Office & IT
How much are empty rooms costing your business?
Paul Statham, CEO of leading workspace utilisation and scheduling company Condeco Software, shares his insight into the impact of poor workspace management for
fast-growing businesses
s the modern workplace continues to evolve and property prices increase, facilities managers are under increasing pressure to help their companies use their space effectively. The financial impact of wasted space remains one of the primary concerns, especially in London. The city remains the home of the world’s most expensive office space, with occupancy cost running up to £1,554 a year per square foot in the West End1
A .
While this should inspire businesses to squeeze value from every last inch of their property, the reality is that a worrying amount of premium real estate spends much of its time standing empty. Driving this issue is the fact that workers in most sectors are increasingly attracted to more fluid, collaborative ways of working, but many firms have failed to adapt traditional offices to match. The financial services sector was found to be a particularly powerful example by research from global design and planning specialist HOK, which found that on average 48 per cent of seats were unoccupied during the day. Alongside this, meeting room spaces were found to be used only 29 per cent of the time on average2
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Condeco’s own research has found that most businesses have extremely poor visibility of how their space is used, with the average usage for both desks and meeting rooms often just 50 per cent, and sometimes as low as 39 per cent.
1. Cushman & Wakefield – Office space across the world 2014 - http://www.
cushmanwakefield.com/~/media/ global-reports/OSATW%202014%20 Publication%20updated.pdf
2. HOK BENCHMARKING REPORT, VOLUME 1.0 - FINANCIAL SERVICES 2014
38 office & it
While the financial cost of wasted space makes a powerful bottom line, it also has a negative effect on workplace culture, impacting morale and productivity. At Condeco Software, we have found that the lack of visibility regarding meeting room management means meeting rooms are all too often empty because of no-shows in arranged meetings, or otherwise double-booked by clashing demands. A leading cause of wasted meeting room space is a lack of synchronisation across business systems. Even when booking systems are used, they are frequently not connected to popular calendar systems like Outlook, so cancelled meetings remain booked into the room itself and block other users. Double-booked rooms mean employees are forced to delay or, in occasions, even cancel important meetings, or waste time trying to track down free space, drastically slowing down productivity. Even small disruptions to the workflow can lead to several hours of wasted time a day as things get back on track, so no business wants to have its employees wasting their time searching around the building for another room or being interrupted whilst in the middle of a critical conference call.
By enabling staff to quickly and easily find the workspace they need, companies can cultivate an environment that allows employees to thrive and achieve their full potential. In turn, this will serve to attract, but most importantly retain, the world’s most talented people. A collaborative as well as flexible space has proven to be the successful formula for employee satisfaction. As well as internal staff, this will have a big impact
on the company’s appearance with external stakeholders. Presenting a slick, efficient workplace to important visitors will obviously help to strengthen connections and even win business, while a disjointed, confused approach could badly damage relationships. Condeco has developed a suite of solutions to help businesses optimise their use of desks and other workspace space such as meeting rooms and breakout areas, including software applications and digital signage that are fast and easy to use at all levels, smoothly meshing existing systems. Alongside this, we have also developed Sense, a market first in workspace measurement technology that empowers business leaders with real time data on how their valuable real estate is used. With office space at a premium and businesses seeking to revaluate their workplace to match new trends in a mobile, dynamic workforce, facilities managers will increasingly be relied on by senior management as a driving force to help their business thrive and grow. As workspace utilisation takes its place on the boardroom agenda, they must explore the potential of new and innovative solutions to help cut down on expensive wasted space and create a flexible, empowered workforce.
www.condecosoftware.com
Building & Facilities Management – March 2015
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