Flex Office: locations and floor plans

The Booking locations screen configures your locations for Flex Office: headcount hosted, zones, floors, plans and desks, car parks, restaurants, meeting rooms, closures, events and check-in. The locations themselves come from the Organisation reference data: Flex Office sets how they are occupied, without changing their identity. The Equipment tile in Flex Office settings opens the equipment catalogue used by desks and rooms.

Before you start #

• The screen requires the permission to configure work locations. Without it, the Booking locations tile and the screen do not exist. Editing a location requires this permission at the Execute level; without it, there is no “Add” or Edit button.
• The Desks and plan tab only exists with the permission to manage floor plans. At the Access level, it is read-only; at the Execute level, you upload plans, outline zones, create and place desks and maintain the catalogue. Assigning a desk and adding or renaming a floor also require the permission on locations at the Execute level.
• The Meeting rooms tab only exists with the permission to configure meeting rooms. At the Access level, it is read-only; at the Execute level, you create, edit, archive and delete rooms and their photos.
• The Check-in tab can be read with the permission on locations; setting it up and creating or revoking a QR code require this permission at the Execute level. It does not exist for a remote-work location.
• The Car parks (configure car parks), Catering (configure catering) tabs, closures (close a site) and events (publish site events) each follow their own permission. Without the Execute level, there is no form or button.
• The Equipment tile only exists with the permission to manage floor plans; changing the catalogue requires the Execute level. From the Meeting rooms tab, the permission on rooms at the Execute level is also enough.

Permissions in the role matrix #

• “Configure work locations (sites, offices, floors, zones)”: Access level for the screen and the Check-in tab; Execute level to edit a location, its floor space, its floors, its check-in and its QR codes, and to assign a desk.
• “Manage floor plans and zone placement”: Access level for the Desks and plan tab and the Equipment tile; Execute level for plans, outlines, desks and the equipment catalogue.
• “Configure meeting rooms: see rooms and their equipment (access), create, change and archive a room, cancel someone else’s meeting (execute)”: Access level for the Meeting rooms tab; Execute level to create, edit, archive and delete a room, and for the equipment catalogue from that tab.
• “Configure car parks (car parks, spot types, spots, assignments)”: Car parks tab, Execute level to write.
• “Configure catering (restaurants, services, closures, menus)”: Catering tab, Execute level to write.
• “Close a site: see closures and their impact on bookings (access), create, change and lift a closure (execute)”.
• “Publish site events: see drafts and registrations (access), create, change, publish and cancel an event (execute)”: see Site events.

What this screen is for #

• The “Work Locations” list, sorted by category (Remote work, Office, Coworking, Other), with the search “Search a work location”.
• The “Add workplaces” wizard: configure a location from the reference data for Flex Office.
• A location’s card, in tabs:
  • General information: the location’s Flex Office configuration, its zones and the site’s floor space;
  • Desks and plan: the plan of each floor, the desks, the bookings left without a desk and the equipment catalogue;
  • Car parks and Catering;
  • Meeting rooms: the location’s rooms and the equipment catalogue;
  • Events: public holidays, closures and site events;
  • Check-in: the check-in requirement, the release of desks not checked in and the location’s QR codes.
• The equipment catalogue (Equipment tile): screens, docking stations, adjustable desks… shared by the whole company.

Step by step #

Configure a location #

1. Open Flex Office settings › Booking locations.
2. Click Add work locations, then choose the category.
3. Step 1, Location to configure: choose a location from the Organisation reference data. If there is none: “Create a location in Settings › Organisation first; it will appear here.” Click Next.
4. Step 2, General settings:
   • Office color;
   • Location identity (type, name, capacity), read-only, with the Edit in Organisation link;
   • Allow comments, Allow overbooking (book in a full zone after a warning), Available for employees;
   • Workplace visible to.
5. Click Next.
6. Step 3, Office plans: add the floors with Add a floor and Floor name, or click Skip.
7. Click Finish. The wizard only closes once the save is confirmed.

At step 3, only the floor names are saved. The plan image is uploaded afterwards in the Desks and plan tab.

Edit a location’s configuration #

1. In the list, click the location. The General information tab shows the location’s identity (read-only) and its Flex Office configuration.
2. Click Edit. The Configure the location for Flex Office form opens.
3. Set the Color, the Headcount hosted (“0: the location is not offered for booking.”), Allow comments, Allow overbooking, Workplace visible to.
4. Under Zones, enter for each zone:
   • the Zone name;
   • its Zone type: Desks (bookable) or Landmark (not bookable);
   • its Capacity. For a zone that has desks, the field is greyed out: “Zone with desks: its capacity is the number of its desks in service.”
5. Add a zone adds one; Remove the zone removes it.
6. Click Save.
7. Below the configuration, the Floor space (m²) block is set separately: click Edit, enter the floor space, then Save. “Used for the dashboard’s “m² per attached person”. A quantity, never an amount.”

Draw a floor plan #

1. Open the Desks and plan tab, Plan sub-tab.
2. Choose the floor under Floors. Add a floor and Rename the floor are offered there with the permission to edit the location. With no floor: “This location has no floor yet: add one to upload its plan.”
3. Click Upload the plan image (“PNG or JPEG, 2 MB at most.”). Replace the image keeps the positions and outlines: check them afterwards.
4. In Plan tools, choose Zone to outline a zone:
   • choose the Zone to outline, then Rectangle or Polygon;
   • for a rectangle, drag across the plan; for a polygon, click each corner, then Close the outline;
   • click Save outlines.
5. Choose Desk to place a desk with one click: the New desk window asks for the Desk zone and the Desk code, then Create the desk. Desks not yet placed are listed under Desks to place: click the Place button followed by the desk code, then click on the plan.
6. Choose Row to create several desks at once: click the start, then the end of the row, set the Row zone, the Prefix, the First number, the Number of desks and the Digits (leading zeros). The preview of the Codes is shown; click Create and place the row.
7. Choose Select to move desks: drag them, or move them with the keyboard arrow keys. Click Save positions, or Undo moves.

The floor’s zones are listed next to the plan, with their status (outlined, not outlined, draft, landmark). Zones are created in General information.

Manage desks #

1. In Desks and plan, open the Desks sub-tab. The list can be filtered by Zone, Floor, Status and Equipment; its columns: Desk, Zone, Floor, Status, Equipment, Plan (Placed or Not placed), Holder.
2. New desk creates a desk, Row of desks creates several without placing them.
3. Click a desk to open its card: Code, Status (In service or Out of service), Zone, Floor, Equipment. Click Save.
4. Under Assigned desk, choose the Desk holder, From (empty: open) and Until (empty: open), then Assign. Remove the assignment makes it free again.
5. Archive (then Confirm archiving) takes the desk out of service; Unarchive brings it back. Delete (then Confirm deletion) is only possible for a desk that has never been used: otherwise, Archive it instead is offered.

The Without a desk sub-tab lists “Bookings left without a desk in a zone with desks. They count in the occupancy of their zone.” It can be filtered by zone and by period (From (empty: today), To).

Maintain the equipment catalogue #

1. Open the Equipment tile in Flex Office settings, or the Equipment sub-tab of Desks and plan or of Meeting rooms. “The catalogue is shared by all locations of the company, by desks and by meeting rooms.”
2. Click New equipment.
3. Fill in at least one Label (Français, English, Deutsch, Italiano), the Code (empty: taken from the label) and For: Desks, Rooms or Desks and rooms.
4. Click Save.
5. Each item of equipment can be edited, archived, unarchived or deleted. Show archived shows archived items again.

The equipment is then ticked on the card of each desk and each room.

Configure the location’s meeting rooms #

1. Open the Meeting rooms tab. “A phone box is a room with a capacity of 1.”
2. Click New room, then fill in:
   • the Name and the Capacity (people);
   • the Floor and the Place on the plan (landmark zone): the location’s landmark zone whose outline shows the room on the plan (Not on the plan if none);
   • Bookable from and Until (08:00 to 18:00 by default);
   • the Maximum duration (minutes) (240 by default), or No limit;
   • Bookable up to (days ahead) (30 by default);
   • Access (badge, code, instructions);
   • the room’s Equipment.
3. Click Save.
4. Reopen the room to give it a photo: Add a photo (“A photo of the room, with nobody in it (PNG or JPEG, 2 MB at most): it is encrypted and follows the backup.”). Replace the photo and Remove the photo follow.
5. A room can be archived, reopened or deleted from the list. Show archived shows archived rooms again.

Room booking and meetings are described in Meeting rooms.

Set up check-in for the location #

1. Open the Check-in tab (“On-site check-in”).
2. Under Check-in settings, tick Check-in required at this location: “Bookings at this location expect a check-in (button, QR, badge or reception); presence and no-shows are measured there.”
3. To release desks that are not checked in, turn on Release a desk not checked in at the end of the grace period, then set the Grace period (5 to 240 min), Morning starts and Afternoon starts (location time).
4. Click Save.
5. Under QR codes of the location, enter a QR label (optional: entrance, reception…) if needed, then click Create a QR code.
6. The QR code created window opens: “This QR code is shown only once: print it now. If lost, revoke it and create a new one.” Click Print.
7. Each active QR code is listed with its creation date and the person who created it. Revoke (confirmed) deactivates it: the printed poster must be taken down.

Configure the location’s car parks #

1. Open the Car parks tab, then New car park. Enter the Name, Bookable (days) and the Access instructions, then Save.
2. Click Add spots: Type, Count, Level, Prefix, First number, Digits. The preview of the Codes is shown (for example from P01 to P20). Click Create spots.
3. Choose a Day: the list shows, spot by spot, the morning and afternoon status (Free, Booked, Assigned, Out of service) and the assignee, without the names of the people who booked.
4. Click a spot to open its card: Code, Level, Type, Out of service, Archived, and Assignment to an employee, From / To (empty: no start or no end). Click Save.
5. A car park can be edited (Edit), archived (Archive) or deleted (Delete). Show archived shows archived ones again.

Configure the location’s catering #

1. Open the Catering tab (“Restaurants, services, closures and menus”), then Add a restaurant: Restaurant name *, then Create.
2. The restaurant’s Settings: Name, Booking (Required or Walk-in), Open for booking (days), Diets the kitchen can serve. Save.
3. Services: Add a service with Name (optional), Seats *, Start *, End and the Days served.
4. Closures: a Date, a Scope (Whole restaurant or a service), a Reason, then Close that day. The location’s public holidays are also shown.
5. Menus: choose a mode (Single menu, Per day, Per service, Standard week) and click Use this mode to show it to diners. Add the dishes by category (Starter, Main course, Dessert, Drink): Dish name *, optional price, diets.

Manage site closures #

1. Open the Events tab. It brings together the location’s Public holiday calendar (read-only, with Open Organisation), the Site closures and the Site events.
2. In Site closures, fill in New closure:
   • the Locations (one or more);
   • From and First day (All day or Afternoon only);
   • To and Last day (All day or Morning only);
   • Closed services (none ticked: all): Desks, Parking, Meals, Visits, Meeting rooms;
   • the Reason and the Notice (days before).
3. Click Close the site…. The screen shows the exact impact, for example: “This will cancel N bookings of N people …”, with the Meetings in rooms concerned and the Events concerned, which stay published.
4. Click Confirm the closure.
5. For an ongoing or upcoming closure: Edit (then See the impact of the change… and Confirm the change) or Lift the closure.

For site events, see Site events.

Good to know #

• Location identity and capacity. Creating, renaming or deleting a location is done in Settings › Organisation, which owns it. The name, type, address, manager and practical information are edited there, as is the site’s Capacity (workstations), which is used for the Flex Office occupancy rate.
• Headcount hosted. It is set from 0 to 127; at 0, the location is not offered for booking.
• Zones with desks and landmark zones.
  • In a zone that has desks, the capacity is the number of its desks in service; the capacity entered no longer counts.
  • A landmark zone is never bookable: it serves as a landmark on the plan, for example to locate a meeting room. A zone that still has desks or upcoming bookings cannot become a landmark.
  • A landmark zone that holds a meeting room remains a landmark.
  • Renaming a zone keeps it, with everything attached to it. A removed zone that is still in use is archived, not erased.
• Floor plans. A floor’s image is stored encrypted. Renaming a floor keeps its desks and its plan. Clearing an outline only affects the plan of that floor. Desk moves are saved all together or not at all: a refusal leaves them on screen, unsaved.
• Desks.
  • A desk’s code is unique within the location, archived desks included.
  • Putting a desk out of service or archiving it moves its upcoming bookings to another free desk in the zone; with no free desk, they keep their zone without a desk. Week template days that preferred it lose that preference. Everyone concerned is notified.
  • When a zone receives desks, its upcoming bookings without a desk are given one; the people concerned are notified.
  • Assigning a desk over other people’s bookings is refused. Changing the holder removes the former holder’s upcoming releases.
• Equipment catalogue. An archived item of equipment can no longer be added and stays on the desks and rooms that have it. An item of equipment used by a desk or a room cannot be deleted: it is archived. Nor can it be restricted to rooms only while desks have it, or to desks only while rooms have it.
• Meeting rooms.
  • A room’s name is unique among the location’s open rooms. A landmark zone holds only one room.
  • Archiving a room cancels its upcoming meetings and notifies their organisers and participants; it keeps its place on the plan and its photo. Reopen makes it bookable again.
  • A room that has already been used cannot be deleted: it is archived.
• Check-in. Automatic release requires check-in at that location. A booking without a check-in is released at the start of its first half-day plus the grace period; the person is notified. A QR code is shown only when it is created.
• Time zone. A car park or a restaurant cannot be configured as long as neither the location nor the company has a time zone.
• Archive rather than delete. A car park, spot, restaurant or service that has been booked even once cannot be deleted: it is archived. Archiving it, or putting a spot out of service, cancels its upcoming bookings and notifies the people concerned.
• Assigning a spot in a car park over other people’s bookings is refused: cancel or move them first.
• Closures: what happens.
  • Bookings on closed days are cancelled; a full-day booking that touches a closed half-day is reduced to the open half; assigned spots are released.
  • Room meetings affected are cancelled, except a meeting that has already started. Site events stay published: their registrants are notified and the organiser decides.
  • Each person receives a summary; visitors already invited receive a cancellation email.
  • The “N days before” notice is sent once, to the people whose workplace it is, to those whose week template targets it and to those who have a booking there.
  • When the closure is lifted, nothing that was cancelled comes back by itself; people are notified that the site is reopening, and the week template books its days the following night.
  • The reason is shown to the people concerned: it must not contain any personal or sensitive data.
  • Past closures remain available for 24 months (Past).
• Calendar. A closure appears as a banner in the “Site” row of the calendar. It marks the day without greying it out.
• Import. Zones, desks, meeting rooms, parking spots, restaurants, services and menus can also be imported from a CSV file. See Imports.
• Log. Changes to the configuration of locations, zones, floors, plans, desks, equipment, rooms and QR codes are recorded in the application log, under the “Flex Office” module.

See also #

• Flex Office settings
• Meeting rooms
• Parking · Meals
• Site events
• Calendar
• Imports
• Flex Office: module overview