In addition to THE CAMPUS in Shinagawa, Tokyo, KOKUYO introduced the Acall hoteling (seat reservation) at its Umeda office in Osaka. What has become more convenient for them by introducing Acall while operating a free-address office system already? We asked about their office operations under COVID-19 and their experiences on Acall as actual users.
This is the only system where each individual can reserve each space even if there are a number of seating locations.
- KOKUYO has introduced Acall at THE CAMPUS and the hoteling function (spot reservation) of Acall to seats and meeting rooms at the Umeda office. What was the reason for introducing it here?
We, as a sales team, have never had our own seats, and we were already familiar with the hot desking office system. However, there were various problems that we do not know “who” is working “where” and the same people are always sitting in the same place. This was further highlighted by the COVID-19. Previously, we just responded to those problems with temporary solutions each time, but now that we are going to operate the system together as a team. We started to be aware that we need to set rules and make reservations through the system for everyone, which has been an issue that needs to be solved for the past few years.
We have been looking into a number of such systems, but we already introduced the Acall at THE CAMPUS (Office in Shinagawa). We decided that we should put priority on unifying the system as an infrastructure as one company, even if the locations are different. We decided to implement Acall because it is very simple and easy to use.
Another reason was that, until now, the general affairs department had been doing their best to educate everyone and warn them if they were breaking our rules for space usage. However, we saw some limits and wondered how much we could rely on that operation continuously, so we decided that we should use a reservation system to manage our operation.
We managed to reserve meeting rooms with the meeting room system, but we felt again that the Acall is the only system where we are able to have a number of seating spots and reserve those spots for each person.
Creating a space where we identified what can be done only in an office.
- What is the actual ratio of the number of seats to the number of employees?
We currently have 60% of the seats for 350~360 employees, including seats that do not require reservations and meeting space. If all the employees would come to the office, it would be impossible for everyone to sit. However, this is compensated for by the low attendance rate after COVID-19 and by the fact that many employees go out since this office was originally a sales office. The 60% ratio is not a random number; it was determined based on a survey and analysis of how many people actually used the seats during a certain period of time in a day.
Originally, we managed to have 100% of the seats for a long period. Before COVID-19, the staff department could only work in the company, so all of their seats were fixed and kept until the end. We closed all the offices in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka and gave them a mobile environment for remote work due to COVID-19. As a result, even though COVID-19 subsided a bit and the company allowed everyone to come into the office, none of the staff were back in the office. And I thought, “What? Everyone can work from home.”
If that’s the case, instead of setting up seats for staff to urge them to come back to the office, we started to create a place where we could do more things that can only be done in the office. For example, brainstorming for new ideas centered around in-person communication, training our people, and so on. Now that we can use the office more spaciously well.
- Your company has made the purpose of the office clear, and made it a new space dedicated to communication and education for employees.
Initially, the sales team on the manufacturer side, KOKUYO Furniture, and the sales marketing company, KOKUYO Marketing, were working separately, but we came together in this same office with the goal of increasing the overall strength of KOKUYO by collaborating together.
However, since what we do as a business is the same, with only slight differences in the customer market and business needs, we decided to divide by function, not company. We decided to set up areas for the sales, design, construction, and staff functions. We have the two companies work together as the one within those areas. As a result of this process, we found it not working well without management collaboration. Even if the employees on the field-layer were sitting next to each other, they would not be able to have a fruitful conversation.
In such a situation, we were forced into the COVID-19 situation, and remote work became possible. We decided to change areas based on “what to do,” rather than dividing the space by department or job type. The “what to do” areas are divided into “zones for natural conversation,” “zones for Web MTG,” and “zones for discussions”.
The first thing we did to create a “zone for natural conversation” was to always find someone to talk to and sit down with them when they arrived at the office. This way, no matter which department you belong to, you will be able to meet people when you arrive at the office, even if you don’t come to work very often and don’t usually see each other. We now use that place as a large living room. The living room can be used for any purpose, and we are creating a very relaxed space.
We are operating “zones for Web MTG” and “zones for discussions,” which are used for other purposes with Acall and other tools.
- Did you have a smooth operation start when you introduced the system?
I think the best thing was that it was relatively easy to install without major construction work.
We were concerned whether the system would be adopted smoothly, since the average age of the staff in this office is 46 years old, and IT literacy is a bit lower than that of THE CAMPUS in Tokyo. But I guess it’s better to get used to it than to learn it, so everyone ended up using it again for convenience.
People who had been working in a large proprietary system of KOKUYO are now moving to software applications, which are more and more convenient, and improvements can be made in a short period of time. We think everyone is experiencing this.
The next question is how to utilize the logs obtained on Acall. We are thinking about how we can make good use of Acall to propose better ways of working that are in line with the great way we will work in the future. “This spot is not popular at all, what’s wrong with it?” “This spot is very popular, so it would be easier for everyone to work if we increased the number of these kinds of spots. We are discussing with the team about how we would like to utilize the system in such a way.
- Are there any good things about using Acall?
One thing that makes us happy is that we don’t have unused reservations anymore. Until now, meeting rooms were always reserved even if the person who reserved them did not show up. That’s why they were unusable for the others. There were a lot of people in mind “I will make a reservation just in case”.
In terms of seats, we think there have been cases where people have used meeting rooms with a mismatch for purpose and location, but now that we have a reservation system, it has become more common for people to think about where to choose according to the kind of work they are working at the time.
There are still some areas for Web MTG that do not yet have a reservation system, but we think that it might be better to make all of them reservation-based. We think it will change people’s mindset a lot.
- We would like to talk with two employees from KOKUYO Co.,Ltd., who use Acall frequently.
KOKUYO Co.,Ltd. (Designer)
I am most surprised to hear that I have the highest usage rate of Acall in our company, but I think I know the reason. Because of COVID-19, all of our meetings are basically conducted via the Web, so I always reserve a Web MTG booth at least once when I come to work in our office.
What is convenient about using this service every day is that I can make a reservation the day before or on the train on my way to the office by looking at the availability on my smartphone. It is also convenient that I can easily change the reservation time.
I think that Web MTG works better in an enclosed booth because there is no sound problem and you can concentrate more. Sometimes when the booth is fully reserved, I have no choice but to use a regular seat, but if someone is talking on a cell phone in front of me, I have to mute the phone or it becomes a bad environment, so I feel that the zones for Web MTG are suitable for Web MTG.
KOKUYO Co., Ltd. (Sales)
I also have regular meetings twice a week with clients for projects in Tokyo, so I often use the booth seats for Web MTG.
What I like about using Acall is that I can make reservations on my smartphone on the train when I am coming to the office or returning from a sales meeting, which I think is very easy to use.
Another advantage is that when I am not in a meeting and have just a stand talking, I can use a QR code to check in immediately if I need to go somewhere to talk.
However, since reservations are often filled up, I check the reservation status in the morning, and if the seat I want to use is not available, I may decide to work from home.
- You are making a decision about whether to come to your office or not based on the reservation status on Acall. Thank you very much. Finally, do you have any requests for improvement to make the system more comfortable to use?
I still sometimes forget to check in, so I think it would be great if there were some reminders before and after meetings.
I think it would be easier to make a reservation if it were possible to narrow down the search by web MTG booth only. There are 15 Web MTG areas in total, but when it comes to checking availability, I have to look at all of them. It is inconvenient that there is no search feature when I want to use it right now.
- We think there is room for further improvement in the UI on the Acall Mobile, and we will continue to discuss this matter internally.
In a way, it is really better to have the right person in the right place. I used to come to the office as a matter of course, not without thinking deeply about where I would work today until around 2019, but now I work at home as a matter of course. I can choose where to work according to my work schedule, and my work style has changed a lot.
We were able to hear about the transition of office design in line with changes in workstyle. Thank you very much for your valuable talk today!
