4 important workplace utilization metrics to measure, including examples of how teams use this data to make better decisions.
There are six core benefits to incorporating workplace utilization in your workplace strategy:
This article will cover four important metrics to measure and highlight several examples of how teams use workplace utilization data to make data-driven space decisions.
The building utilization metrics below provide insight into how employees use your space and whether it performs as needed. You can apply these metrics at every scale — from an entire portfolio to a specific workstation — to make informed decisions that optimize your space planning.
Peak occupancy is an important metric that identifies the days and times your space is busiest. You can track peak occupancy for the building or individual areas. Understanding the peaks and valleys of your space occupancy means you can make changes as needed to ensure the work environment can meet the demand for dedicated desks, quiet rooms, and other office resources.
Optimization tip
If demand exceeds supply, consider making schedule adjustments to level out occupancy throughout the week. This ensures better resource allocation and keeps the office operating smoothly.
For example, a hybrid office could designate particular days for each team to come in for collaborative work. Instead of sales, marketing, and design all converging in the office on Wednesdays, you could have sales on Tuesday, marketing on Wednesday, and design on Thursday. (Try not to assign Fridays as any team’s in-office day. Historically, Friday is the least productive workday.)
If you want to allow teams to maintain more flexibility while still balancing supply and demand, you can use scheduling software that allows them to see which days and times the office resources they need are available.
The average utilization rate of your office indicates the typical amount of time employees use the space you’re measuring. The higher the average utilization, the more value you get for that space.
To calculate average office space utilization, take the total number of employees present in the space, divide it by your office capacity, and average it across your given time frame.
Let’s say you want to find out which day of the week your office typically has the best utilization rate. Looking at every weekday in turn, calculate the utilization rate for each hour and average it across the entire workday. You’ll be able to see the average utilization for each day and pinpoint the days that see the most activity.
Optimization tip
This metric is where the “efficiency versus experience” tension happens. You don’t want square footage and resources that are paid for to go unused, but you also have to consider the employee experience. Employees don’t want to feel crowded or have to fight for last-minute meeting room space. If you hit your average utilization benchmark, that’s a great time to do an employee feedback survey to find out how workers rate the experience.
When determining average utilization for your workplace, remember to compare the occupancy rate against the total usable space capacity. Including square footage that’s not usable office space, such as an elevator or electrical room, will give you an inaccurate picture of your utilization.
It’s important to know where your high-traffic areas are and when they see the highest number of people. These areas will need more frequent cleaning, maintenance, or inventory (depending on the type of space) to keep them hygienic and functioning as needed.
Optimization tip
People vote with their feet for the areas they like or find useful, so high-traffic areas can also show you what spaces, resources, and amenities your employees value. These are the areas worth investing in. For example, if the kitchen sees nonstop traffic from employees in search of a snack or another cup of coffee, that’s clearly an amenity that workers value. Keeping the kitchen clean and well stocked will optimize this amenity for your teams.
For an optimal workplace experience, employees need reliable access to conference rooms, dedicated desks, and collaboration spaces. Monitoring utilization for these areas of the office will let you know if they’re underperforming (a sign that you need to make changes) or if there isn’t a satisfactory ratio of employees to workstations.
To determine utilization rates for specific workspaces in the office, take the total number of occupied meeting rooms or desks on a given day and divide it by the total number of those particular spaces. Review this data to find out how each type of space is performing.
Optimization tip
Many companies are seeing a trend of ghost or zombie meetings. Ghost meetings are those that are scheduled but no one attends. These ghost meetings turn into zombies when they’re set as recurring reservations that were later deemed unnecessary — but no one remembered to cancel them.
If your reservation software shows higher utilization than your occupancy data reveals, you’re dealing with these ghoulish non-meetings. This leads to valuable resources going to waste, not to mention frustrated employees who can’t book the meeting spaces they want. To remedy this, set a time limit for check-ins. If no one checks in within 10 minutes of the reservation time, the room or desk is automatically freed up for others to use.
Checking your meeting space utilization metrics can also help you identify the most popular rooms. Once you know this, you can begin extrapolating the “why” behind it with a quick game of “spot the difference.” Does it have newer technology than the other rooms? Are there more soft seating options? Is it closest to the snack bar? Use this information to improve the meeting rooms that are underperforming.
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