Organizations are re-evaluating their office space utilization strategies. Occupancy rates are around 50% of pre-pandemic levels, so adopting a multi-faceted approach to measuring space utilization is imperative to align with industry best practices.

Here are 4 best practices to use when analyzing your office space utilization:

1. Set Clear and Ambitious Goals: Establish well-defined goals for your utilization measurement program. While traditional metrics focus on office attendance and meeting room usage, consider going deeper. Utilize technologies like IoT and badge systems to capture data on foot traffic patterns, space preferences, and department-specific usage trends. These insights enable you to identify areas that can be optimized or replicated, improving space allocation and resource management. A robust utilization program should also continuously adapt to evolving business needs and goals.
2. Diversify Data Sources: While security badge data is valuable, it may provide only some answers for a comprehensive measurement program. Consider incorporating additional data sources such as meeting room, seat reservation, and occupancy sensor data. This multi-faceted approach allows you to gain insights into the duration, timing, and reasons behind space usage. Multiple data sources may be required to achieve a holistic solution, depending on your organization’s specific objectives.
3. Prioritize Immediate Value: Building a utilization measurement program can seem complex, but focusing on delivering immediate value is crucial. Start with an easily implementable foundational plan that generates actionable insights in the short term. Concentrate on addressing stakeholders’ identified needs that can yield a quick return on investment (ROI). As the value of utilization data becomes evident, momentum will build to expand a comprehensive program.
4. Choose the Right Analytics Platform: Selecting the appropriate analytics platform is vital to the success of your space utilization program. While many platforms offer similar features, performance, reporting capabilities, and the ability to uncover insights can vary significantly. Before deciding, clearly define your performance requirements and the type of reports and analytics needed. Evaluate platforms based on their ease of use and ability to provide relevant insights for guiding your measurement program.