With everyone collaborating these days – in offices and on campuses – interaction spaces are not only in demand, but usually occupied and, sometimes, unexpectedly. Or, if space is successfully booked, frequently participants arrive to discover it lacks the needed amenities.
It's no wonder so many meetings have late starts, resulting in late endings, or are cancelled altogether. Overall, the wasted time costs are significant to say the least.
Becoming an Aruba custom app development partner enabled us to bridge the gap between what enterprises need and what is technologically possible with our app, Robin. The app leverages Aruba's Meridian App platform and Beacons to help organizations recover hundreds, or thousands, of lost hours by putting a scheduling and wayfinding tool in the palm of every worker's hand.
For example, one of our customers moved into a new campus with two buildings and 165 conference rooms. Prior to hiring us, the enterprise placed floor plan signage at every elevator. When people showed up to work, or when they needed to attend a meeting, they first walked to the elevator bays to devise a strategy for getting to their meeting.
Beyond the resource deficits this scenario creates for employers, we've heard from workers how feeling inefficient and ineffective has morale impacts, too. Rather than being compensated to do their jobs, employees suffer silently because they feel paid to tolerate the frustration of constantly wasting time on something so basic.
Unsurprisingly, no campus environment is immune. This includes colleges and universities, where faculty and students not only hunt for appropriate group spaces in the daytime, but also at night, when there's no administrative support.
Once Robin's deployed, anyone can instantly view open rooms, browse for the amenities they need and, with a swipe of their screens, book the right space. Or, they can check the location of an established meeting no matter where they are – at their desks, on the way to a building or at the end of another meeting. In any case, robust mobile engagement technology provides app users with the most efficient path to the desired collaboration space and turn-by-turn navigation to get them there.
In short, we're eliminating the need for support staff to constantly update room schedules and freeing attendees from continuously strategizing how to access a location. Instead, people just touch their mobile device displays and go there.
Co-Founder and CEO of Robin Powered, Sam Dunn makes conference room scheduling software that helps teams invest more time in what the value, and less on process. His Boston, Massachusetts, firm works with enterprises worldwide to "make the work day delightful, one room at a time."
