Before the pandemic, US offices underutilized roughly 35 percent of their space.* Underutilization costs companies millions in unnecessary rent and property taxes each year, in addition to utility and maintenance costs.
Modern workplaces must focus on rightsizing their real estate footprint to stay competitive, but you must find out exactly how your current space is being used before you can do that.
In the past, some companies employed outdated modes of data collection. A person manually observing the space would record full occupancy at 9am, 2pm and 4:30pm. This shows that employees are at their desks most of the time, confirming that the office is being used efficiently, right?
Maybe not. Without the use of analytics to collect objective data, poor management and personal agendas—instead of facts—might be making the space utilization decisions. Using workplace IoT sensors to determine space utilization might show that this same space is only half-full most of the time. This means you can make workstations smaller, open them to more employees through hotdesking or hoteling, and hire more workers. Even if the company is growing, the real estate footprint doesn’t have to grow with it.
The benefits to rightsizing office space go beyond hard costs—employees work more efficiently and are more productive when they’re in an effective office environment.
Good workplace design can also help attract and retain talent. Businesses are also given the potential to move to a more desirable location, increase brand affinity, as well as employee morale. Ultimately, this creates a more inviting and collaborative environment that fosters higher productivity in employees.
With workplace analytics provided by 4SITE, you can know how every room, every desk, and every open space is being used throughout the day, thanks to the platform’s objective data. You’ll be empowered to make the right decisions, eliminating unnecessary space and using the space you do have efficiently.
* Source:JLL