Changes to the physical workplace and the evolution of commercial real estate is prompting many companies to take a closer look at their facilities. Specifically, workplace managers are scrutinizing square footage through the lens of office space software.
What is office space software?
Like the sales team might use a CRM platform or human resources may rely on payroll software, facility managers need a way to manage tasks with powerful digital tools. Office space software delivers with resources like space planning, move management, real estate forecasting, and workplace analytics tools. The software provides facility managers with insights and abilities necessary to plan for and improve the workplace.
Quantifying the workplace
The primary role of office space software is to quantify the workplace. Facility managers can use quantified data to measure performance, then apply that information to office space planning. Software tools collect, store, and make this data available across a broad scope of workplace elements:
- Seat distribution through a stack planning diagram
- Daily peak utilization using aggregated occupancy sensor data
- Cost per head via lease admin tools
- Average workstation size through space planning tools
Access to tangible data about the physical workplace gives facility managers better control. Without software, it’s hard to make even simple workplace calculations. Imagine trying to measure room occupancy over the course of a week without occupancy sensors feeding real-time data into a platform that can process them.
Office space software helps facility managers better understand the physical workplace, then develop a better floor plan and desking arrangement. Ultimately, quantifiable data is the key to good decision-making.
Realizing the possibilities
As trends in the data make themselves apparent, facility managers can use them to shape the workplace in a meaningful way. For example, if data shows low utilization for a particular type of workspace, that’s space can be repurposed. Likewise, if a stack plan shows broad distribution of departments, consolidating them might improve synergy and productivity.
Informed decision-making about the workplace also helps facility managers align their actions with company goals. If the business plans to move to a new location, add new employees, or consolidate the workplace, facility managers need to know how to act. Good data and tools through which to plan and view the workplace make business planning much easier.
Perhaps the most important aspect of using office space software is the potential for general improvement. As the office Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more prolific, so does the potential for efficiency in office space planning. Even well-run workplaces now have the ability to examine granular details and make simple tweaks that add up—whether it’s altering a single workstation or making smarter decisions about desking for remote employees.
Instituting the ideal floor plan
Recognized opportunities deliver no benefit until they’re enacted. The workplace can’t improve until facility managers take data and trends, and combine them into a floor plan that capitalizes on them. For this, they’ll need office seating plan software. From concept modeling, simple drag-and-drop tweaks, or sharing floor plans among stakeholders, office space software is an encompassing medium for realizing opportunities.
Here’s a look at how a new solution culminates through such software:
- Problem: The stack plan shows opportunities for consolidate employees spread across four floors.
- Opportunity: Work teams can be grouped in ways that eliminate space on an entire floor.
- Goal: Improve departmental synergy and reposition workgroups nearest the amenities they use most (conference rooms, phone booths, break areas, etc.)
- Approach: Using office space software, the facility manager creates several stack plans and revised seating arrangements to meet consolidation and cost-saving goals.
This example is broad, but represents the inclusiveness of office space software as a problem-solving tool. Software collects and analyzes data, helps managers recognize opportunities, delivers tools to plan solutions, and visualizes the best approach and execution path. It’s a daunting prospect without office space software backing the process.
Understanding the dynamic workplace
The workplace of old is gone. It’s not about packing as many people as possible into one space or giving everyone their own office. Today’s workplaces are much more dynamic, which means they need a greater level of oversight to manage and optimize. Workplace planners need to consider variables like cost, employee needs, facility type, and utilization trends. Using them to create the perfect workplace requires help.
Office space software has changed how we do what we do. Managing facilities is now a digital balancing act—one made possible by office space software. It’s the driving force behind most modern workplace transformations.
Keep reading: Office Space Management Software Tips and Guidelines
By Jonathan Davis
Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He hold a master's degree in journalism.
