2 Nov 2021

How a major Dutch lamps and lights seller transitioned to hybrid work with Joan

This month, we sat down with Esra Kuijpers, the head of QLF’s human resources (HR) department. 

QLF Brands is a fast-growing organization based in the Netherlands. The company is the driving force behind the brands QAZQA, Lampandlight, and FittinQ. It is a powerhouse for selling lamps and lights, with their products available throughout Europe. 

Before long, QLF found themselves in need of room booking and desk management systems to help their hybrid workspace run smoothly. Read on to find out how Joan fits their needs.

QLF’s hybrid workspace: Unlimited growth with the same office spaces

QLF recommends that their employees work from home as much as possible. And even after the government’s work-from-home policies are lifted, QLF will continue operating with a hybrid work environment. The company has simply grown too large to invite all of its employees back into the workspace all at once.

“We’re growing really fast as a company, we literally don’t have enough space for everyone. So, that’s why we need to go to a hybrid working environment.”

At the start of COVID, QLF was an in-office company where “everybody worked at the office all the time.”  After a year of fully remote work, it was time to reasss. Feedback suggested that working from home all the time was too much time at home. Responding to the feedback, QLF transitioned to flexible work practices and opened up in-office workstations.

Which is where Joan entered the scene.

“So we tried to be a little bit more flexible. And that's why we were introduced with Joan so we could create a space where people could make a reservation for a desk or meeting space and we can monitor who was at the office and when.”

Onboarding with Joan

QLF found Joan Desk “really easy to integrate into their current setup,” which relies on Active Directory. Any problems that IT did encounter were quickly put to rest with the help of Joan’s support team. Overall, their IT manager found the setup uneventful — just the way he’d hoped.

When asked how the rest of the company accepted Joan, Esra said:

“We just immediately started using it because it’s really simple. People don’t want tools that are too complicated. And with Joan, there’s just a simple app to manage everything. So, basically, everyone started using it immediately.”

To help with the onboarding process, QLF directs their employees to Joan’s support site. Additionally, the HR team runs a little onboarding for employees and offers a concise how-to document that explains how to create their account and use the booking system for desks and meeting rooms.

All-in-all, their onboarding process has been straightforward with no resistance.

The best of Joan

When asked what his favorite Joan feature was, Esra readily said:

“For me, it’s the simple layout. I think because it’s straightforward and very easy to use. And that’s the best part.”

What’s more, QLF no longer struggles with ongoing discussions of who’s using which room, or who’s in the office versus working from home. The overall environment runs more smoothly with less time wasted with back-and-forth discussions about meeting spaces.

In fact, Esra confidently recommends Joan as a “practical solution for room booking and desk booking for every company.”

Interested in learning more about Joan’s solution? Get in contact with us and let’s discuss how we can support your workplace.