A helpful guide to the key terms used in the world of workplace management.

• ABW (Activity Based Work): A type of working style that allows employees to utilize the best workspace for the specific type of work. ABW couples well with hot-desking as it empowers employees to select the type of environment (e.g., collaboration area, silent zone, social space) to match their specific work activity.

• Agile workplace: An office environment that provides maximum flexibility to employees allowing them to work in the most effective way to match their working style and needs.

• Asset management: The process of maintaining all of the assets and equipment that a company owns and managing its upkeep.

• CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management): Software tools designed for facilities managers to manage and track all information about the physical space of a building. CAFM systems often include modules related to proactive and reactive maintenance, asset management, space utilization, and move management.

• Capacity planning: A process to determine how many resources (e.g., space, people, time) are needed to complete a certain project or task. In the context of offices, capacity planning is the process to determine how much space you need in each office, taking into consideration social distancing, the number of employees, and the type of work being performed.

• CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System): Software system to streamline the process for managing and tracking all maintenance and assets for a physical space.

• Co-working: A type of workspace where employees from different companies share the same facilities.

• Collaboration space: Areas within an office designated for interactive work with other people. Unlike quiet zones, collaboration spaces are often high-energy areas where employees are talking and exchanging ideas.

• Compliance management: Process to monitor and assess adherence to the designated set of guidelines and rules, often to minimize risk.

• Conference room booking system: Software tool to make scheduling shared spaces simple and standardized.

• Contact tracing: A process of informing people about possible exposure to a disease, such as COVID-19, to limit the spread.

• Delivery management software: A tool to automate office mailroom processes by tracking and managing deliveries and packages.

• Desk reservation software: A tool to enable a flexible office environment in which employees can book desks for the days/times that they will be coming into the office.

• Dynamic office: A concept where employees can work from a flexible range of locations – both within the office and also remotely. In contrast to the traditional idea of an office as a place where each employee has a dedicated desk and office, the Dynamic Workplace has a high degree of flexibility to empower employees to do their work in the most productive location. See Dynamic Workplace.

• Dynamic Workplace: A concept where employees can work from a flexible range of locations – both within the office and also remotely. In contrast to the traditional idea of an office as a place where each employee has a dedicated desk and office, the Dynamic Workplace has a high degree of flexibility to empower employees to do their work in the most productive location. See Dynamic office.

• Employee engagement: An employee's commitment and emotional connection to their work and company.

• Employee experience: Everything that encompasses an employee's journey in an organization. Just as companies invest in customer experience, companies must also invest in the experience of their employees.

• Facilities management: The oversight of a facility, its maintenance, and the personnel that manage it.

• Facilities manager: Individual who is responsible for all grounds and maintenance of physical spaces.

• Flexible seating: Any office seating arrangement where employees do not have a permanently assigned seat within an office.

• Flexible work: A type of work policy that allows employees to select when and where they work to do their best work.

• Free addressing: An office where employees do not have permanently assigned desks. Both hot-desking and hoteling are types of free addressing.

• Hot desking: A type of office seating management that allows employees to work from any desk, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Unlike hoteling, hot desking does not require reservations.

• Hoteling: A dynamic way to manage seating within an office. Unlike the traditional type of permanent office seating, hoteling enables employees to reserve a specific spot in the office for a specific day. The process involves reserving, checking-in, working, and checking-out –– similar to how true hotel reservation systems work.

• Hub and spoke: An office model where there would be “hub(s)” that would be more akin to a traditional cultural HQ and smaller, local “spokes” that would provide flexibility to both employees and employers.

• Hybrid office: An office that has different types of spaces for different types of work. Unlike a "traditional" office where each employee has an office with a closed door, hybrid offices allocate space for different types of work (solo, quiet work versus more boisterous collaboration spaces. Employees are empowered to select the space that works for their work.

• Hybrid workplace: Where companies provide employees with the flexibility of working from the office or from the home.

• IT manager: The person that is responsible for managing the entire lifecycle of IT services and technology used at an office.

• IT service management software: Software that streamlines the installation, maintenance, and decommissioning of IT software. Typically in the form of a help desk.

• ITSM (Information Technology Service Management): All of the processes that are involved in managing IT services at a company. The includes purchase, set up, management, and decommissioning of technology.

• IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System): A singular platform that helps manage all aspects of the office. This includes, but is not limited to, facilities, maintenance, visitor, and space management.

• Move management: The process of overseeing the logistics of an office move.

• Office manager: The person that is responsible for running the operations of an office. This includes administrative duties, facility upkeep and maintenance, managing employees, and everything in between.

• Office neighborhoods: Desks that are grouped together based on department, projects, or activity-based work environments.

• Preventative maintenance: Recurring maintenance that is performed on an asset to ensure that it is in good working order and prevent unexpected issues.

• Room scheduling: Tools that can be used to help manage the reservation of meeting rooms. Employees can view availability, book rooms, and invite guests.

• Room scheduling software: Technology to efficiently manage how shared spaces are reserved.

• Service request: A formal request for something new. Service requests are different than incidents that are unplanned interruptions.

• Shared workspace: Multiple tenants share one office space or building. Another name for co-working space.

• Software administrator: The person who is responsible for overseeing the software that is used by a company.

• Software as a Service (SaaS): Cloud-based software offered by a third party for use on demand.

• Space management: The process of managing the physical office. This includes everything from the design to the utilization of the space. Often used to make informed decisions about how best to allocate space based on employee needs.

• Space utilization: The number of people occupying a space compared with the total capacity of the space.

• Videoconference room: A room optimized with the right technology for conducting high-quality video meetings.

• Visitor management: The process of tracking and managing all the visitors in your office. This includes everything from registration to check in to keeping a historical log of visitors for contact tracing.

• Wayfinding: The process of navigating a physical space and making orientation easy.

• Work from anywhere: When employees are given the flexibility of working and living anywhere regardless of the location of their office.

• Work from home: The ability for employees to work remotely.

• Work order: A task that authorizes maintenance and repairs to be performed. Oftentimes, work order management software is used to keep track of the status of requests.

• Workplace experience: The holistic experience that an employee goes through at an organization. It encompasses everything that has an impact on their day and their ability to do work.

• Workplace experience manager: An individual who is focused on putting employees at the forefront of the workplace. This person often owns both the physical workspace as well as all parts of the employee journey while at work.

• Workplace management software: Software that oversees the processes in a workplace. This includes facilities, maintenance, other services, and workplace experience. See also - IWMS.