About Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens is a well-known British footwear brand. Although famous for its footwear, Dr. Martens also makes a range of accessories - shoe care products, clothing, bags, etc. The brand appeals to people who have their own individual style but share a united spirit – authentic characters who stand for something. People who possess a proud sense of self-expression. People who are different.
Dr. Martens is a rapidly growing brand that is currently shifting more and more into D2C business and e-commerce. To keep up with the pace of growth, the company is actively building up its competencies and capabilities. One of such internal initiatives is creating a future-ready workplace.
The challenge
The future is no longer a distant goal; it has already begun to alter the way we live and work. Setting the foundation for a future-ready workplace is highly important to every organization that wants to adjust to the new world of work and respond to opportunities for growth.
Part of the future-proof workplace strategy at Dr. Martens is activity-based working. The company aims at creating many architecturally different workspaces so that employees are not confined to using the same traditional desk every day. As one of the most popular arguments for returning to the office is about collaboration, it is also important to design an environment that facilitates employee interactions and encourages teamwork.
But building a future-ready workplace is easier said than done. One of the challenges that Dr. Martens ran into was future-proofing in a rapidly scaling organization.
“In our corporate HQ, we have room for about 220 people; and currently there are 550 full-time employees as well as contractors. Our EMEA division has been growing steadily - so much that the team had to move out to a separate office building.” - Richard Coope, Future-Ready Workplace, Project Manager, Dr. Martens
How to create enough space for the growing number of employees in the flexible office? How to manage activity-based workspaces in a sustainable way? Dr. Martens needed a desk booking system that would help organize seating arrangements better and bring clarity to employees coming into the office.
The solution
YAROOMS desk booking software was recommended to Dr. Martens by an employee who had previously implemented it in his former workplace. Other space management tools were considered in the selection process as well, but YAROOMS’ user-friendliness and ease of implementation were the reasons why Dr. Martens chose the solution.
Currently, the company uses YAROOMS desk booking software through Microsoft Teams in 3 office locations. The solution brings more organization into space management and helps Dr. Martens to run flexible seating policies in the office smoothly (even if the number of employees is larger than available workspaces!). Using the interactive floor map, Dr. Marten's employees can visually navigate their workplace and look up not only desks or their features but also colleagues. If they need to collaborate, they can simply book a space nearby.
Results with YAROOMS
By adding more transparency to space management with YAROOMS, Dr. Martens reduced the friction that was felt in their offices beforehand - employees now know where, when, and even with whom they will sit when they come to work.
Yet the biggest benefit of YAROOMS is that the solution takes the space management problem away so that Dr. Martens can focus on improving the organization further. Building a future-proof workplace is a continuous process – the offices at Dr. Martens are constantly evolving, and workspaces are undergoing regular adjustments. YAROOMS successfully delivers a frictionless experience to all its users in an ever-changing environment.
“As we expand with the business, we want partners that can grow with us. And we really appreciate your flexibility and adaptability. If we have to bring in more desks, renumber or relocate them, change the meeting rooms or office maps, we can be sure that the YAROOMS team will do it promptly and professionally”, - Richard Coope, Future-Ready Workplace, Project Manager, Dr. Martens
