What is Office Space Utilisation?
The traditional definition of space utilisation is the occupancy of your office divided by its capacity. In other words, many people are in your office compared to how many there could be. However, this traditional definition has a serious flaw: it does not take into account the wellbeing and performance of your people - and the inevitable impact this has on your company’s productivity and profitability.
For many companies, their 2 highest costs are (by a distance) people and real estate. Having motivated, high-performing staff is essential to long-term business success. Now more than ever, the performance of your people is affected by the environment in which they work. Many companies of all sizes are grappling with how to maximise the return on their two biggest investments. Often these priorities seem conflicting, but, human-centric workspace design is at the heart of every effective space utilisation programme.
How to Measure Office Space Utilisation
So, if it’s not just a case of working out how many more people you can fit into your office, how do you measure true space utilisation? In an age of social distancing, technology, and hybrid working, your people are no longer tied to their desks like they were in years gone by.
The offices of some of the world’s most advanced companies feature space-consuming environments such as huddle spaces, breakout areas and even sleep pods. However, this isn’t because these large companies have money to waste. These companies have used advanced space occupancy techniques to analyse their staff’s needs and what would make them most productive, and this is a commercially sound decision.
Modern circumstances have rendered previously valid metrics of space utilisation irrelevant. The solution is to completely change how to think about maximising the return on our workspace investment. Instead of determining the value by the density of staff, the answer is to measure how it is actually being used (and how that can be improved). By analysing how your people use your office, you can understand what parts of your office are delivering a high return on investment and which areas are underperforming.
So while there is no one-size-fits-all definitive measurement for how well you are using your space, there doesn’t need to be. What matters is that your space is designed to reflect and enhance the way your people work, so that you are maximising their short-term and long-term performance.
How To Improve Your Space Utilisation
The most effective use you can make of your space is to create a workspace that reflects and enhances the way your people work. Your company and your people are completely unique, and so is the way you work. By understanding what your people need from your workspace, you can judge whether the increase in productivity is worth the investment required.
By providing an office with a range of environments to suit the varied needs of your people, you can help keep them refreshed, focussed and healthy. The modern office needs to be designed to adapt and evolve. Cutting-edge workspaces complement the needs of staff rather than forcing them to conform to a rigid and unsuitable design.
Technology has a crucial role in making sure that you’re maximising the performance of both your space and your people. Through using space utilisation technology, from apps to intelligent activity sensors, you can build up an accurate picture of what your people need from the space. also, the effective use of modern technology can enable effective collaboration and agile working, which dramatically improves your office space utilisation.
Space Utilisation In Your Workspace
In the 20th century, the prime space utilisation consideration for business leaders was minimising the cost of real estate. However, in today’s knowledge worker age, the emphasis has shifted to maximising the performance of your people, as this can have a far greater impact on your profitability. The benefits of an engaged, motivated workforce far outweigh any extra space costs incurred.
The traditional workspace, with a choice of a desk or a boardroom, is ill-suited to the flexibility and serendipitous communication that your people need. Dynamic teams need dynamic environments that they can reconfigure to suit their requirements at any time. With a wide variety of mini-environments, FluidSpace™ can seamlessly adapt to meet the needs of your people throughout the day.
If your business requires flexibility and adaptability in this time of change and uncertainty as well as an environment that empowers and connects your people, FluidSpace™ can create a solution that works for your company, your people, and your future.
Want to know more? Get ideas for your own FluidSpace™ with our inspiration guide or get in touch to find out how you can make your office as effective as you possibly can.