CIO Bulletin

A leading technology solutions provider for the Digital & Hybrid workplace: Smarten Spaces

A smart workplace is a workplace where technology enables people to work better, faster and smarter. It should facilitate the diversity in work and enable people to work in a space that’s suited to their needs. Beacons, sensors and mobile apps help employees perform menial tasks better and faster, so they have enough time to focus on growing businesses and innovating. By using, for example, a workplace application that shows an interactive floorplan users can easily see which desks are occupied by whom, where there is locker space available and which meeting rooms are free in the desired area. Furthermore, in a smart office, technology also helps people communicate better. Technology facilitates people to interact, share information and work easier in teams and the use of smart applications can make it a lot more convenient to work remote.

People spend a significant time inside buildings, and they thrive when these spaces are convenient and intuitive. At Smarten Spaces, the vision is to transform all spaces where people spend time, and we do so by designing technology that keeps human behavior and experience in mind. Smarten Spaces dreams of enabling future-ready spaces that help users optimize for the most value. The company’s tech solutions allow users to make informed financial decisions based on how their spaces are being utilized, while also enhancing the experience of those that interact with the spaces. Better business, better experience. Smarten Spaces believes that technology should be seamless. That’s why the company’s configurable solutions are designed for your convenience when it comes to planning for and interacting with the spaces of the future. With offerings across workplace management, space management and tenant engagement, Smarten Spaces is currently smartening 90 million square feet globally (and counting).

The world has changed, and the business world is changing with it. The old model of centralized offices and 9-5 work shifts simply doesn’t apply when technology can connect us from anywhere in the world. According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, “hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation.” While not every job can be done full-time from home, the flexibility provided by a hybrid work model can be the differentiator in employee productivity and job satisfaction. As a result, hybrid workplaces are rapidly becoming the new normal, and businesses that are quick to make the transition will reap huge time and cost savings as well as see a healthier work-life balance among their workforce. More importantly, companies will find themselves better able to attract and retain the kind of talent they require: a recent survey by Accenture found a colossal 83% of workers polled preferred a hybrid work model over a traditional model. Making the transition to a hybrid workplace requires planning and forethought, as well as the expertise to know how to take advantage of the benefits. An innovative, AI-driven solution, like the kind offered by Smarten Spaces, can make the job much easier. “Flexibility”—that is, an employee’s ability to meet work goals and deadlines in a work environment best suited to their lives—is a vital part of attracting and retaining good workers. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently noted: “The future of work is flexibility… more flexibility for your workweek, more choice around where you work, and more flexibility for your life.” A recent study by Slack, meanwhile, has found that flexibility was a key part of the appeal of a hybrid work model for employees. Far from reducing productivity, such flexibility improves it, as team members save time and energy while feeling as if their personal needs are being met. A hybrid workplace thus begins by forging deeper connections with employees: asking questions, listening to their needs, and finding ways to support them, especially across the following five key areas.

Productivity: Completing tasks on time and with a high quality of work.
Work-life balance: Ability to prioritize one’s personal life over work when needed.
Managing work-related stress: Mitigate pressure and anxiety connected to work.
Connection: Whether employees feel valued and accepted by both the company and their coworkers.
Satisfaction with working arrangements: Sufficient support for employees’ remote work options, along with the tools to do so without a hitch.

At Smarten Spaces, goal is to facilitate productivity and encourage flexibility with the creation of an ideal hybrid workspace. With user-friendly, but powerful technology, Smarten Spaces can help you develop a centralized digital space designed to connect workers in the office with those doing their jobs remotely: leaving your company primed to face the future. A hybrid workspace often means different schedules for different team members, regardless of how often they work from home. But the office culture should be the same, regardless. Collaboration is the key: giving your team the leeway to take positive risks and address potential conflicts with equitable solutions. By providing a stable environment, a sense of connection, and—above all—value and integrity to their contributions, your employees will respond positively. That means higher engagement rates, raised productivity levels, and better health and happiness for your team. Smarten Spaces can provide the tools needed for a strong collaborative atmosphere. The cloud-based tools can be accessed from any location, letting you sync team members from multiple locations without a hitch. AI recommendations enable managers to find the best collaborative schedules, while the Smart Booking feature allows for real-time reservations of meeting rooms and similar environments. Remote employees can check-in and stay updated with the Workplace Community Feed, reinforcing communication and making sure everyone is on the same page!

Dinesh Malkani, Founder and CEO