Design your next office around hybrid from the start
See how elia handles booking for offices built around shared desks and private rooms.
Coeficia
How Coeficia Designed a Post-Merger Office That's Consistently Full
When 3 accounting firms merged in 2022, Coeficia built a brand-new office from scratch and designed it around a hybrid model from day one. Fewer assigned desks, more private rooms, and desk booking so staff could reserve a spot before coming in. The office now runs at full capacity.
At a glance
3
firms merged
45
bookable desks
Frequently
at maximum capacity
LOCATION
Quebec City, QC, Canada
INDUSTRY
Accounting Services
SIZE
55 employees
company overview
Coeficia is a Quebec City-based association of independent CPAs, formed in 2022 from the merger of 3 accounting firms. The firm offers financial reporting, bookkeeping, tax, and business advisory services.
When 3 firms merged to form Coeficia in 2022, the partners had to decide what kind of office a 55-person firm needed. They designed around hybrid from the start: fewer individual desks, more closed rooms for calls and client meetings, and a booking system to manage who was sitting where.
The new office opened in the Lebourgneuf area of Quebec City.
The challenge
Designing an office around shared desks creates a practical problem: staff need a way to book a workspace before coming in, and a way to find colleagues once they're there. With a newly merged team and no tools carried over from the 3 previous firms, Coeficia needed a system ready from day one:
- needed desk and room booking for a newly merged team
- no assigned desks, so employees needed a way to reserve a spot
- with unassigned seating, finding colleagues in the office was harder
- new office, fresh setup, nothing carried over from the 3 previous firms
How elia Helped
Coeficia deployed elia for desk and room booking, and elia Spot sensors to help employees find each other in the office.
Finding colleagues in the office
THE ISSUE
With unassigned desks, employees had no way to know where a colleague was sitting once they arrived.
ELIA'S SOLUTION
elia Spot sensors placed under desks detect which employee is at which workstation. Staff can see where colleagues are located in real-time, making it easier to connect in person.
Booking closed offices
THE ISSUE
The office includes closed rooms for calls and client meetings, which needed to be managed through the same system.
ELIA'S SOLUTION
Employees book closed offices for calls and client meetings through the same app as desk booking, giving the whole team a single platform for all workspace reservations.
Booking desks
THE ISSUE
With no assigned seating, employees needed a reliable way to reserve a workstation before coming in.
ELIA'S SOLUTION
Employees book a workstation from the web or mobile app before heading in. Setup took a few hours and staff picked it up without any training.
The results
- office running at or near full capacity since opening
- employees finding colleagues in real-time through elia Spot sensors
- increase in face-to-face interactions since launch
- up and running in a few hours
Why it matters
Merging 3 firms into one office is a chance to design the space around how the team will work. Coeficia built around shared desks and private rooms from the beginning, with booking and colleague visibility in place from day one. The office fills up because it was designed to be used that way.
