Create a return-to-work occupancy plan (assigned seats)

As companies prepare to return employees to the workplace, they will institute changes which might include:

• returning workers in phases
• scheduling workers in shifts or alternating days
• providing new seating that is appropriately spaced.

Typically, department managers determine which employees in their department will return to work first, their schedule, and their start date.

Space managers must then determine where these employees will sit, and must indicate offices and spaces that are not available or are not safe to occupy. They need to analyze their floor plans and determine the space that cannot be used because it does not adhere to safe distancing requirements (for example, it is no at least six feel away from another open space). Typically, not all staff is returning at once so the space manager can retain the existing floor plan and reassign seats so that employees are properly spaced.

For details, see Create a Return-to-Work Occupancy Plan .

Implement a hoteling strategy

In addition to planning the space and occupancy for returning to work, organizations might turn to another tactic: implementing hoteling for employees who come into the office. For example, rather than have assigned seats, employees who come into office book a desk for that day and that desk is cleaned after they use it so that it is available for future bookings.

With a hoteling strategy, a facility manager needs to:

• determine hotelable spaces that are not to be used or are in need of cleaning so that employees cannot book them
• see available hotelable space on a floor plan
• ensure that set capacity targets include both hoteling and permanent seats

• make sure that spaces booked during the day:

  • are indicated as requiring cleaning after use, and therefore become unavailable to book
  • become available for booking once they are cleaned
• receive notification of outstanding cleaning requests, as this affects the availability of hotelable rooms
• optionally implement a health verification for when employees check in to booked space

For details, see Return to Work: Implement a Hoteling Strategy .

Ongoing: Implement a Health & Safety program

In addition to the actual spaces where employees work, the facility manager must consider safety across the entire facility and implement a Health & Safety program if one is not already in place. A Health & Safety program enables sites to assess compliance to health regulations, such as regulations pertaining to COVID-19.

Use the following Archibus tools to maintain facility safety. For your convenience, Archibus provides a Dynamic Workplace home page so that you can see key data in one place.