Understanding occupancy levels – a core metric for business success

The BCO’s Review of Post-Pandemic UK Office Utilisation was published mid-July. I authored the review with data provided by three different sources of utilisation dataⁱ and input from a host of workplace industry expertsⁱⁱ. A key objective was to advise developers, architects and engineers on how lower occupancy levels and utilisation reduces occupant density such that a building’s infrastructure, based on an assumed higher density, may be over-specified and energy inefficient.

As a workplace strategist I am more interested in how utilisation studies can be used to determine the optimum number of desks and meeting spaces etc., informing the required building size, for occupiers moving to a new office. Since the COVID pandemic, office workers have literally voted with their feet with many not returning to the office full time. Not understanding future occupancy levels can lead to wasted space which both incurs unnecessarily higher property costs and is not sustainable, due to building, heating, servicing empty space. In contrast, it may lead to underestimating the required space, as recently experienced by HSBC with their 7,700 desks shortfall, which clearly impacts the success of any business.

It would be fantastic if there were clear and readily available benchmark figures for occupancy levels. What I learned from producing the BCO review is that while benchmark figures do exist, they mask the range of occupancy levels seen in UK organisations. For example, the mid-week peak desk utilisation is around 40% but the standard deviation is 23%, so 68% of the buildings surveyed have between 17% and 63% utilisation and the range of the whole sample is much higher. Furthermore, within an organisation, occupancy levels will vary by department which will also be masked by a building average. Therefore, average benchmarks are meaningless – for an organisation to right size its buildings it requires robust utilisation data of those buildings, across floors and departments.

Occupancy levels and desk utilisation can be collated using a range of different techniques, such as observation studies, sensors and security (swipe-card) access. There are pros and cons to each method, they each vary in cost, time, accuracy, granularity and invasiveness. Such techniques only measure the utilisation of the current workspace and adjustments must be made for changes in future headcount and work patterns, obtained through consultation and further analysis.

I was previously sceptical about the value and accuracy of utilisation studies but now, just like footfall in retail, I think it’s our most useful metric of office requirements and office success. Do contact me if you require help collating or interpreting utilisation data to ultimately generate a detailed space budget. Don’t get caught out with too little or too much office space.

 ⁱ    Abintra, Adept Space and Remit Consulting.

ⁱⁱ     Nigel Bunclark, Rob Harris, Meirion Anderson, Fiona Anderson, Tim Taylor, Andy McBain, and Nicola Gillen