Utilising Workplace Spaces Efficiently – An Interesting Insight By Guest Speaker Andrew Smart
Focusing on optimising your workspace building to help staff move around more efficiently and operate in greater comfort has proven to reduce time wastage amongst staff searching for spaces to work in. It also reduces absenteeism too!
We’ve all heard of the prime benefits of efficient workspaces that can minimise costs associated with productivity losses. This goes without saying as to how important it is for businesses to prioritise space optimisation.
"In one of our recent virtual meetups, we got an opportunity to hear some interesting facts on the workspace and its optimal utilisation by our guest speaker Mr Andrew Smart.
He stresses that workplace space utility experience has been a growing sector for them. Andrew Smart feels the workplace utility has been somewhat slowed down due to the pandemic, and for obvious reasons and therefore has effects on the real estate and facilities.
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Andrew Smart explains;
"Interestingly, we're not seeing vast acres of surplus space, but we’re seeing clients trying to work out how to capture the workplace efficiency that we all know will help reduce wastage. People now choose to come to the office on maybe Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which ideally is a busy day compared to Mondays and Fridays, which are incredibly quiet for most organisations. So, have you made anything of that? By this I mean, were you able to extract your utility savings easily or flatten the usage across those five days?
Also, to ask people not to come in on a Wednesday and Thursday, we've got to come in on Monday and Friday and mandate that for an organisation. It takes a certain kind of CEO to propagate things. I can assure you that, there are not many who devise that.
So, it's interesting to know that the hybrid situation is changing the way people look at how they use the space when they're in it, but it's not creating quite the real estate efficiencies as expected.
Let me give you an instance. So, when I look at my campus years ago, a large campus down in the southeast, where we could switch our building off every Friday. We were very early adopters then, but again, it was a free breakfast on Monday morning and Friday evening.
The other thing you have to take into account here is demographic. So, I've noticed quite a lot of differences in the demographic of the workforce and where they are. Let's talk about the city centre for a moment. Here in a city centre organisation like ours, the people who want to be in the office are young because their homes are small. It's difficult for them to work at home so they'd instead work here in the office, rather than in their shared flat or at the secondary where their social life is (their friends, colleagues and the people they mix with).
They come from university, so they're not in their hometown, and therefore their social scene is built around them.
So, to say they're pleased to be with people like me who are either great or losing their hair and having a family and a house in the countryside. (smiles)
They might be happy to work comfortably from their study room, thinking I don't want to commute and why would I want to come into the office every day? So demographic shift is quite crucial as well to consider. Different organisations and different demographics have an impact on the overall utility of your workplace space."
Why should your business prioritise space optimisation?
Effective space management doesn't have to be complicated. You must plan thoroughly and orderly to ensure your business can serve your client's needs while helping facility managers better understand utilisation.
So to reiterate, here is why you should prioritise space optimisation.
Cost Management- If your real estate portfolio comprises multiple buildings with offices spread across multiple floors, it's even more critical to ensure efficient space use to reduce or prevent high operational costs.
Waste Reduction As the world becomes increasingly invested in environmental initiatives, proactive workplace space management will help to cut down on the consumption of valuable resources and help position your facility for the future.
Employee Engagement - Improving workplace facilities can significantly impact how employees feel and perform at work. Strategic space management will help to create a more pleasant and productive environment that helps to stimulate existing employees and attract future talent.
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