Why your Workplace & CRE Strategy Demands User-Centricity

tl;dr: Relying solely on occupancy sensors for workplace strategy and CRE decisions has significant limitations. Sensors lack context and cannot determine specific activities or improve poorly optimised spaces. Instead, involving users in the process yields better results, providing direct insights, flexibility, and well-being benefits. User-centric design enhances the employee experience and productivity, creating spaces that reflect organisational values and promote connection, collaboration, focus, and creativity.

Edit 09/23: updated version for better reading experience

I spend a fair amount of time talking to leaders in workplace strategy and corporate real estate, and it's a blast. The whole profession is caught up in a perfect storm of change, constantly reassessing the status of what is an organisation's second-largest expense.

It's an inspiring exchange with people driven to improve every last nook and cranny to optimise the bottom line and working environment. And it's fair to say that I've never heard so many creative and different approaches.

Sometimes bordering weird, but that's even better!

And then it happens. That one sentence:

If you're in corporate real estate or workplace strategy, it's safe to assume that after all the hiccups of the past few years, you've spent some time in limbo, watching things unfold, and have a newfound clarity. So you're probably:

• reducing your office space by a fixed percentage,
• optimising your existing assets to hopefully increase your plummeted occupancy,
• or even growing and needing additional optimised space.

They're not mutually exclusive but tend to be the most common primary objectives.

These goals require a thorough understanding of how your office space is used. And you're making a mistake if your "how" is solely evolving around the frequency of use.

Look, I get it. Sensor tech is not new, but it has gained massive popularity over a short period. It seems convenient enough, efficient, and easy to install. Most have slapped 'AI' on their complimentary software faster than the rise of ChatGPT experts on LinkedIn, and almost all the big names are using them. It's an easy pitch, so there must be something to it, right?

From my perspective: dangerous limitations.?

The Fallibility of Occupancy Sensors

Sensors use various technologies to detect movement or body heat within an area. Most are used to measure whether a standard workstation is occupied. Some cast a broader net to include meeting areas, even counting the number of people in common areas.

So let's first look at the possible pitfalls:

• context,
• accuracy,
• misconception,
• and human nature.

The very obvious but often brushed aside one first. Sensors do not provide the context of "how" the space is being used: Arguably the most essential piece of knowledge for workplace strategy and forecasting. Full stop.

Sensors detect presence but not the purpose or activities taking place in the space. For example, a meeting room may show occupancy, but you can't tell if people are in a collaborative meeting or simply using the space for deep-focus work.

This is invaluable knowledge to tailor your space to user needs and create the ideal space configuration. And depending on your setup, while they can accurately detect human presence, they still -sometimes- struggle with accuracy in determining the correct number in a given space.

This brings me to a significant misconception about sensor technology:

Simply knowing that your space is consistently over- or underutilised doesn't give you any insight into the specific problems or how to improve the layout, amenities or functionality. Without addressing the core issues, measuring occupancy will help you generate one thing: the right size for your poorly optimised, non-user-centred office space.

Adding to the already fun mix of pitfalls is human nature and a highly underestimated risk of manipulation, especially of sensors within reach for tampering. I've seen data sets with up to 40% manipulated sensors; useless.

However, this point highly depends on your internal communication and culture, and some teams have done a fantastic job implementing the technology. Kudos to you!

These points would seem to make occupancy sensors an expensive, distributed network of 1/0 turnstiles with a high risk of generating misleading data.

Not quite. I have used sensors for a decade and will continue to use them when it makes sense. They help complete the picture with other data sources, are great for getting general insights into overall utilisation and peak occupancy, and support identifying bottlenecks.

But they should never be your sole basis for decision-making or data baseline.

Enough venting. Let's talk about a better way forward.

The Case for User Involvement

Your users are the single best source of information for understanding how your office space is being used (*duh). You gain the most valuable insights into their needs and activity patterns by enabling them to engage in the optimisation process.?

Furthermore, feedback on your space modules gains you insight beyond your assumptions. Rather than knowing how a project space is utilised, ask where your users are doing their project work and where they rate the fit-for-purpose best. You'll see it's not restricted to one single module.

Think about your cafeteria for a second. Was it placed with focused work in mind? Why not? Why do you think people like to work at the coffee shop around the corner?

Setting up the proper space rules for specific modules can help create a whole new perspective on how your space is being used and what your office space mix would look like, unshackled from assumptions. And thanks to digital tools, there is no need for excessive workshop routines and expensive consultants. Just fire up a platform and let your users contribute in an accessible and equal way.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The twice-a-decade office update cycle is dead. Much smaller office spaces need to adapt to new circumstances more often, and having a say in the configuration of their workspace gives your users a sense of autonomy and control. It also makes it easier to adapt spaces to ever-changing needs, identify trends and stay ahead of change. And while it may seem like more work, identifying high-impact space adjustments will make your CFO and colleagues happier than ever.

Well-being and Satisfaction

Involving employees in your optimisation process demonstrates a commitment to their well-being and satisfaction. This approach recognises that the people in your organisation have unique needs. And knowing them allows you to create spaces catering to all the various work styles and personalities. And there is plenty of data to prove that more agency in the creation of office space increases user satisfaction.

The Power of User-Centric Design

Let's strike a more conciliatory tone: occupancy sensors still have a role to play in collecting data, especially regarding overall space utilisation and insights from specific areas. But they are a small complementary tool to user-centred design.

In the quest for your ideal office space and workplace strategy, involving your users is essential to unlocking the full potential and providing spaces that truly enhance the employee experience, well-being, and productivity. Spaces which reflect what your organisation stands for and where people want to be.

Because your office isn’t a mere measuring ground for attendance, it’s a destination for connection, collaboration, focus, and creativity.