Ferguson
Background
Ferguson Enterprise is the largest commercial and residential plumbing wholesaler in the U.S. with 31,000 associates across 1,600 locations, headquartered in Newport News, Virginia. In Summer 2018, Ferguson broke ground on their new HQ3 campus with the goal of evolving their innovative culture and modernizing their workplace. HQ3 was designed to encourage collaboration and engagement with open seating areas and adaptable, flexible spaces for meeting and working. At the same time, Ferguson began implementing tools and technology to foster mobility, flexibility, and engagement, partnering with VIcom to upgrade A/V technology to facilitate collaboration across the campus.
Challenges
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Ferguson’s technology investments enabled an easy transition to remote work for most associates. While construction continued and HQ3 was completed in August 2020, the prospect of associates returning to the office revealed a critical gap in their technology stack. With hybrid work now essential, Ferguson associates needed a way to find and book desks when planning to be in the office. They also required solutions for maintaining physical distance between workers, monitoring sanitization of workstations, and contact tracing. Ferguson turned to their trusted technology partner, VIcom, to research and select the best workplace management software for their hybrid workplace needs.
The Solution
Platform Selection & Hybrid Work Management
After a strenuous review process, Tango Reserve was selected by Ferguson to help create a manageable and easy-to-access hybrid workplace. While most associates still worked from home, many found it necessary to return to the office on an as-needed basis or for specific departmental needs. Tango Reserve gave them an easy way to see where their teammates were and to find the workspace or collaboration space that fit their needs while in the office. With the platform in place, Ferguson could easily control which spaces were available, provide time for cleaning and sanitization between use, and have access to contact tracing reports when needed.
User Adoption & Training Strategy
Ferguson made it a priority from the beginning to ensure associates not only knew how to use Tango Reserve, but also had a place to provide input into how it would be used. They set up a series of short Hoteling 101 and Conference Room 101 training sessions that encouraged feedback and input. These sessions gave users confidence in working in a new way while providing opportunities to ask questions and gain buy-in. Users even brought different perspectives to ways Tango Reserve could be used to create a more efficient workplace.
Innovative Event Management Solution
While meeting room booking was a prime use case, Ferguson also hosts complex events in their meeting spaces. They realized they could use Tango Reserve’s Dynamic Assets feature in a unique way to create a “shopping cart” of services that associates could select for each event. Ferguson attached specific services, equipment, and required support to event spaces, allowing associates to book everything needed—including IT support personnel—in one streamlined process. This innovative approach made event management much more efficient while reducing operational inefficiencies.
Scalable Growth Strategy
As Ferguson rolls out Tango Reserve to other locations, they expect to instill a culture of flexibility while maintaining control and efficiency for their hybrid workforce. The platform allows them to offer associates tools to work their best wherever that is, maintain business resiliency when faced with unexpected challenges, and continue finding innovative ways to reduce workplace process inefficiencies.
We know—it takes two to Tango
When you choose Tango, you get more than quality real estate tools. You get a team of experts in your corner. As pioneers in IWMS, SLM, GIS, and predictive analytics, we bring more than three centuries of cumulative experience to your organization’s goals and challenges.
Whatever your real estate strategy, we can help you refine, execute, and maximize it. Let’s find your real estate’s real value.