The Council continue to follow Scottish Government Guidelines in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The current guidance states that staff who can work from home should continue to do so. Therefore home working remains the default position.
What is the workspace booking application?
To support flexible working, the workspace booking application is being introduced to allow agile working employees to book a desk within buildings.
The app will allow maximum use to be made of all available desks and supports a more flexible working environment for agile employees. Static employees have been allocated a dedicated workstation and will not be required to book a desk as one has been made available for them.
Going forward it will also be used as a means to book meeting rooms and collaboration space across the Council estate.
How do you book a desk?
The workspace booking application allows staff to search using different criteria such as; building, floor, desk number and specialised equipment requirements. It is recommended that the quick-link icon is saved to your Connect homepage to allow you to navigate directly to the booking app.
To book a desk you will need your NLC network login details i.e. what you use to sign in to your computer at the start of the working day. If you don’t have a network login, you can ask a colleague to book a desk for you or speak to your line manager for advice.
How does it benefit the employee?
- Employees can search for and book any available desk within the following buildings
- Calderhead High School, Shotts, ML7 4DH
- Coatbridge Community Centre @ St Andrews High School, Coatbridge, ML5 5EA
- Cumbernauld Theatre & Academy, Cumbernauld, G67 2UF
- The desks have been set up at 2m distancing in line with Covid-19 good practice and cleaning materials provided in all offices.
- The workspace booking app is a self-service app which allows agile employees to make and cancel bookings via Connect. A quicklink icon is also available and can be added to your favourites list.
- When booking is completed as automatic email is generated and the booking information is populated into the employees Outlook calendar
- Employees can forward plan by booking office visits up to 28 days in advance
When can employees book a desk?
Agile employees can book a desk up to 4 weeks in advance. The app runs on live time and always has accurate and up to date information regarding availability. Bookings can be made for half day am (07:00-12:00), half day pm (13:00-18:00) or full day (07:00-18:00). If a desk is required for multiple days, then separate bookings have to be made for each session.
What equipment is available on the desk?
All desks will have a keyboard, mouse and riser (where no monitor) to comply with health and safety standards.
The majority of bookable desks have been set up with phones, monitors and network cables, however it is recognised that some monitors may have been removed by staff to facilitate home working. Agile staff have all been provided with laptops and it is expected that they will use these when carrying out ad-hoc work / visits within the office. As the Digital NL agenda progresses, phones will be removed from desks and soft phones will be introduced.
For staff who have been identified as working from an office base on a permanent basis, you should discuss with your Line Manager what your IT requirements are and measures will be put in place by each Service to set up the desk space within an agreed building.
Can I book a desk for a colleague?
Yes. Please refer to User Guide below.
A list of FAQs will be added soon. In the meantime, please direct any questions to workspacebooking@northlan.gov.uk