About the University of Sydney's Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science is a constituent body of the University of Sydney. Established in 1882, it is one of the university's largest faculties, educating the next generation of science talent in Australia.
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The Quest for a Reliable Space Management System
Before implementing Yarooms, the University of Sydney's Faculty of Science faced several workspace management challenges.
One of the primary issues was their existing solution, which automatically blocked users' Outlook calendars for the entire day upon booking a space, making it unusable for further scheduling. Moreover, the system could not collect space utilization data or monitor unattended bookings. Compounding these difficulties, the user experience was far from satisfactory, leading to low adoption rates among the faculty's staff.
The situation reached a critical point in the summer of 2023 when the faculty was informed that the solution would be shut down at the end of August, just as the new school year was about to begin. This abrupt notice left the Faculty of Science urgently needing a new, reliable, and user-friendly platform to manage their space booking needs.
A New Course in Faculty's Space Management
In response to the pressing need, the faculty's management team began looking for solutions within the University of Sydney. They sought recommendations from other faculties and discovered that some successfully used Yarooms for workspace booking.
Paul Brooks, the Enterprise Solutions Senior Officer, says that while they had considered a few other options, the choice of Yarooms was straightforward. "We had a very clear idea of what we needed. Yarooms' interface and functionalities, such as user groups or space types, were exactly what we were looking for. Beyond just meeting our specific requirements, its ability to be customized and quickly deployed made Yarooms the obvious choice", - shares Paul.
Campus Space Management and Booking with Yarooms Workplace Experience Platform
Yarooms Workplace Experience Platform offers a comprehensive solution for campus space management and booking. Through its intuitive interface, students and faculty staff can easily search for and reserve workspaces, classrooms, and other resources in real-time without the hassle of double bookings or space shortages.
The solution supports multiple space types, booking scenarios, and business rules, making it easy to customize depending on the requirements of each organization.
 Desk & Room Booking |
 User & Space Groups |
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Allows everyone to find and book spaces in the campus (desks, meeting rooms, or even parking lots) based on their specific criteria (location, features, or proximity to other team members).
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These are integral components in managing access control within a campus. By adding users and spaces into groups, you can define who has access to specific spaces and resources.
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 Employee Check-in |
 Workplace Analytics |
| Upon arriving at the office, employees have to check in to their reserved desk. If check-in is not performed, the system can release the desk to the pool of all available workspaces. | Data to eliminate the guesswork from faculty's space management: understand how different campus areas are used, ensure optimal space utilization, and start rightsizing. |
Results with Yarooms
The introduction of Yarooms has been a game-changer. By leveraging the platform, the Faculty of Science not only streamlined the workspace booking process but also maximized the efficiency of their limited space. By eliminating the need for costly expansions into additional buildings, this approach saves the faculty upwards of $100,000.
Moreover, the Faculty of Science successfully implemented a flexible hot-desking policy for its employees. "If you're in the office three days a week, you'll have your dedicated desk on those days—though you'll still need to check in. On your out-of-office days, your desk becomes a shared resource, open to anyone," Paul Brooks explains the current faculty’s desk sharing policy. Powered by Yarooms, it maximizes space use and fosters a dynamic, adaptable work environment.
"The real goal was about functionality, employee satisfaction, and accessibility. Does this system work for our staff? Are they happy with the workplace experience it provides? And, crucially, can they find a space when they need to be in the office? The answer to all these questions has been a resounding yes. Yarooms has facilitated optimal use of our limited space while fostering a culture that values a good workplace experience and flexibility." - Paul Brooks reflects on the results with Yarooms.
