Flexible working that brings everyone together

When working models become more flexible, organization is crucial. With desk.ly, Stadtwerke Langen has found a tool that supports mobile working, creates transparency and was immediately accepted by the workforce. Here they report on what was important to them when choosing the tool and why they opted for desk.ly .

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Optimizing the Flex Office - but how?

OMR has more than 400 employees in various divisions - one of which is OMR Podstars. The team has almost doubled in size in just a few years. OMR has grown so dynamically that space in the Hamburg offices has become scarce. However, giving up the location on the Schanze was not an option because the proximity to the trade fair and the surroundings are simply perfect for the company.

At the same time, everyone in the OMR team enjoys the benefit of being able to work from home from time to time. In surveys, OMR discovered that not everyone needs a fixed location. That's why the existing office spaces are shared flexibly - flex desks .

"We have more employees than office space. Accordingly, we had to think about how we could manage this. desk.ly has the positive effect on OMR that we can easily integrate the hybrid way of working."

Sophie LabudaSenior People Manager OMR

"I use 10-15 software solutions at work and they have to be intuitive."

Moritz SchubertDirector Sales & Partnerships OMR

The desk booking tool must fulfill a number of criteria, because ...

The offices are spread over two buildings and five floors, with very different floor plans.
OMR continues to grow rapidly and needs a desk booking tool that can be scaled and adapted.
Around the OMR Festival, the team grows rapidly each season. The bookable spaces need to be flexibly blocked or released.
To promote a group feeling throughout the company, HR and IT should have equal admin rights, not each department individually.
There are different types of workstations that employees can filter by. These include a separate dog office out of consideration for allergy sufferers and, by popular request, quiet workstations for concentrated work.

"From a people perspective, the link with Google Workspace, which we work with, is particularly useful for us."

Sophie LabudaSenior People Manager OMR

Why desk.ly?

The intuitive booking and the many personalization options for bookings and user rights were particularly convincing features of desk.ly. As a result, desk.ly integrates seamlessly into the OMR Tech Stack.

Employees also like the search function, which allows them to see where their favorite colleagues are sitting. The company, on the other hand, benefits from having a better overview of the workload and home office quota.

The challenge

Creating transparency in the office

Stadtwerke Langen enables up to 80 percent of its employees to work remotely. However, this created a new challenge: it was almost impossible to track who was in the office and when. The existing booking system could not be flexibly adapted and could not be integrated into Microsoft Teams. This meant a considerable organizational effort for daily collaboration. Spontaneous coordination or project-related work in the office was difficult to plan.

"The system was easy and intuitive to use and there were hardly any queries."

Torben BoomHead of IT & Digitalization

Rethinking flexible working

Intuitive, transparent, flexible

With desk.ly, Stadtwerke Langen has clearly structured mobile working and office presence. The system was set up within a few days and employees were able to get started straight away. The intuitive operation made long training sessions superfluous, so desk.ly was well received from the outset.

Thanks to integration with Microsoft Teams and use via the web and on smartphones, the system is accessible at all times. Single sign-on facilitates login and ensures a smooth user experience. Data protection also plays a central role: clear standards are set with a clean desk policy and additional agreements on mobile working.

"From an HR perspective, it's important that teams can come together and not necessarily only work on a departmental basis, but also on a project basis."

Carolin PiechaHead of Human Resources

Insights

Usage data helps to optimize the office in a targeted manner

Stadtwerke Langen uses the extensive analytics in desk.ly to further develop its office. Based on the booking data, they can see which workstations are heavily or lightly used. This enables them to plan their office space more efficiently and use it optimally. The feedback from employees has been consistently positive - desk.ly has made everyday office life noticeably easier.

Langen municipal utilities

Stadtwerke Langen is a municipal utility company based in Langen near Frankfurt. As a reliable partner for the region, they ensure the supply of electricity, gas, water and heat and are also committed to a sustainable energy future. In addition to supplying energy and water, Stadtwerke Langen also operates infrastructures such as swimming pools and parking garages, making a significant contribution to the quality of life in the city and surrounding area.

OMR

Podstars by OMR, Germany's leading podcast network, has been offering services in all areas relating to podcasts such as conception, production and marketing since 2015. With three studios, Podstars markets over 100 podcasts and produces another 70 shows itself. As part of Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR), Podstars belongs to Ramp 106 GmbH, a media and event company with around 400 employees in Hamburg. OMR is one of the largest knowledge and inspiration platforms for the digital and marketing scene in Europe and is known for the OMR Festival, which has been taking place since 2011. OMR also publishes studies, seminars and offers other formats such as a job exchange.