrid employees. Many tools also offer some capabilities of digital wayfinding software, allowing users to explore the space virtually via interactive maps before booking a room or desk. 

The major benefit to space management software is the functionality and data available to administrators. Not only does space management software provide admins with the ability to manage user permissions and oversee facilities, but it also equips them with in-depth analytics tools to drive data-based decisions. 

Space management tools provide data regarding facility usage, including the demand for certain rooms or desks, how the physical space is being utilized, and meeting room analytics. This software empowers admins to ensure facilities are booked in accordance with office regulations, such as social distancing or maintaining specific occupancy levels. Most importantly, however, is the ability to utilize the office space as efficiently as possible and reduce wasted space, which can save companies money.

Safety and health in the office

While a new office layout can increase efficiency, it can also promote a safer and healthier workspace. As cities across the globe continue to reopen, health and safety protocols are being put into place to maintain a safe working environment. Many offices are opening with capacity limits and implementing social distancing. 

Some companies are utilizing meeting room booking systems to conduct health screenings, monitor who is in the office at a given time, and manage occupancy levels to ensure there is no overcrowding.

What’s next for the hybrid office?

As more companies begin to adapt to a hybrid workforce, additional changes may be required to fully lean into this new environment. Traditional meeting rooms that are often equipped for in-office collaboration will likely need to implement modern technology that will allow in-office employees to collaborate and communicate effectively in real time with hybrid or remote employees. This could mean an increase in the adoption of collaborative whiteboard software, which empowers teams to collaborate and brainstorm in real time regardless of where they are located. 

On G2, Daniel M.’s review of Lucidspark highlights how this tool has helped their hybrid team with collaboration: 

“With our current hybrid workforce, Lucidspark has been a pivotal tool that we’ve used to all collaborate together. The difficulty of collaborating with a hybrid (on-site & remote) workforce and having everyone brainstorm and contribute. Lucidspark has been a gamechanger with our team's collaboration.”

Aside from collaborative software, a complete redesign of meeting and conference rooms may be underway. Employees from Microsoft developed a new meeting room design that is perfect for hybrid teams. This prototype includes a curved desk that provides a clear view of each participant, life-size projections of remote workers, digital and physical whiteboards, AI-powered cameras and speakers, as well as various on-screen layouts that put remote team members at eye level with those attending in person. These new rooms, built out at the company’s prototyping space called Hive, are currently informing changes that are being rolled out to Microsoft Teams to enhance the hybrid work experience. 

Evolution of the modern workplace

One thing is certain—the workplace is changing. As the market for space management software continues to evolve, G2 analysts will be identifying and adding additional products to the category. As always, readers can count on G2 to maintain and grow the category taxonomy, empowering buyers with up-to-date information needed to make smarter software decisions.