Live overnight: why Jebsen & Jessen chose Seatti for their office move

The essentials

Jebsen & Jessen, a Hamburg trading house with around 500 employees worldwide, used its move into a new headquarters to give up fixed desks and introduce desk sharing. Today around 300 employees at the Hamburg site book desks and parking spaces across seven floors with Seatti. The cultural shift worked because employees were involved early, because IT acted as a partner, and because Seatti was ready to run within a single night during an emergency. Today Seatti gives the company reliable figures on how the office is actually used, for the first time.

The move as a reason to give up fixed desks

Jebsen & Jessen gave up fixed desks because the lease on the old office was running out and the company wanted to use the move to break up structures that had stood for decades. Instead of individual offices and assigned seats, the new headquarters was to be built around desk sharing and flexible working.

The Hamburg trading house was founded in 1909 and today operates in chemicals, textiles, industrial services and specialty products. The group is growing steadily, partly through the acquisition of new business areas. The family business therefore wanted more than a change of address: an office where collaboration actually happens, one that encourages encounters and factors in continued growth from the start.

“We did not know whether, once we moved at a certain point, we would actually need more space or less space. But the signal is expansion, the group wants to grow.”

– Julian Harrendorf, Corporate Development at Jebsen & Jessen

Three challenges during the office move

Jebsen & Jessen faced three challenges at once during the move: growth spread across buildings, an open question about how much floor space was needed, and a cultural shift away from the fixed desk.

How does growth through acquisitions affect office space?

Acquisitions had brought additional teams to Jebsen & Jessen, working in separate buildings. That physical separation created a two worlds feeling. The new headquarters was meant to bring everyone under one roof.

How much office space does a growing company need?

Without usage data that question can only be answered on gut feeling, and that was exactly the starting point at Jebsen & Jessen. Should room for expansion be created, or is less space enough because mobile working is increasing anyway? At that point there were no reliable figures on how the office was actually used.

How hard is the switch from fixed desks to desk sharing?

At Jebsen & Jessen employees had used fixed desks for decades. Desk sharing meant an entirely new working model, and with it reservations that had to be taken seriously.

An unexpected incident made the situation harder still: water damage rendered parts of the old office unusable from one day to the next. The organisation had to react immediately and provide employees with alternative workplaces.

“We did not want to simply move. We wanted to create an office our people genuinely enjoy coming to.”

– Valerie Winand, Project Manager at Jebsen & Jessen

The decision for Seatti

How quickly can a booking system be rolled out?

Seatti was taken live overnight at Jebsen & Jessen, triggered by the water damage in the old office. The very next morning everyone could book their desk digitally and work continued without interruption. The incident showed how decisive it is to have systems that hold up even in exceptional situations.

Beyond that moment, the fast setup, the intuitive usability and the Seatti team's experience with data protection and legal questions were convincing too. Hurdles that often cost weeks when new tools are introduced were cleared quickly.

What role does cultural fit play in choosing a vendor?

Cultural fit, not price, was decisive at Jebsen & Jessen. The company was not only looking for software but for a partner with the same attitude towards collaboration: solution oriented, pragmatic and close to people.

“We pay a lot of attention to culture in this company. For us it matters to work with people who understand us.”

– Valerie Winand, Project Manager at Jebsen & Jessen

Desk sharing across seven floors

Jebsen & Jessen maps seven floors digitally with Seatti, including desks and parking spaces. The new headquarters was designed as a place for collaboration: open working areas, flexible zones for different activities and a central bistro as a meeting point. Employees see who is in the office and when, book in seconds, and plan their office days around their team. Booking happens where the work already happens, directly in MS Teams or Outlook.

The process was clearly structured: employees were involved early, feedback was gathered, pilot areas were tested. Reservations could be addressed and trust could be built. In parallel, the project team made sure that IT infrastructure and booking system worked reliably from day one.

What has changed since the rollout

Two years after the move, desk sharing at Jebsen & Jessen is no longer a project but routine. Three things make that concrete:

Growing usage at the same site

Desk sharing has become a fixed part of everyday work at Jebsen & Jessen, and usage has kept growing since the move, at the same site and on the same floor space. The common worry that a booking system quietly falls out of use once the novelty wears off did not play out here.

Office days planned six days ahead

Employees at Jebsen & Jessen book their desk six days in advance at the median. They see in advance who will be in the office and set their on site days around their team. The office is used deliberately for collaboration, not treated as a place of obligation.

Space planning with real figures instead of a rule of thumb

Jebsen & Jessen plans office space on real usage data today rather than on experience. Desks and parking spaces across seven floors run in a single system. The usage analyses show how the headquarters is actually occupied and feed into planning for space, canteen and services.

“This is the first time we have had figures in this company. Until now we approached space planning with a rule of thumb.”

– Julian Harrendorf, Corporate Development at Jebsen & Jessen

Five lessons from the move

Jebsen & Jessen sums up the project in five points. They hold whether a move is coming up or desk sharing is being introduced in an existing office.

Involve employees early

Workshops, test phases and open communication reduced anxiety and built acceptance before the move even happened.

IT as a partner, not a hurdle

From data protection to infrastructure, IT was the decisive enabler for the new working model.

State the vision clearly

The new office was meant to be a place for encounters, not just a workplace. That clarity aligned everyone involved on a shared goal.

Software as a catalyst for cultural change

Employees could immediately experience how simple desk sharing, transparency and planning are. That was the key moment for acceptance.

Mind the details

Acoustics, climate and lighting help decide whether people enjoy coming in. Software and floor space alone are not enough.