Navigating the hybrid workplace with deskbird

The modern workplace is ever-changing, demanding flexibility and adaptability.

Rob Taylor, the Head of People at TwentyCi, has led his team through the intricacies of the hybrid workplace since 2012. His dedication to finding solutions has helped create a work culture that inspires others to overcome challenges and embrace change. Let's hear from Rob as he shares his journey and its impact on his team.

The shift towards a hybrid work model after the pandemic outbreak posed numerous challenges, even for companies like TwentyCi that had been following this model for over a decade. Rob revealed they faced several difficulties transitioning from Slack to Microsoft Teams. They needed a tool that could seamlessly integrate with their predominantly Microsoft-based ecosystem. In addition, managing office space, adhering to social distancing norms, and accommodating diverse employee preferences for in-office days were other challenges that required a thoughtful solution. 

"People were looking at who's going to be in. Is it worth me going into that part of the office? Because there's only going to be me, or is there gonna be six people there, and it'll be thriving and vibrant." 

Enter deskbird, a tool that not only meets TwentyCi's immediate needs but also provides a platform for future growth. Rob shared that they initially used Officely but faced limitations when integrating it with Teams. And as the company shifted from Slack to Teams, deskbird became the bridge that facilitated a smooth transition. As Rob explained,

“The transition from Officely to deskbird was challenging initially. However, with deskbird, you can schedule your week at a time, you can do a month at a time. It's just easy, and we probably have 80-85% adoption without chasing people." 

deskbird is the ideal fit for TwentyCi, offering seamless desk allocation, Microsoft Teams integration, and maximum capacity settings. deskbird also won on a price and support level, as Rob highlighted: 

“Your cost is transparent. There's nothing worse than going on a website for a tool you might want to use, and it says contact us for a price. And the support has been outstanding and very responsive.”

The tool's functionality was crucial in optimizing office space and ensuring a balanced distribution of employees throughout the week. “When choosing the alternative of Officely,” said Rob, “we were primarily concerned with speed because our technical director wanted to move quite quickly. He came across deskbird, and we just went with this one because it has all the functionalities we needed, the integration with Microsoft was easy, and it's not ridiculously expensive.”

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