In the business world, apps are a critical part of everyday operations. Because everyone has a smartphone in their pocket and a laptop or tablet handy, apps are the quickest way to get everyone on the same platform. There are apps out there for just about everything, including facility management.

The larger your company is, the more essential a facility management app becomes. It’s something every employee can use. An FM app provides a bevy of vital information and resources, and does so wherever and whenever it’s needed. Take a look at six reasons a facility management app is such a crucial part of business operations.

1. On-the-go access to personnel information

The company directory is a core component of a facilities management mobile app. A well-maintained directory offers instant access to everyone working at the company. On a smartphone, the capabilities are even more pronounced.

  • Click-to-call employee phone numbers and extensions
  • Integration with wayfinding for point-to-point directions
  • Click-to-email links for easy emailing or calendar invites
  • Messaging app or social media integrations for quick chatting

Popping open the company directory on-the-go makes communication seamless when people are away from their desks. It’s also easy to see exactly where people sit and what they do.

2. Wayfinding tie-ins

Mobile wayfinding benefits larger businesses sprawled out over multiple locations or campuses. The best facility management apps have wayfinding tie-ins that meet the needs of employees and visitors.

  • Point-to-point, step-by-step directions to a specific destination
  • Facility maps and markups to help contextualize location
  • Admin tie-ins, so facility managers can send directions to users
  • Facility information, to help people find exits, restrooms and other essentials

Wayfinding tie-ins are essential for people who need instant information about where they are or where they’re going within facilities.

Read more on features of powerful wayfinding software.

3. Push alerts and updates

Even a free facility management app will offer push alerts and updates that make it easy to connect employees to their workplace. This includes user-to-user communication, admin-to-group communication, and broad company updates.

  • Emergency alert and notification messages, pushed in real time
  • Messaging alerts, helping employees connect with each other
  • Broad employee directory updates, pushed by admins to all users
  • Group-specific messaging about space reservations, events, or meetings

A facility management app needs to be an extension of the physical facilities. That means tying people to their workplace through clear, concise alerts about factors affecting their ability to do work.

4. Spot reservation capabilities

More and more, business happens on the fly. You need to book a conference room while walking back from your lunch break. You remember to reserve a hot desk for tomorrow while sitting in a cab. A good facility management app connects people to facilities where and when they need them.

  • Locate the nearest or most applicable space and reserve it for a specific time
  • Create reservation confirmations and invites for all parties involved
  • Provide step-by-step directions to a reserved desk or space
  • Dynamic updating, so other users can see what’s booked vs. available

Allowing app users to book space on-demand makes it easy to improve space use and utilization. This leads to better productivity and ROI, and encourages employees to maximize their workplace in ways that best fit their dynamic working needs.

5. Service requests on-demand

Facility maintenance is supported by the ability to submit support tickets and problems in real-time. Often, this happens when employees are away from their desks. An app makes service ticking simple and ensures problems don’t go overlooked or untended.

  • Simple forms and one-click submission to send support ticketing
  • Ability to include location or map attachments to support tickets, for clarity
  • Camera access, to include documentation of problems, for clarity
  • Automatic identifier information, for easy follow-up with employees

Facility apps essentially crowdsource maintenance. Snapping a picture and sending a quick message expedites the ticketing process and elicits a quicker, more informed response from maintenance teams or facility managers.

6. Company information, on-demand

It doesn’t matter if they’re long-tenured employees or first-time visitors, people will have questions about the facilities they’re in. Where’s the nearest bathroom? What floor is the accounting department on? Who’s the Director of Personnel? An app that can answer these questions is useful to anyone, at any time.

  • Access to location data about amenities spanning the facility
  • Access to public-facing personnel information
  • Information for emergency action plans and evacuation routes
  • Quick links for company information or assistance

In essence, a facility management app should bridge the many gaps between employees and the workplace when they’re not directly utilizing it. Wayfinding, support ticketing, directory access, reservations, and other features are always accessible via an app. Employees can make the most of their workplace because the app enables them to.

Keep reading: How to select facility management software?

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Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He holds a master's degree in journalism.