When there are too few desks, you need a good booking system
How A1 Slovenija, together with BizIT, turned the allocation of a limited number of desks at its Maribor site into a fair, transparent and simple process - inside Microsoft Teams, which employees already use.
"We wanted to create a simple and fair way of booking desks that gives employees as much autonomy as possible. Today, they have a clear view of availability and can book a desk without any additional coordination. The solution has fitted very well into the way we work, and in our collaboration with BizIT we particularly value their responsiveness, expertise and understanding of our needs."
Challenge
At A1's Maribor office, the team has more employees than available desks. The challenge was not simply how to let people book a desk, but how to create a system that was fair, transparent and easy for everyone to use.
Without a shared system, it is difficult to ensure equal access to a limited number of desks. There is also uncertainty because not every desk has the same equipment.
A1 NEEDED A PROCESS THAT WOULD
- give every employee the same booking conditions,
- show available desks in real time,
- allow people to choose based on location and equipment,
- prevent double bookings and misunderstandings,
- work without manual coordination.
Solution
BizIT did not start with the application, but with the way people work. Together with the A1 team, we first defined clear rules of use and catalogued the desks and their equipment. We then moved the process into the Desk Reservation App, developed in Microsoft Power Apps and installed directly in Microsoft Teams. In an environment they already use, employees can quickly check availability, choose a suitable desk and see what equipment is available there.
RULES AND USERS FIRST, TECHNOLOGY SECOND
- Booking rules: we defined how desks are allocated and under what conditions.
- Desk inventory: we recorded the desks and the equipment available at each one.
- A simple user process: we designed the journey from choosing a day to a confirmed booking.
- Placement in Microsoft Teams: we put the solution where employees are most likely to adopt it.
HOW THE SOLUTION WORKS IN PRACTICE
- Availability overview: employees choose the day they plan to come in and immediately see how many desks are still available.
- Choosing the right desk: they use the floor plan to check the location of available desks and the equipment provided.
- The same rules for everyone: the application checks availability and booking rules and prevents overlapping reservations.
- Booking by phone: employees book in Teams, the reservation is added to Outlook and they check in on the day of arrival.
Why the solution makes business sense. It uses technology already covered by A1's Microsoft 365 licences, runs directly in Microsoft Teams and requires no new user environment. It builds on existing identity and security mechanisms and can be adapted and extended over time.
Impact
- A fair and transparent process: all employees follow the same rules, and availability is visible in one place.
- A better user experience: employees do not simply book a desk number - they know in advance where they will work and what equipment is available.
- A stable solution with an excellent balance between investment and impact: the application runs reliably, users have virtually no problems and the IT team has no additional burden.
How we worked
This project also followed our proven approach: process mapping and a solution prototype, approved by the client before development began.
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