CASE STUDY M&G WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS
make this laborious we’ll lose the traction
we’ve got, so we’ve got to add functionality
to keep that interest there.”
She adds: “Part of the decision of going
with Spica was because we knew we’d
have to go through a lot of changes so we
wanted a partner that was willing to work
in a very agile way. I think we’re probably
quite demanding as a client because we’re
always asking ‘how can we push this?’ and
we’re equally passionate about making the
product as great as we possibly can.
“We say to Spica, ‘if you don’t see the
value of an update challenge us’,
and that we will respect that but
equally, the ideas that we have
help Spica’s product develop
as well, so it’s a very symbiotic
relationship, which is what
makes it as successful as it is.
“We’ve had to put a lot of
governance around how we
prioritise features, because
everyone wants everything and
how do we make those decisions
in terms of resources – so that’s
been a really good discipline for us
to say, ‘why are we doing it?’ ‘how is that
going to work?’
“Having put that governance in, we found
that there were features that we thought
about that we thought were fairly minor,
actually gave us opportunities to do a lot
more. It has been a bit of a revelation just
watching how people use the app. There
were things we wanted to do and when we
26 JULY 2022
saw how people were using the app realised
‘we don’t need that’. People find their own
ways to do stu which is really interesting
to watch.”
DATA ADVANTAGE
Being a financial services firm M&G’s
people do like data, so when the workplace
solutions team is dealing with di erent
parts of the business, when some question
If you’re an FM working on
the site it’s a useful way of
determining how we can
proactively respond to things. We’ve
got around 4,000 sensors around
our UK estate and we want it to
show us the state of assets
as it happens.”
if they have enough space, or
where are their people going
to be based, the app helps
estates demonstrate how
in reality the space is
being utilised.
Says Gingell: “I
think that’s one of
the most powerful
elements of the
app. People might
interpret their space
quite di erently – for
instance it might feel
quite busy, but when we
have a look at the data we
can see that actually it’s not
quite where they thought it was and
we can see where there are gaps. We can
also track which days people are coming
in and work with teams to ensure they are
getting the most out of their space before
making any physical changes.”
The technology also helps to streamline
services, giving users the option of informing
the property help desk if there is an issue.
For instance, if they go to the co ee machine
and it’s not working they can scan it on the
QR code and it will automatically create a
ticket they can track. But the ultimate aim is
to identify any issues before it happens.
Says Gingell: “If you’re an FM working on
the site it’s a useful way of determining how
we can proactively respond to things. We’ve
got around 4,000 sensors around our UK
estate and we want it to show us the state
of assets as it happens. For example, when
it comes to monitoring energy use, with our
environmental sensors if we know they are
deviating from our parameters.”
“In fact, the level of data has given us and
Spica challenges so they’ve created a level of
functionality on the dashboards to see what
works and pull data out that is genuinely
insightful.”
M&G’s MyWorkplace app has
understandably been very well received by
the property service teams as well as end
users, but what about the board?
Says O’Reilly: “They’re massively
supportive of the app, of what we are doing
and that we are creating really e icient
workplaces, so it’s got a lot of profile. Like
everyone else ESG is massively important
to M&G and sustainability is at the heart
of everything we do, from an energy
perspective, carbon perspective, or indeed
a wellbeing perspective. The app gives us a
fantastic data point that we can then use to
show the value add and also to constantly
improve, so it’s really valuable.”