PropertyShark Staff 
Todays’ employees have shifted their preferences related to work and especially to the conditions for working from the office. The high demand for flexibility, hybrid work arrangements and collaboration opportunities have spurred companies to look for solutions that allow for the employee experience and real estate costs to be efficiently managed.
The traditional five days a week in office with a 1:1 employee-to-desk ratio is not likely to remain the standard in the future of work. In fact, there is a huge shift towards hybrid and flexible work models. While companies are in favor of employees going back to the office, approximately 82% indicated that on a weekly basis, employees are either not required to come in or they spend a maximum of three days per week in the office.
To accommodate the needs of office occupiers as they embrace the shift towards flexible work, Yardi and WeWork announced a partnership in April 2022 to bring a hybrid space management platform to the market. Since then, the workplace management software has launched as WeWork Workplace and is available for all companies to help them take full control of their office strategy as they push towards a functional and sustainable hybrid work model.
“We are thrilled to launch this first-of-its-kind app: there are no other options on the market for corporations that have a mix of private leased or owned space and coworking needs. WeWork Workplace bridges this gap in office types and provides a seamless experience for employees as they traverse the new hybrid work model.“
Robert Teel, senior vice president at Yardi
WeWork Workplace is an app that allows employees to book space across all company locations, whether they are leased, owned or flex, all through one platform.
“Today I am at home, tomorrow I’m booking desks for my team at headquarters to collaborate, next week I need a large training room and desk at WeWork with a client. The Workplace app handles it all.”
Robert Teel, senior vice president at Yardi
Moreover, it allows employees to access WeWorks’ global network of coworking spaces and its affiliates. Through the platform, employers can easily plan and execute a strategic work model that is centered around flexibility and hybrid work.
“With this paradigm shift, 1:1 employee to desk ratios are turning out to be inefficient. On the other hand, employees are asking for more intentional and meaningful collaboration opportunities. So, the ability to optimize the real estate footprint while enhancing employee experience wherever they work from is what WeWork Workplace aims to solve.”
Sagar Morabia, senior director at Yardi
For example, an employee can use the app to book a conference room for a team meeting at the company’s base office location, which might be either a traditionally leased or an owned space. The same employee can also use the app to book a private suite or a desk in a coworking location that may be closer to a client than the base location.
Regardless of which option was booked, the team lead can also easily invite their team to a specific space using the team booking functionality, in line with the shift to office time being focused on collaboration and culture.
Through the Workplace App, companies can provide their employees with an outstanding user experience that enables them to deliver the best service to their clients.
“For traveling employees, the Workplace app is just as compelling. Book a conference room at headquarters, book a WeWork desk between client meetings on a trip, and host a presentation with multiple clients in a large WeWork conference room.”
Robert Teel, senior vice president at Yardi
This unified experience to book workstations across the company’s universal spaces is unique to WeWork Workplace.
The WeWork Workplace app was designed to be easy to use while also providing features like team bookings, overflow capacity management and visitor management, which enable significant collaboration for employees. At the same time, employers can easily track and manage usage trends, employee preferences and use actionable insights to make impactful decisions about their real estate portfolio.
The platform is the only solution on the market that combines all aspects required to properly build, manage and execute workplace strategies that focus on utilization and occupancy.
Additionally, potential users do not have to be a WeWork customer to take advantage of this app. It can be used to manage non-WeWork locations to begin with, and when or if the time comes to add coworking to your portfolio of spaces, the same user experience can be provided to employees.
If you are in the process of enabling a hybrid strategy for your workforce, sign up for a live demo.
