For Slovak Telekom, a part of Deutsche Telekom, Blocks developed and implemented over 1,300 lockers in their Bratislava headquarters in a record time of 6 weeks. Moreover, one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies has adopted Blocks features on such a large scale that it now implements them directly on its other branches too. What is the story behind this collaboration? We talked to Slovak Telekom’s Head of Fleet, Facility & Rental Management, Silvia Nagyová.
How has your workplace evolved in the past 10 years and what impact has it had on your need to store, exchange and share?
Like many other companies, we have been going through a journey from a dedicated workplace, with quite a big space for documentation, to a modern, digital and paperless environment, which is our long-term strategy. Pandemic times also showed us that we could be more efficient in terms of processes. The new generations expect different working space and that leads us to be effective and attractive. We run our space as a shared-desk model, and store just necessary stuff (in team lockers), while the personal belongings are stored in lockers using QR codes (in this case, lockers are not dedicated and are used always on a single-time basis, with opening and closing maintained by a QR code)
Pandemic times also showed us that we could be more efficient in terms of processes. The new generations expect different working space and that leads us to be effective and attractive.
Blocks was not your first experience with lockers. How did you use them in the past and what is the difference to the current solution?
In the old days, when it was necessary for every employee to have his own dedicated desk and storage container, lockers were not needed. The need has only emerged in recent years with workplace transformation and the rise of desk sharing and hybrid working schedules. In our experience from other Deutsche Telekom locations, we know that using traditional lockers with keys or keycodes is a nightmare due to the operation costs, employee distractions, and lack of remote management options.
In modern offices, teams need to function dynamically, which makes traditional locks anachronic.
Today, the function goes beyond personal storage and the smart lockers serve the needs of employees and visitors. Our HR department can distribute agreements and other documents. We are also able to dispatch hardware equipment which smoothens our asset management processes. Visitors, employees as well as interns can store their belongings. Employees are also able to use lockers as team storage, for materials that belong to the team and need to be shared but at the same time securely saved.
The management of all incoming deliveries, both personal and company mail and packages, got much simpler since we can store them securely in the lockers and employees are able to retrieve them once they are available, rather than when the delivery company arrives.
What would you recommend to any company that wants to run a tender on digitalizing its workplace, with a particular focus on smart lockers?
My recommendation would be to be brave and effective in terms of decision. Discuss internally not only the financial aspect of smart lockers but also take into consideration employee experience, facility management processes and digital advantage of the solution.
When speaking about the digital advantage, what made Blocks win the tender run by Slovak Telekom?
In short, its software capabilities and flexibility.
Unlike any other solution Blocks can serve multiple use cases within one locker bank. That means Blocks can support use cases as they emerge without the need to physically alter the lockers or implement a disintegrated software solution. Each locker compartment can be flexibly set up and easily managed remotely.
Blocks can support use cases as they emerge without the need to physically alter the lockers or implement a disintegrated software solution.
What is the best-loved aspect of smart lockers by employees and by the facility management?
Employees love the flexibility they get from Blocks, whether it’s parcel delivery or sharing an item with a colleague. The facility management utilizes real-time data and trends over time that the Blocks admin console displays. I and my colleagues in the facility management team also appreciate the fact that Blocks takes away the hassle and expense of the classic silly locker solution. The whole solution is timeless and maintenance-free.
What is enjoyed by both groups is the fact that Blocks is not a single-purpose product that would become obsolete soon because of the changing preferences.
What is your next step in the smart locker project, and in your workplace in general?
Due to the dynamic and unparalleled times, it is difficult to predict the trends and direction of the office environment in the long term. However, data shows that office presence is an integral part of successful companies and lockers are of course an essential part of that.
The beauty of the digital lockers we have chosen lies in the flexibility that such a solution offers in the future. Blocks is already helping us in the areas I’ve described here but it’s great to know that their software is constantly being updated and modified and therefore able to help us and adapt to the upcoming challenges we are likely going to face in the future.
Edited for length and clarity
About Silvia Nagyová: Silvia has been working in the field of facility management since 2001 in managerial positions on the side of corporate clients. She has extensive experience in working environment preparation projects as well as providing comprehensive facility management services mainly in the IT/TELCO segment. The most important projects include the preparation of premises and opening of the European IT center for customer support at the European level for Hewlett Packard and co-creating company headquarters for O2 Slovakia (Telefonica S.A.). Currently, she holds the position of Head of Fleet, Facility and Rental Management at Slovak Telekom.
