How to Optimize Your Office Space in 5 Simple Steps

You may think office space optimization is as simple as using as much of the available space as possible, butit is really a strategic process that involves design principles and behavioral science.

In this blog we give you a quick overview of what office space optimization is, and 5 easy tips to implement it.

What is Office Space Optimization?

When employing office space optimization, the goal is to use your workspaces’ physical elements in a way that drives enhanced workforce productivity, efficiency, and offers value to your employees. Value in this sense being a safe, comfortable, happy and dynamic environment employees want to be in.

Some of the key aspects of office space optimization include:

1. Using all available spaces wisely: Unused space is wasted space and results in unnecessary costs and resource usage.
2. Making the workspace dynamic enough to adapt to evolving needs: Workspaces should meet the needs of your employees and promote collaboration. Because those needs may shift over time, dynamic workspaces are a much more cost-effective approach.
3. Account for hybrid or flexible working models: With many companies using flexible or hybrid work models, workspaces also need to account for employees who may work remotely most of the time and only come to the office for meetings or a few days a week.
4. Design with variety to support diversity: The office space itself also needs to accommodate different working styles and needs, which means the collective space needs to include a variety of workspace setups and designs. 
5. Integrating space management and workspace technologies: The modern office is all about efficiency, so technologies that can help track and manage space utilization, automate workflows and booking processes, and offer a clearer picture of what teams are using or not using what spaces are key for long-term optimization. We’ll offer you some great recommendations below for this.

You may notice that there are five key aspects noted above, and yes, they match up to the five easy tips we’re about to give you to make office space optimization easy.

5 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Office Space Efficiency

Office space optimization really comes down to being smart about how you use every inch of space. These tips have the modern office in mind and are appropriate for any size business to employ.

1. Track how your space is being used

Matching up to the first key aspect is our first tip – tracking how your space is being used. If you don’t have a detailed picture of how your space is currently being used, what areas are underutilized or sitting empty, you can’t decide what changes to make. The first easy way to optimize office space is to track office space utilization. We recommend using smart sensor solutions to do this because they’ll give a detailed understanding of how different workspaces are being used, traffic low, workforce needs, and where to start making changes.

2. Identify Underutilized Spaces and Workforce Dynamics

While sensors can help you identify patterns of rooms being empty, the most accurate way to continually track underutilization is to use a workplace analytics software that provides turnkey insights based on your specific live data set and businesses’ booking solution data. Using workplace analytics software collects and analyzes data from various sources like calendars, orders and bookings, which can help you identify unused spaces and determine how to implement changes to better suit the needs of your workforce. This tip is what will help you create dynamic workspaces and eliminate wasted space.

3. Use Workspace Management Software to Streamline Bookings

Employees can waste hours trying to schedule meetings or find a place to work when they come to the office. Support hybrid and flexible working models better by using a meeting room and workspace booking solution that integrates with employees’ existing Outlook® calendar and email tools. Why?

• Supports hybrid, flexible and always-on-site employees
• Reduces the amount of time spent booking and managing workspaces or meetings and related resources
• Helps support the optimized usage of meeting rooms and smaller workspaces (e.g., hot desks)
• Allows employees to book spaces in advance and easily grab them on-site if something comes up thanks to color-coded office maps and Microsoft 365 and Outlook® integrations

4. Design with Employees in Mind

This is the more creative tip of the five, but we believe one of the most important as it significantly impacts employee satisfaction and workplace culture. Here are some easy design guidelines to help you offer innovative spaces to employees and how to provide workspace variety to meet different needs throughout the day.

• How to Create Inspirational Spaces: Innovative Design Ideas for Modern Meeting Rooms
• The 7 Office Zones Every Business Should Have

5. Invest in the Right Technologies for Your Workforce

You may not need to use every workspace or business management technology out there. that’s why our final tip is to invest in the technologies that are right for you. Carefully consider your work model, workforce dynamics, the physical office spaces you use, and directly getting feedback and thoughts from your employees.

If you’re not sure where to start with optimizing your office space, our team is happy to take time to talk through some ideas with you. Contact us here and set up time to figure out which workspace management technologies may be a good fit for you and how to use them to make the most of your office space now and long-term.