Modern software solutions allow facility managers to gain incredible insight into how office spaces are being used. Thanks to smart reporting and analytics features, FMs can dig into the details and see things like which seats are popular when hot desking, what meeting rooms are favored and which sections of valuable office space are being underutilized.
What is an occupancy report? An occupancy report shows the results of occupancy data that is collected about a given space, which allows facilities managers to better optimize that space.
Let’s delve into the information that FMs can pull from occupancy data, and look at how these insights can be used to make the right decisions.
Depending on the nature of your business, the number of people in your office can fluctuate day-to-day. If your company uses hot desking, desk booking software not only helps employees claim a certain space, but also offers FMs valuable information, like how many workspaces are typically occupied. For example, if a fair portion of desks are regularly vacant, it might make sense to reduce the number of desks and use that space for something else.
You may notice that the legal department uses specific meeting rooms more often than the customer service department. If the rooms in question are closer to where customer service employees always sit, then legal is wasting time and energy making trips to those spaces. By tracking which departments use which rooms, you can make critical changes that will have a positive impact on all team members. FM software also offers space management tools that allow you to track and manage your entire space with the help of real-time floor plan views. By doing this, making important utilization decisions becomes much easier.
When booking software is used to reserve meeting rooms, it’s easy to determine how often particular rooms are actually in use. You can also discover things like which spaces employees tend to favor, or if certain rooms are simply too small for certain teams. If employees prefer specific rooms, it’s worth finding out why they’re so popular. Perhaps the other available options don’t have adequate seating or lack stable Wi-Fi.
FM software assists with resource tracking, which allows you to keep tabs on valuable assets and check if they are efficiently distributed throughout the office. If one department makes more use of a particular heavy-duty printer than the rest of the office, it makes sense to move it closer to that department. With a visual directory, FMs can instantly see where important resources, like printers, are and make decisions on how best to utilize them.
The goal of collecting and reporting on occupancy data is to learn about the way your company uses its space. Are areas not being used, and is money therefore being wasted? Is your office bursting at the seams, hindering productivity? Are there facilities or amenities lacking in your office space that could greatly benefit your team? Occupancy data is your greatest resource when it comes to understanding how your employees are interacting with your office. Without this, it’s hard to truly understand how your office space is being used, so make the most of modern technology to ensure your office is always performing at its peak.
Be sure to request a free demo of OfficeSpace—the office resource management software that can give you the occupancy data you need.
Photo Credits: Unsplash / Ferran Fusalba Roselló, Unsplash / Pacific Office Interiors, Unsplash / Social Cut