The Customer
JLL is a Fortune 500 company and world leader in real estate and investment management services, with operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 91,000.
The Challenge
In 2019, JLL issued a request for proposal to leading digital workplace management providers. The ideal solution would offer room booking functionality and could easily consolidate different applications onto a single, holistic application so the user wouldn’t have a disjointed experience. FM:Systems was ultimately selected over 15 other vendors because it was viewed as the most scalable solution that could provide both near-term needs and future-proof workplace functionalities.
When Brandon Briggs, Senior Vice President of JLL Technologies for JLL, met with the software selection team leads, they said, ”Out of all the vendors considered, FM:Systems was the only provider that could support our immediate needs, with the added flexibility to grow and respond to new workplace needs going forward.”
Initially, JLL focused on deploying FM:Systems touch panels and kiosks that displayed an interactive floorplan so in-office employees could easily see the status of a room across the hallway or book an open desk next to a specific colleague. Fast forward to March 2020, when access to JLL’s offices was limited to all but essential workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company knew it would need to activate the additional features FMS:Employee offered; and lean on its trusted professional services team to implement technology to prepare for a safe and effective workplace return.
While it varied for each location depending on different government regulatory guidance, JLL announced in August 2020 to its employees that offices would be available on September 8, 2020 for those who were able to return. With this date in mind, JLL required a rapid expansion of FMS:Employee that would prioritize employee’s safety, health and a positive experience. The system also needed to offer more mobile features to match the flexibility and agility its workers had become so accustomed to while working remotely during the pandemic.
“When I was meeting with our leadership on this fast-tracked initiative, the words out of my mouth were, ‘I don’t think this is possible.’ This was a huge undertaking to get everything done in less than two weeks’ time frame. I was very impressed that the rollout of FMS:Employee was accomplished in just 11 days at this scale.”
– Brandon Briggs, Senior Vice President of JLL Technologies
The Solution
Previously when thinking about employee experience, JLL focused on how individuals felt while in the office. Now, the company needed to cultivate a great experience for a hybrid workforce. To do this right, JLL prioritized technology that could support its team in a more mobile capacity – no matter where they were working on any given day.
“We didn’t want employees commuting into the office, only to find out there wasn’t an available, clean desk to work from that day,” said Kristin Hovda, IT Director of Workplace Technology at JLL. “With the additional FMS:Employee features, employees could now plan ahead by reserving a workspace or even book a desk near a colleague they wanted to collaborate with, prior to leaving their homes.”
In just 11 days, the expansion of FMS:Employee included an additional 626 rooms and 9,532 desks at 75 sites in the US and Canada. To date, JLL has deployed 1175 conference rooms, 461 touch panels, 12,197 desks globally, backed by the FM:Systems professional services team.
Watch our on-demand panel interview with JLL on preparing for the shift to the hybrid workplace.
“The rollout of FMS:Employee was incredible. On the Friday before we were to ‘go live’ on Monday, we knew we were in a really good position. We had peace of mind going into the weekend that we could confidently bring people back in the office safely and with ease.”
– Kristin Hovda, IT Director of Workplace Technology at JLL
What’s Next
With embracing flexibility and implementing changes more regularly being the recurring themes of COVID, JLL is using FMS:Employee to:
Stay on top of their full real estate portfolio
With a scope covering all desks and rooms and various sensor solutions tracking utilization, the company now gains full visibility into exactly how their workplaces are being used – which areas are being used the most, are underutilized, and even where people tend to congregate most often. By leveraging these insights, JLL can more effectively and confidently make necessary consolidations or expansions to their real estate; as well as layout changes to reflect the way specific workplaces are being used.
Quickly ensure workspaces are safe and clean
Facility managers are now able to monitor people flowing in and out of JLL buildings to remain within capacity limits. When congestion exceeds the building’s predetermined limits, facility teams are notified and can respond accordingly. Additionally, understanding which desks or rooms were actually used enables facility teams to sanitize and clean areas as soon as they’re vacated. By default, JLL facility managers are blocking rooms for 15-30 minutes after an employee “checks out” to ensure proper time for cleaning.
Provide optimal employee experiences
To continue enhancing the day to day employee workplace experience and enable a more seamless and safer transition back to the office, FM:Systems solutions are fully integrated and available to JLL employees within JLL’s Jet hybrid workplace mobile app. Built for a flexible work environment, JLL Jet connects across the complex JLL technology ecosystem and helps employees:
- Tackle day to day activities with less effort using mobile consumer-like tech that is familiar and commonplace in today’s world
- Find and book space even for the most complex meetings or team members schedules in seconds while fully leveraging the power of the FM:Systems platform
- Access distributed company knowledge bases and request all manner of corporate services, from Facilities to HR to IT
- Work effectively with a consistent experience at the office(s), at home and on-the-go
With a robust desk booking system in place and delivered through the JLL Jet app, JLL confidently welcomed its team back to reimagined hybrid offices – workplaces that effectively balanced a culture rooted in employee safety, health, flexibility and overall experience. And, because FMS:Employee brings together analytics, room and desk scheduling, utilization capabilities, and more all under one simple, unified system, JLL can continue to grow and respond to future workplace needs.
