BOOKING SOFTWARE: BYOD (BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE) – WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Many enterprises are currently beginning to create Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs within their organizations. These programs allow employees to use their personal devices for work activities, further allowing them to be more productive from anywhere with an internet connection. These devices include mobile tablets, smart phones and laptops. Although expanding programs have really been lead by an increased demand from employees, the businesses see huge benefits as well. These benefits include increases in worker productivity, increased revenue and happier employees.

Forrester conducted a survey recently to find out just how effective BYOD programs are within organizations. The statistics may surprise you. The study found that 70% of employees that use a tablet for work selected the tablet themselves. 67% of employees that use smart phones for work selected these smart phones themselves. Lastly, 46% of employees that use laptops for work selected the laptops themselves. Moreover, these devices were not purchased by the company; they were an employee expense. One may think that employees would be opposed to purchasing their own equipment, but another study conducted by Good Technology found that employees are happy to buy their own equipment. The reasoning is that employees can use devices they actually like, which isn’t commonly the case if a business purchases older equipment to save on expenses. Most companies, as you can image, are happy to allow the employees to cover the expense. Thus, over 50% of North American and European companies have already begun incorporating BYOD programs. There are more benefits still, which are causing this practice to explode across the business world.

One of the most significant benefits of BYOD programs was found to be an increase in worker productivity. According to a recent Trend Micro survey, 80% of companies saw an increase in worker productivity with the implementation of BYOD programs. This is attributed to employees having constant information at their fingertips. They can update information from anywhere, anytime. This has increased communication and collaboration among employees, which has in-turn, increased productivity. With this, since employees own the devices they use for work, they are able to take them home and manage projects during previously unproductive time. Surprisingly, employees are happy to have the option to put in the extra work, if it means projects are being done faster, on their schedule.

The next benefit is an increase in revenue. One way companies have increased revenue through BYOD programs is by eliminating the section of the budget previously allocated towards purchasing computers and electronic devices for employees. An article published in Mind over Machines found that 70% of companies that have implemented BYOD programs have seen an increase in their bottom lines. Since employees are gladly using their own devices, the companies save dollars. With this, employees are able to use more technologically advanced mobile devices, if they so choose to purchase them. Another way revenue increases is with an increase in the ability for employees to work remotely. Since salesmen are able to access their programs mobile, they can manage more accounts on-the-go. For example, if they’re waiting for a client to show up for an appointment, they can still manage their other accounts before he arrives. This produces a potential to increase sales, since salesmen can manage more accounts within the same amount of time.

So, we know that companies can see tremendous benefits from implementing a BYOD program. However, how do employees feel about this shift? They are enthused, states a recent article published by CIO. It seems that employees were rarely happy with the ‘ancient’ electronics most businesses provided for them. Thus, although they may need to purchase a device themselves, they are able to get something they enjoy using. Also, again since they own the device, they can take it home and be productive in the evenings or weekends, if they choose to get more work done, or get a head-start on a project. This, along with telecommuting, produces happier employees, as they are better able to balance their home-life. Happier employees lead to less turnover and again, increases the organization’s bottom line. BYOD programs may be a win-win for both companies and employees.

If you’re wondering how to make the shift to support BYOD programs with your business, the best place to begin is with a booking software company that’s at the forefront of these new technologies. You’ll want to look for a forward-thinking company like NFS that creates innovative software that can provide meeting rooms and schedule resources for your company. You’ll need to know your business’s needs, because each business is different. If your employees are going to be purchasing their own devices, you’ll need to make sure the information they’re viewing is secure. With this, you may need to look into a booking software like Rendezvous to allow employees to collaborate by booking rooms, booking resources and using hot desks via any device. With so many devices on the market (iPhone, iPad, Windows Tablets, Blackberry and Android), it’s also important to make sure the program you choose is compatible for every device. This will ensure your employees remain well connected in a digitally savvy world.

Considering these benefits of BYOD programs, how have they been working for you?Contact us today!

Will Outlook be enough – or do I really need a room booking system?

As workspace technology specialists, we often hear this question from people who are just beginning to investigate the benefits of advanced room scheduling software.

They tell us they book a room in Outlook if it’s available, check if co-workers are free and then send a meeting invitation to them. Easy! And so it is – as far as it goes.

But Outlook falls short when it comes to these seven challenges:

1. Booking meeting rooms in different locations and time zones, with different services such as catering at each site

2. Seeing when visitors have arrived for the meeting, and guaranteeing a great first impression

3. Adjusting the room or date and time while keeping colleagues and service providers like the catering team informed

4. Releasing a room in good time, rather than just not showing up

5. Reserving catering, additional equipment or other services for your meeting

6. Having a clear view of room utilization, to make informed decisions on internal space and to avoid costly booking out options

7. Booking flexible space such as desks when you’re on the move.

Here are seven ways a quality room booking system such as Rendezvous by NFS helps you overcome these challenges and makes meetings perfect.

1. With Rendezvous, you can reserve rooms, car parking, desks as well as catering, services and AV as part of a single booking experience.

2. The Rendezvous Visitor component handles all aspects of meet and greet, host notification and badge printing, so your guests get a good experience, every time.

3. All meeting participants are automatically notified of any changes made to the booking as well as service providers such as catering, making sure nobody goes to the wrong room or catering is wasted.

4. Your room booking system will provide thorough, up-to-date reports, supporting better decisions on space planning and improving your room and desk use.

5. Reserving multi location meetings becomes a quick and efficient procedure with an easy-to-use room booking system. You can select multiple spaces from a high graphical calendar, check people’s availability and book that VC meeting.

6. No more no shows, they’ll become a thing of the past. If a meeting room is not being utilized, the room booking system automatically releases it, drastically improving room use. This can save thousands annually in wasted space.

7. A room booking system available on an app, such as Rendezvous Mobile, means your employees can access the system on the go – so they can reserve their space before they even reach the office.

Our system fully integrates with Outlook as well so everything happens automatically in your calendar and your staff will see a familiar interface.

So there’s just one answer to the question: “Do I really need a room booking system?” It’s YES – if it’s Rendezvous.

Learn more about workplace transformation and how it affects you here.