Large scale desk assignments

Use the scenario planning desk assignment tool in Robin to plan, review and refine large-scale desk assignment plans with your team before you put them into effect.

Create a draft

1. In the web dashboard, select the Space Management Tab and select Scenario Planning.
2. On the map, select Edit floor > Assignments-Scenario planning.
3. To start a new draft, select New Draft in the top right corner. To open an existing draft, select it in the list.
4. Give the draft a name.
5. Select Create.

Your new draft starts on the existing map of the floor.

Assign desks in the draft

In draft mode, you can assign desks in 2 ways:

• Drag and drop: in the list on the left, select or search for a name or email and drag it to a desk on the map. You can also drag the name to the queue in the left side panel and move it to a new floor.
• Select a desk: select a desk on the map and select + assign to search for and add users.

To see a person's desk assignments, select the info tooltip next to their name in the list on the left. Select the desk assignment to see where it is on the map, if it is on the same floor.

In the module, you can assign a desk to one person for the entire week OR assign multiple people to the same desk for different days of the week.

• To remove a user or assign a different user, hover over the person and select the X. Then select + assign to search for and add another user.
• If you assign a user to a new desk, Robin removes their previous desk assignment.

To assign or book a desk for a non-Robin user, use their email address. For more tips on seating plans for non-Robin users who come to the office, see Plan ahead using the queue.

Set desk availability and type

To let others book this desk on days it is not assigned, select “Bookable on unassigned days”. The desk then acts as a flex desk, and people can reserve it on the office map.

To change desk configurations as you plan scenarios, use the dropdown menus at the top (shown above) to change the availability status or the desk type.

Note: If users are assigned to a desk or have reservations on it, changing the desk to "unavailable" status unassigns the person from that desk or ends the reservations. You can review these changes before you publish the draft and make them official.

What available, unavailable and archived desks mean

• Available desks: empty, and people can book or assign them.
• Unavailable desks: empty, and people cannot book or assign them. They use a desk license and keep their configuration (amenities, desk type and so on).
• Archived desks: archived and not active in any user-facing features. Only admins can reactivate them. Robin no longer bills your organization for the desk.

Save and share a draft

To save your changes without making them official, select Close. Robin saves your changes.

Before you publish, you can share your seating arrangement ideas with colleagues in 2 ways:

• Option 1: Export changes to CSV (view-only). Select the 3 action dots in the top ribbon > Export CSV.
• Option 2: Invite via email or a sharable link (view-only or edit access). Select Share in the top ribbon, search by name or email, and select Invite to send an email or Copy link.

User permissions decide whether a person gets view-only or edit access:

• Viewers can view and select items in a draft, but cannot make edits.
• Editors can make edits, because they are Assignment Admins with Assignment and Delegation permissions turned on for this floor.

For more, see Sharing view-only scenario desk planning drafts.

Resolve conflicts

If the proposed draft affects desks on the live map, Robin warns you before you publish the draft. Conflicts are informative or actionable:

• Informative conflicts: acknowledge and accept the conflict warning.
• Actionable conflicts: take the required action before you move forward, and then select Save.

Publish the draft

1. When the new seating chart is ready, select Review and Publish.
2. Review the summary of changes. Robin warns you if the changes to the new floor plan cancel any existing bookings, and shows which ones. In the example below, the new draft did not cancel any bookings.
3. To notify people of their new seat assignment or of changes to their reservations, check the box.
4. Select Publish.

The changes go live immediately.

Lock and share drafts

You can share a new floor plan with affected users to prepare them for a move, before the plan takes effect.

1. Select Share in the top right of the scenario plan.
2. Select the slider button to lock the draft.

When a draft is locked, no one with Collaborator or Editor privileges can edit it until it is unlocked. Collaborators cannot unlock the draft. Only users with Editor permissions can unlock it.

Locking a draft does not publish it. Nobody can publish a locked draft, even a user with Editor privileges.

After you lock the draft, you can send a custom email message to affected users. The message can give the moving date, explain how the move works or tell people how to prepare. This helps the moving day go more smoothly for employees and facilities teams.