When it Comes to Your Real Estate, How Do You Measure Up?

Maximizing the use of space across an organization is a top priority for facilities managers, IT professionals and real estate managers. To effectively gauge current needs and forecast future growth, they need tools that can provide quantifiable data on how each space is being used. From calendar integration and room scheduling to detailed technology usage metrics and remote management, today’s tools offer a range of features to provide insightful reporting.

Is Your Space Supporting Your Workforce?

Real estate costs are one of the largest corporate expenses, second only to human resources, yet studies show that on average, workers use only 54% of office space throughout the day. Ensuring that spaces are being used productively requires a means of measuring how frequently they are used, how many people they are hosting and even what technology is being employed. Selecting the right solution for your organization requires an understanding of its unique requirements, workflows and workforce to reveal what metrics will be valuable and actionable.

Several feature-rich room management systems provide efficient, time-saving tools as well as capturing utilization data.  Some focus on workflow, integrating with email and calendars which allow users to book rooms based on availability, size and equipment. They feature elegant, intuitive interfaces and convenient occupancy lights to convey instant vacancy status which eliminates not only double-bookings, but costly meeting interruptions. These tools give full insight into the organization’s meeting patterns, often through a user-friendly web-based platform.

Other available solutions are built on a cloud platform and can provide real-time data via an intuitive dashboard. Discrete sensors can be installed to capture room occupancy with collected data searchable by time, location and room amenities. Scalable across the enterprise, these solutions also provide remote management of hardware along with space analytics.

In fixed meeting spaces, utilization metrics are critical. Beyond knowing when each room is used, knowing if the space is being used to its capacity is invaluable. While a large conference room may be booked throughout the day, is it because 10-12 seats are required, or would multiple smaller spaces prove more productive? To gain insights into how many people are using the space, discreet sensors can be implemented to gauge how many people are actually seated at the table. This is vital information when deciding how real estate should be allocated. These sophisticated suites of services are extensive, offering outlook integration, mobile booking, helpful wayfinding and mobile desk booking for remote workers who need a place to “land” on occasion.

Additional features that greatly improve workforce productivity are those that identify the room’s user and activate the collaborative technologies required for the scheduled event. This level of platform interfaces with the technologies so that participants can jump in their meeting space and get started. It provides powerful back-end metrics, invaluable insights into device usage that optimize investments in people, space and technology.

Resolving Underutilized Spaces

Better reporting enables better allocation and utilization of real estate but how do you design for those requirements? Based on the metrics, you may have discovered the need for larger or smaller fixed spaces or a need to have modular, divisible spaces on demand.

If your organization has remote workers or a workforce that travels between locations, “hoteling”, a temporary workspace that can be booked remotely, is an ideal solution. For organizations anticipating growth or a change in dynamics, a build out using a modular construction approach provides cost-saving flexibility. “Flex space” is another popular solution that allows rooms to be reconfigured quickly based on need. Using gangable furniture, a space can transform from a large meeting room to several smaller collaborative areas. Having a logistics team that can quickly facilitate changes and manage off-site assets is a great advantage as the needs of your workforce transition.

Transform Your Office Real Estate into a Measurable Resource

dancker’s team of experts can provide, integrated furniture interior technology solutions that will enable your team to make informed decisions based on key metrics and adapt your spaces as needs change. To learn more, contact our workplace technology team at workplacetechnology@dancker.com.