The BABOR BEAUTY GROUP is a family-run company in its third generation and distributes some of the most sought-after international beauty brands itself or through subsidiaries. At the heart of its success is the BABOR brand, which has been developing in a visionary way since 1956.
Today, the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP employs over 800 people worldwide and the brands are represented in more than 70 countries. To date, they develop and produce exclusively in Germany.
BABOR is a pioneer of New Work and has established a modern office concept. In this interview, Lucia Winands, strategic project management, tells us how BABOR has integrated a modern office concept, what their experiences have been and how they use anny as a tool for flexible workspace booking.
Who are you and what are your tasks in the company?
My name is Lucia Winands and I have been part of the Corporate Project Management of the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP since the beginning of 2022. As a team member of the strategic project management, I am responsible for the steering and set-up of the cross-functional projects of the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP. In addition, we in CPM coordinate the further planning and implementation of the projects and look for suitable project managers in our specialist departments.
What's particularly exciting is the diversity of the projects, which allows us to immerse ourselves in almost all areas of the company and work together with colleagues from a wide range of departments. A few months ago, for example, I was responsible for coordinating the rollout of flexible workstation booking in the company.
You have successfully integrated workplace booking and flex desks in your company. What triggered the decision and what were your challenges at the beginning?
Due to the growth of the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP, the number of employees and thus the need for workplaces has increased steadily in recent years - especially in the administrative area.
In order to ensure efficient utilization of our office spaces, a project for flexible desk booking was launched. The central added value of flexible workstation booking for the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP is the efficient and demand-oriented use of workstations, but also the possibility of collaborating with colleagues from other departments as needed, such as in the context of project work.
The central challenges at the beginning were to define the framework conditions, as well as the workplace design and organization. While some departments work very quietly, there are other departments that have to make a lot of phone calls or communicate in their daily work. This had to be reflected in the design of the flexible workstation booking, both spatially and via a technical solution. In addition, there were the Corona-related requirements, which necessitated clean desk regulations. This also had to be integrated into the flex desk regulation.
What were the first steps at BABOR to integrate workplace booking and flex desks?
In order to gradually sensitize the employees of the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP to the topic of flex desks, we initially started with a pilot project in two departments in the company. This allowed us to test flexible workstation booking in only one of our building sections for the time being. In the first step, we informed the employees about the upcoming project and asked them whether flexible workstation booking would be possible for them at all.
Based on these findings, we created a zone concept to divide the available work areas into quiet zones, meeting zones or even open-space zones. In parallel, we evaluated the spatial equipment (chairs, tables, etc.) and hardware (docking stations, laptop, keyboard, etc.) of the employees and ensured that each workstation is optimally equipped with regard to the corresponding work zone.
The zones for workstation booking were then created and activated in the booking system anny with descriptions and photos, so that employees could finally book their desired workspace. After a three-month test phase and minor adjustments, the flex desk model proved successful in both departments. As a result, Flex Desks are currently being rolled out to other areas of the company.
How did your team members handle the new structures?
Many employees rate the workplace situation very positively and see the added value in also being able to sit down together or exchange ideas with colleagues from other specialist departments. However, some colleagues also appreciate having a fixed workplace within the specialist department and not having to worry about finding a suitable job.
What has changed in your company as a result of anny\? How was it before and how is it now?
anny as a workplace booking tool has enabled us to bring the Flex Desk topic into the company very quickly and very easily. You can clearly see how many people have booked into certain booking zones and can plan and ensure the efficient utilization of desks.
In addition, as part of the rollout, we are taking a closer look at the layout of various work areas (quiet zones, meeting zones, open space zones, etc.) in order to give colleagues the option of booking the appropriate workstation depending on their daily work routine. Similarly, there are also zones for specific work groups that can only be booked by colleagues from the corresponding departments. This can also be mapped very well in anny\.
For the rollout in other areas, we hope that the tool can also be well adapted and used in all other departments.
What problems could be solved once and for all by introducing anny\?
anny was introduced in our company in order to give each employee the opportunity to book the appropriate workstation depending on the work situation - sometimes in an environment where work is concentrated and quiet, sometimes in an environment where there is lively exchange.
In addition, we want to use anny to enable employees to work together flexibly, even if they work in different departments.
What distinguishes anny from other booking management?
The ease of use in particular stands out. We were able to roll out the software to the workforce with very little training and get virtually no questions about operating the booking page. On the IT side, the flexible customization is worth mentioning.
Thus, it was possible to map the requirements of the departments in the standard within a short time (e.g. no booking according to free times, but always only bookings for whole and half days possible).
How do you use anny in everyday life? Are there any features you've come to love in particular?
anny as a booking tool has become part of everyday working life. While some colleagues reserve or book a workstation in the company with great foresight (for 1-2 weeks), there are other colleagues who only look for a workstation at very short notice or even on the same day. Both are technically possible.
With the help of the option to store both descriptions and photos for corresponding booking objects, it is ensured that one finds or books the most suitable workplace for the day. Furthermore, it is also possible to make multiple bookings or to integrate the booking into one's Outlook calendar via an interface.
This ensures transparency within the team and relieves the burden of arrangements within the framework of the work organizations. The creation or classification of special booking groups, which are activated exclusively for certain booking zones, has also proven to be very advantageous. In this way, we can ensure that groups of people who are dependent on special work equipment (e.g. R&D) can book their corresponding work zones via the booking tool, but can still follow a flexible workstation arrangement within the zones.
How do you feel about working with the team at anny? What do you appreciate about it?
First of all, the speed of response. We get feedback on all requests very quickly. In addition, we appreciate the discussion about the mapping of our requirements. You can clearly see the very great interest in developing the tool further according to the needs of the customers. For this, of course, the team at anny needs to know how we work and how our processes function.
The workstation booking system from anny is just the thing if you...
...would like to introduce a tool for flexible workstation booking very quickly and easily. Both the administration and the use in practice have proven to be very intuitive and do not require any time-intensive training for the employees in the company. Currently, we are not missing any other functions within the scope of workstation booking. We are very satisfied with what the tool can do.
How do you think the world of work will change in the next few years? What should companies pay attention to?
Digitalization and the pandemic have fundamentally changed everyday working life in companies. Some processes now only run digitally, new organizational and communication tools have been introduced, and digital or hybrid working from home has become very popular.
The requirements and needs of employees have changed a great deal in recent years, and with them, inevitably, the way work is organized in companies. The understanding of work organization has also changed considerably.
While traditional work models tend to be defined by the division or demarcation of tasks in specialist departments, the trend of the future is to work across disciplines in project teams and to create new networks. The goal here is to proceed in the most efficient way possible, to bring competencies together and to learn from each other.
Companies should build on these changes and innovations in order to meet the requirements of existing employees, but also to continue to attract new employees to the company and remain competitive.
What advice do you have for companies that are also thinking about a new office concept?
Our advice would be to approach the topic of a new office concept or flexible workstation booking slowly and think it through carefully. It is important to sensitize the employees and prepare them for the change in their daily work. For example, it makes sense to start with a pilot or test phase to see how a new office concept is accepted by employees.
In order to achieve openness and acceptance towards new office concepts, employees can also be involved in the design or preparation. In parallel, one should carefully consider which type of office concept is most suitable for a company.
It always depends on the number of employees, the spatial conditions, but also generally on the corporate culture. The question of an innovative office concept is also related to how a company wants to develop in the long term or strategically.
We thank you for the insightful interview and the great cooperation with BABOR.
