How it works
Physical wayfinding uses signs, zone names, colors, landmarks and desk labels so people can orient themselves on the floor. Clear building, floor, neighborhood and desk identifiers turn a large, anonymous floor into places people can remember.
Digital wayfinding adds search. From a phone, a laptop or a kiosk, a person searches for a colleague, desk, room or parking space and sees it highlighted on the floor plan, often with who is sitting nearby.
In hybrid offices, the question people ask most is not where a desk number is but where their team is today. Showing teammates' locations before people arrive, and letting them book near each other, does more for wayfinding than labels alone.
How to measure it
- Floor plan searches per office day, and what people search for.
- Time to find a booked desk or room, from short surveys.
- Late starts to meetings held in unfamiliar buildings.
Examples
- A visiting employee searches for a colleague's name in the mobile app, and the floor plan highlights their desk three rows from the lifts.
- An office names its zones after local landmarks and uses the same names on signs and in the booking app.
Common mistakes
- Numbering every desk and assuming that solves adoption; people navigate by team and landmark.
- Letting digital maps fall out of date after layout changes.
- Forgetting visitors, who know the building least.
How Kadence helps
Kadence wayfinding and floor plan search let people find any colleague, desk, room or parking space on the floor plan in the web app and the iOS and Android apps. Employees see where teammates are sitting before they arrive, desk QR codes and deep links open a specific space to book, and incognito mode lets people hide their location.
Hybrid working coordination · Desk booking software
Frequently asked questions
What is wayfinding in an office?
Office wayfinding is the mix of signs, landmarks, naming and digital maps that helps people find desks, rooms, amenities and colleagues. It matters more in shared-desk offices, because people no longer sit in the same place every day.
How do employees find teammates in the office?
They check who is booked in and where on a live floor plan, search for a colleague by name, or book a desk near teammates before they arrive. Some tools also suggest days when teammates plan to be in.
Do desks need numbers for wayfinding?
Numbers help people confirm they are in the right spot, but they are rarely the main problem. Clear zone names, landmarks, a searchable floor plan and visibility of where the team sits do more to help people find their way.
Related terms
- Interactive floor plan A live, clickable map of an office that shows desks, rooms and people, and lets employees book space and find colleagues.
- Hybrid coordination The work of getting the right people into the office on the same days and giving them the right space when they arrive.
- Neighborhood A zone of an office set aside for a team, project or activity, often on set days, so people who work together sit together.
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed