Osborne Clarke Returns to the Office using MRI’s Space Scheduling tools
Learn how an international legal practice implemented Workplace Central into their Return-to-Office strategy to help employees book desks and conference rooms with ease.
About Osborne Clarke
Osborne Clarke is an international legal practice with over 270 partners and around 1,600 employees spread across 20+ offices globally. Based in the United Kingdom, they were looking to implement a desk booking solution across three of their UK offices.
Business Challenge
After transitioning to a work-from-home environment for the past year, Osborne Clarke was looking to start returning to the office, but current safety and distancing regulations, along with a reliance on spreadsheets for desk sign-ins, were complicating their planning for how employees would return and book desks. They needed a booking solution that could move them to a hot desking model while keeping in line with current compliance.
Solution
Having used MRI Software before for boardroom booking, Osborne Clarke decided to further expand its use of the solution by implementing MRI Workplace Central Space Scheduling into their desk booking management. Space Scheduling helped move them from a manual, non-system approach to a streamlined, integrated process, whether that’s through desktop or the mobile desk reservation application for on-the-go booking.
Business Impact
MRI’s Workplace Central successfully simplified Osborne Clarke’s desk and room booking experience to make their workplace viable and compliant with safety regulations, while having the ability to optimize how they oversee and modify their usable space.
A streamlined, integrated system
Before switching over to Workplace Central, Osborne Clarke had a stop-gap arrangement which relied on shared multiple spreadsheets for desk sign-ins across several teams, which complicated the desk booking process. Switching to Space Scheduling enabled employees to have more visibility into which desks were free to book by enabling them to see the building’s floor plans, removing the worry of double-booking or uninformed cancellations and causing further confusion.
Space configuration and optimization
Workplace Central enabled administrators to analyse and edit desk neighborhoods based on the business teams’ occupancy needs. This allowed the firm to upscale from opening a few floors to all of them for their employees, view who was sitting where, and configure their desk neighborhoods based on current usage and safety regulations. Built-in and custom reporting tools helped the teams understand how offices were being used, which helped modify their return to office strategy based on employees’ seating choices.
A fluid mobile experience
Not only did Osborne Clarke implement Workplace Central into their desk booking processes, but they also had their employees leverage the mobile application, Workplace Connect. This app enhanced their employees’ booking experience by offering another avenue to check floorplans and book available desks for their needs.
It’s great that we have a proactive, integrated desk booking system for administrators and employees. It has given us the flexibility and oversights needed to not only reserve desks and boardrooms, but also strategise in how we edit specific seating zones and neighborhoods.
Shabin Azeez, IT Project Manager
Osborne Clarke
