Returning to a new office after lockdown, safely and confidently with ease

Their team consisted of 140 lawyers and many support staff. Moving this many people was always going to be tough, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit it added an extra layer of uncertainty and complexity. Over the coming months, the situation regarding the move changed quickly and sometimes on a daily basis, so staff understandably had many questions.

Furthermore, with the pandemic in full swing there was a lot of anxiety amongst employees over returning to any workplace. The firm’s management quickly realized that communication was key to managing these concerns. To begin with, the company’s marketing team kept staff informed using newsletters and emails. However, this was clogging employees’ inboxes and taking up a lot of the marketing team’s resources.

There was also a delay in the information reaching staff while emails were written, designed, signed off and sent. As a result, many employees were hearing unofficial rumors prior to actually receiving the official messages. They needed to find a way to get comms out to staff quicker and more efficiently and ensure they felt well informed, so the company decided that a return to office app was the best way of achieving this.

The firm has an IT team of six, but had no coding and development expertise to build the app in-house. Hiring a developer would have been too expensive and they didn’t want to have to rely on a third party to deliver this critical project. Another factor was finding a SaaS solution, as the firm had begun shifting its IT infrastructure towards solutions that didn’t require any on-site architecture and had enterprise-grade security features.

Their IT manager first came across Fliplet a few years ago when they tried out the free version. They knew that it could offer them an affordable solution and give them the hands-on access they needed. In particular, they were attracted to Fliplet’s low-risk development process as it would allow them to quickly prototype ideas and drop them if they were not suitable.

The IT manager had a clear vision for what they wanted the app to be from the start. The team signed up to Fliplet’s return to office package, a prebuilt app template with functions specifically designed to support businesses that are coming back to the workplace after COVID-19. Fliplet’s no-code and low-code intuitive interface meant that the IT team could easily manage the app’s development and upkeep with minimal resources.

Although Fliplet was on hand to support, the company managed to build the entire app themselves. In fact, the development was managed by just one person. Furthermore, the impact of COVID-19 increased the impetus for the app, leading to it being completed in just a few weeks.

Their new app includes a range of features to help employees stay up to date on the office move and orientate themselves when they begin working there. These features include:

• A news feed providing them with instant updates on the move.
• Floor plans so they can navigate the building from day one.
• Images of the new facilities and information about desk layouts.
• Newsletters providing weekly updates.
• Tools for requesting and booking office services.
• Tools for managing visitors.
• A colleague directory.
• New contact numbers for all services in the new building.

The app also allows users to set up notifications to alert them when news is posted or remind them of bookings. Fliplet’s open collaboration means that any team member with the relevant permissions can access and edit content in the app. This has allowed the marketing team to deliver messages faster by removing bottlenecks and making uploading and approving content much easier.

The app has been well received throughout the firm and is accessed on mobile and web browsers.

Management and staff are convinced of the app’s potential and are excited to see how Fliplet’s platform can transform other parts of the business.

They are now planning to create up to five apps with Fliplet, including a directory app that is aimed at helping customers find the service and contact information they need.