The first thing to understand, it’s going to take time.
Like many others in the workplace industry (it’s been 35 years for me!). I’ve been monitoring the current situation. Let’s face it, it is unprecedented. Never before has there been such a significant change in the workplace. Well actually that’s not true, there has, but we didn’t have social media to tell everyone about it! The introduction of computers to every desk was significant. It required a complete change to furniture design (corner desks for large monitors) and office layouts. Another significant change was the ability to pick the computer up, go to a different space, and still be connected. Oddly, this meant reversing the previous change, back to rectangular desks and flat screens!
We are at a tipping point, and we can’t quite see what’s coming, there are no answers yet.
This reminded me of a similar situation. When I first started work for ABN AMRO as Global Head of Workplace Strategy. First day, they asked a question, “So, what’s the strategy?”. My mind went blank for several hours as I gathered my thoughts. The task at first looked impossible, with over 500 offices around the world, where do you start? The building information was hard to get and when we got it, there were gaps. Over the next 3-6 months (using the data we had) we began to gain insight into what we were dealing with. It turned out that the answer was in the largest 25 buildings. The 25 buildings consisted of 60% of the total occupancy cost (TOC) of the portfolio. We knew then, what we should focus on.
And as they say, the rest is history. The next five years saw one of the most effective workplace optimisation programmes. Having the data was the key that unlocked the strategy. Looking back now, it was a huge challenge, but in fact, the data was basic. What we did with the data made the difference.
So how does this help us right now?
The first thing to understand, it’s going to take time. We are at the stage of gathering information and learning. If you look at the news and social media, we are being bombarded with information. We have a mix of possible working patterns that people want to adopt. A third WFH, a third in the office (both with the odd day in alternative spaces), and a third working 2-3 days in each space. We have organisations that are looking at a mix of possible offerings for their people. Some are pushing for their people to return and can’t see how they will function with most of their people WFH. Others are opening up to the possibility of a true mix of work patterns. At this point there is no clear direction.
For people, the choices will not follow a steady pattern, e.g., they will not stick to two days in the office and three WFH. From experience we have all had situations where a choice would have helped. At times it will suit people to be in the office all week (building work at home). Other times they will want to WFM all week (problem with trains or the weather).
For organisations, choices are challenging, e.g., how much flexibility should we allow? We have seen a mix of choices/demands presented in the press and media. How do they keep their people from going to other companies offering more choice? Do they want their people WFH and how will they manage them? Not for now, but for a later blog post. How will organisations measure people productivity if they aren’t in the office? Spoiler alert, they didn’t when they were in the office!
The second thing, going forward organisations must measure their office space over time. With this amount of flexibility on offer, things will continue to change for some time. Organisations can’t afford to use guesswork or hunches. An organisations second highest cost is their property portfolio. In the coming 6-12 months organisations need to make informed decisions. They will not be able to carry the cost of under-utilised space. How do we optimise our space? How much space do we need? What spaces should we build?
You can’t answer these questions without data.
Getting back to basics. For several years now Spaceology have been measuring occupancy and utilisation of buildings. There isn’t anything that cleaver about this (well, there is). The difference now is the need to collect data over time as opposed to a snapshot in time.
What time gives you, is increased visibility of what is actually going on in your space. To be specific, patterns of people behaviour and patterns of spaces use.
Simple footfall counts onto floors or into zones help you identify high-level occupancy. This will be crucial to manage the patterns of people returning to work. Providing answers to basic questions. Have we reached a plateau in our level of occupation? How does this compare to what the space provides? Which days are busier than others and can we impact this? Can we optimise our space now using these metrics?
Detailed sensor measurement to desk and room level is essential for making space decisions. The measurement over time provides increased visibility on desk occupancy levels. How are departments using their allocation of desks? Which specific benches are used more and why? For meeting rooms, understanding patterns of use is critical to informing design decisions. What are the common meeting sizes? How long do meetings last? Have we got the right size rooms for the meetings we have?
What is the top 25% we should focus on to unlock the answers?
At Spaceology we have spent years helping clients answer these and other questions. Now more than ever, organisations need to measure their spaces on a continual basis.