Along with its disruptions to the workplace, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the profile of facilities and real estate in the overall business portfolio. In many companies, COVID-19 taskforces have introduced new departments into workplace decision-making. On the one hand, this means that there are potentially more gatekeepers to investing in new workplace solutions, but on the other hand, there are also potentially more allies. Understanding the key stakeholders and their interests can be essential in driving forward the successful implementation of innovative software solutions like IWMS+.
Software Implementation Success Starts With Identifying Stakeholders
The key stakeholders in real estate and facilities decisions will vary from company to company. Beyond the facilities and real estate managers, other key departments include human resources, finance, and information technology. An increasing number of companies also have also introduced hybrid positions like Head of Workplace Experience that may take a more holistic view of investments.
Each of these stakeholders has different interests and concerns that need to be addressed when identifying the value proposition. For example, an HR manager will be more interested in the productivity- and satisfaction-enhancing use cases of an IWMS+, such as smart reservations. A real estate executive, on the other hand, may prioritize use cases that reduce rental costs or space needs, and therefore may be more interested in smart workplace design. A facilities manager may be focused on reducing operational costs, while an IT manager will be most interested in the way in which IWMS+ technologies will affect security, seeking to ensure that IoT devices do not connect with company systems, for example.
In many cases, these diverse stakeholders have complementary interests; but interests may not always align. In those cases, advocates should take advantage of the fact that the IWMS+ is such a comprehensive building solution, building alliances across a diverse group of stakeholders. By building a powerful overarching narrative that accounts for the full range of potential use cases and how they support the entire organization, it is possible to develop strong organizational buy-in.
Accountability and performance
In line with communicating the potential use cases to the appropriate stakeholders, it is also important to build internal accountability and performance expectations that reflect all of those stakeholders’ concerns. As part of the product selection and decision-making process, key stakeholders need to have the chance to ask questions, clarify how they would use the software, and establish KPIs that will be tracked to ensure that the product is being used effectively.
For example, if one of the core objectives is to increase the utilization of meeting rooms, then it is important to ensure that reservation systems work with all key organizational touchpoints (whether that is Outlook, a mobile app, or a kiosk). In the long term, a utilization baseline needs to be set, a team needs to be appointed to collect insights and propose interventions to improve utilization, and regular assessments need to be made to ensure that utilization strategies are working. Ultimately, the IWMS+ is a powerful tool, but data and analytics only go so far; the full benefits can only be achieved when insights are transformed into action.
This post about the successful implementation of innovative software is the final post of a 10-part blog series on IWMS+. Earlier posts introduced the concept of IWMS+ and a range of use cases. If you’d like to receive notifications for future additions to our company blog and other Spacewell knowledge content, please sign up here.
