FocusPod Solo™
FocusPod Solo Plus™
FocusPod Duo™
FocusPod Team™
FocusPod Meet™
FocusPod Max™Getting Your Team to Actually Use the Pod
Fitout strategy
Getting people to actually use it.
Installation takes a morning. Adoption takes about three weeks, and it is where most of the value is won or lost.
A pod becomes part of the floor when three things are true: people know it is not bookable for hours, it is close enough that using it is easier than not, and somebody visibly uses it in the first week. Pods that fail rarely fail on the product — they fail because nobody established what it was for.
The first week decides it
Behaviour on a floor sets fast. If the pod sits unused for a fortnight it acquires a reputation as decoration, and reversing that is harder than establishing the habit in the first place.
The most effective thing is for someone senior to use it visibly on day one. Not a memo — an actual person taking an actual call in it while everyone can see. That single act does more than any amount of internal comms, because it establishes that using the booth is normal rather than a statement about the person using it.
Set three rules early
Fifteen minutes of thoughtCalls first, focus work second
The most common way a booth gets wasted is someone treating it as a private office for the day. Make it explicit: if someone needs it for a call and you are in there writing a document, the call wins. Nobody objects to this once it is said out loud.
Decide whether it is bookable
For one or two booths, do not book them — a calendar turns a thirty-second decision into an admin task and people stop bothering. From about four booths on a busy floor, booking starts to help. Below that it suppresses use.
Agree a soft time limit
Something like ninety minutes, understood rather than enforced. It gives people permission to knock, and permission to leave.
Where it sits matters more than any rule
People will not cross an office to take a call. If the booth is more than a short walk from the desks generating the noise, the friction wins and they take the call where they are sitting.
The instinct is to put it in the quiet corner where there is spare floor. That is backwards. Site it beside the sales, recruitment or client-facing desks — the noisy end — even if that feels like putting furniture in a busy area.
One more thing worth watching: a glazed door pointed straight at a bank of desks reduces use, because people feel observed. Angle it, or specify frosted or switchable glazing.
The three signals it is not working
It is always empty. Usually placement, occasionally ventilation. Sit in it for ten minutes yourself at 3pm — if it is stuffy, that is your answer and an air conditioning unit fixes it.
It is always occupied by the same person. It has become someone's office. Restate that calls take priority and the problem generally resolves itself.
People check it and walk away. This is the good problem: demand exceeds supply. It is also the point at which a second booth pays for itself, because after two failed attempts people stop checking altogether.
Two pods change the behaviour, not just the capacity
A single booth on a busy floor produces a specific failure: someone tries twice, finds it occupied, and stops trying. The pod is still there and the habit is gone.
One booth per fifteen people covers normal call volumes. One per eight to ten for sales or client-facing teams. If the budget stretches to a second, it will do more than upgrading the first.
Add-ons that increase usage
Air conditioning
If the pod sits against west-facing glazing or you are north of Christchurch, this is usually the difference between year-round use and summer abandonment.
From $1,385 ex GSTPrivacy glass
Switchable or frosted glazing. Solves the observed-in-a-fishbowl problem that quietly reduces use on exposed floors.
From $515 ex GSTThe right furniture
A stool suits fifteen-minute calls. A proper chair and desk suits two-hour sessions. Mismatched furniture is a common and easily fixed reason people avoid a booth.
What customers say
Named, with permission★★★★★
“We added a FocusPod Solo because private phone calls were becoming difficult in our open-plan office. It gets used constantly for client calls, Zoom meetings and focused work. It looks professional, takes up very little space and has freed up our meeting rooms for larger groups.”
Emily Carter
Harbour Lane Finance
★★★★★
“We originally purchased one FocusPod Solo to see how much use it would get. Within the first week, staff were booking it throughout the day. It has given everyone a quiet place to take calls without interrupting the rest of the office.”
Daniel Brooks
Westbridge Property Group
★★★★★
“The Solo has been a great addition to our studio. We have a collaborative workspace, which is excellent most of the time, but it can be difficult when someone needs privacy or complete concentration. The pod solves that problem without taking over the room.”
Sarah Mitchell
Coastline Creative
Common questions
How do I get staff to use an office pod?
Have someone senior use it visibly in the first week, set out that calls take priority over focus work, and site it beside the desks generating the noise rather than in a quiet corner. Behaviour on a floor sets within about three weeks.
Should office pods be bookable?
Not for one or two booths — a calendar turns a thirty-second decision into admin and suppresses use. From about four booths on a busy floor, booking starts to help.
Why is nobody using our office pod?
Usually placement or ventilation. If it is more than a short walk from where the calls happen, people take the call at their desk instead. If it is stuffy after ten minutes, they will not go back a third time.
How long should someone use a pod for?
A soft limit around ninety minutes works well — understood rather than enforced. It gives people permission to knock and permission to leave, and stops a booth becoming one person's office.
One person has taken over the pod. What do we do?
Restate that calls take priority over focus work. It is almost always enough. If it keeps happening, it is a signal you need a second booth rather than a stricter rule.
Related: how many pods you need · why pods go unused · air conditioning
Already have one and it is always busy?
That is the signal for a second. Multi-unit pricing applies from the second pod and we apply it automatically.