ABRDN

We first met ABRDN as the FM show in 2014. They loved the product and saw exactly where they could put this to use. ABRDN’s Bow Bell House office in London was fast approaching its 1,000 seat capacity. They needed a space management system that could handle this and provide solutions in a short amount of time. 

The system they were using before Accordant was an incredibly detailed excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet had their floor plans on it, and was complete with each desk’s number and names of the employees who sat there. This, although being highly intricate and detailed, had its drawbacks. It took a lot of knowledge of the floor plan and excel as a whole to be able to correctly edit and update. At this point in 2015, it was being solely controlled by one employee. With the company growing at the rate this was, this method of space management was not possible. What they needed from a space management system was:

• An easy to use interface, so that several employees could update floor plans
• A system that could handle everything from daily individual moves to larger, departmental moves
• A way that they could still work visually with their floor plans
• A simple way for their employees to be able to quickly find each other
• A system that can improve efficiency for those in charge of organizing the office space

Accordant checked all of these boxes. This is when we began working together. 

What happened:

Within four weeks, implementation was completed, and ABRDN were able to begin using the software and organizing their space. Immediately, the amount of work needed to make moves and changes on floor plans was greatly reduced. This meant less time sitting and resitting staff, and more time to focus on areas such as optimization and utilization. This also meant that this task could be delegated to different departments. 

Accordant was also able to link up to ABRDN’s HR feed, meaning that all new hires, and employees leaving the company, were automatically updated in the system. 

Another huge time saver provided by Accordant was the quick and comprehensive reports. When the team carried out Move Jobs, they were able to create all of the documentation they needed within minutes. Again, the days spent creating this documentation could now be used for other, more useful tasks. 

ABRDN’s London office went from being an office delicately handled by only one person, to an effectively handled workspace that allowed their FM team to get the most out of their office. It has also left them with confidence in their new ability to handle their existing space, and any other space they expand into.