Return to Office After Summer: How OpenBlue Companion Supports the Fall Shift

Here's how Companion can help organizations and employees make the transition from summer slowdown to fall focus:

Making the Workday a Breeze

While August is a popular time for employees to be out of the office, our utilization data shows that September is one of the highest in-office months of the year. Adjusting to a workplace that’s suddenly crowded and hectic can make it harder for employees to get back into the swing of things after Labor Day. Tasks like scheduling a meeting, inviting clients to the office and reserving a workspace can feel extra stressful when there are more people clamoring for space and resources.

Companion reduces that stress by enabling employees to manage all of these tasks and more in one application, accessible from a mobile device, desktop computer or kiosk. In just a few clicks or taps, workers can easily reserve a desk, locate colleagues, submit a help desk ticket or alert the facilities team to maintenance issues. They can even choose different workspaces throughout the day based on the type of work they’ll be doing. For example, workers can book a desk near teammates in the morning for collaborative work and then spend the afternoon doing heads-down work at a workstation that’s better suited for that. The Companion app also gives workers more control over their immediate environment while in the office, enabling them to adjust comfort settings like temperature and lighting in meeting rooms and workspaces.

When it comes time to collaborate with clients or vendors, Companion allows users to schedule a meeting, book a meeting room, invite both remote and in-person visitors and trigger the visitor registration process without having to hop between different apps.

A frictionless in-office experience can make the passing of summer a little easier to bear. But reducing the stress of the workday is just one way Companion enhances employee experience and wellbeing.

Maintaining Better Work-Life Balance

The summer slowdown gives employees an opportunity to rebalance their work and personal lives. Companion provides employees with tools to help them sustain that enhanced work-life balance after summer ends.

With mobile access, employees can manage their work-related tasks from anywhere and at any time, whether they’re in the office or working remotely. For example, by pre-ordering food and drink from the office cafeteria through the app, employees can claw back the time they’d normally spend waiting for it to be prepared. Before leaving the house, workers can reserve a parking space in the Companion app rather than taking time to search for an open spot once they arrive at the office. And receiving announcements and notifications instantly in the app means employees can plan around maintenance issues that might otherwise disrupt their day. Less time wasted navigating complex systems and manual processes in the office gives them more freedom and flexibility in how they plan their day.

Fixing Meeting Room Frustrations

Another source of stress for employees trying to get back into the groove of post-summer work is struggling to find an available meeting room that meets their needs.

It’s not uncommon for workers to book a room for an entire day even if they only intend to use it for a few hours, or for one or two employees to “squat” in a room intended for 10. Just as common is the mismatch between room features and utilization, such as when a 15-person conference room with advanced AV equipment is reserved for a three-person huddle that only requires a whiteboard. These scenarios can make it seem like the office doesn’t have enough meeting space and put a damper on one of the main benefits of bringing people together in the workplace: collaboration.

With Companion, employees can see a full description of the meeting room, including capacity and AV capabilities, before they book. The app will also tell users at a glance whether a room is currently occupied or reserved, making it easy for workers to gather in a room for a quick chat.

Another feature supporting better utilization is auto-checkout, which enables facility managers to apply site-wide rules that cancel reservations if a room or workspace remains unoccupied for a set period of time. This helps optimize utilization of these spaces and give stakeholders a more accurate picture of utilization and occupancy.

Reinvigorate Your Workforce and Workplace for the Fall Focus

The goal of OpenBlue Companion is to connect occupants with their office environment and offer employees, guests and FMs a frictionless, integrated and efficient workplace experience. While these features and benefits are impactful year-round, they can be especially important for organizations trying to get employees reengaged after the summer slowdown.

Whether it’s finding a desk near teammates, adjusting the temperature of a meeting room or booking space for a client visit, Companion turns everyday workplace interactions into seamless experiences. For facility teams, it provides essential tools to help keep operations running smoothly and spaces optimized.

By bridging the gap between people and the places they work, Companion not only helps employees get back on track after summer but also reminds them of the value of the office as a hub for collaboration, productivity and connection.