With most organizations adopting hybrid work models, there is an increased focus on running the office optimally. You set up plans and systems to ensure the same. Ensuring that the available office space is utilized efficiently is only one aspect, but it is often more tedious. After all, it involves:
- Manually noting and analyzing office space usage
- Coming up with plans to optimize it
- Rolling out schedules for employees and ensuring that they adhere to them effectively, etc.
Here, using space management software can automate a bulk of these duties. It makes space allocations convenient by providing a single platform to plan and allocate office spaces, desks, and meeting rooms quickly. It also offers real-time updates to employees wherever they are.
But, should you invest in space management software for your business right away? Here are seven tell-tale signs you must do so immediately.
Also read: Space Management Software: What Is It and Why You Need It
You Are Having Trouble Implementing a Flexible Hybrid Work Model
Given that COVID-19 restrictions are easing up, more people are finally returning to the office in a hybrid workplace setup. So, is your office ready to accommodate the increased footfall?
Going by current trends, the flexible hybrid setup is here to stay. Hence, space management must become dynamic to catch up with it. Wondering how you can increase workplace flexibility?
You can use hybrid workplace planning software, or better yet, space management software to record space utilization trends.
You can collect data about employee seating arrangements, their utilization and note trends in real-time with a space management tool. This means facilities teams have access to information faster and that you can prepare an optimized seating plan much quicker.
Recommended Reading: A Practical Guide to Designing a Hybrid Workplace
You Need a Space Management Software For Better Seating Protocols in Office
Companies were slowly transitioning to hybrid work even before the pandemic. In 2019, 62% of people surveyed by Owl Labs revealed they worked remotely at different frequencies. With COVID-19-induced physical distancing restrictions, the number has only risen now. So, has your in-office seating adapted to it?
Also Read: How to make Desk Booking Accessible to All?
Implementing new seating protocols requires companies to develop a space management strategy. This includes measuring office space utilization by employees present at any time, considering their seating requirements. It also checks how often they come into the office. Such data allows you to manage seating accordingly while taking all the safety measures into account.
The most efficient way to collect such data? A space management software.
And The Office Floors Are Consistently Under-Utilized
Did you know over 42% of office space is practically underutilized? Employees working in dynamic job functions like sales contribute to this. No doubt, facility managers need to allocate space more efficiently to improve space utilization.
Along with robust reporting of space usage, this software also enables virtual office space planning. Therefore, creating interactive floorplans, measuring activity volume, and even calculating the costs incurred become easier.
Organizations can save up to 5% occupancy costs by deploying a space management system. Using the same, they can also reduce maintenance costs by 3.3% and lease costs by 3.5%.
Bonus read: How to Optimize Real-Estate Cost?
You Definitely Need a Space Management Software Because the Utilities Bills Are Sky-Rocketing
Are your current utility bills soaring? Even if you follow space utilization trends, collecting and compiling data manually may lead to errors. You may miss out on important utility data. This, in turn, can cause calculation errors, increasing the number in the bills.
With a space management platform, data collection is automated. All you need to do is set the data parameters. The sensors that come with the software will collect it automatically for you, every time.
This helps you plan floor utilization to reduce costs. Additionally, some workplace management software can also notify you when rooms are empty, helping you reduce bills big time.
Also, Because You Don’t Have the Space Data to Plan For the Future
You need an accurate idea of the company’s current and projected real estate portfolio to plan a budget. This includes analyzing space occupancy by department, floor, and building. Space management software helps you do just that without the fuss.
Moreover, you never have to spend hours analyzing countless rows of data with space management software. You can tap into well-analyzed, segmented, data-driven, and digestible reports on space utilization readily. Also, many space management software is cloud-based.
This means that you can access data and reports remotely and send them to other teams.
The Meeting Rooms Are Always Booked Out
According to an Intrado survey, 76% of respondents preferred in-person meetings to virtual ones. This has led to an increase in meeting room usage by 70% compared to non-pandemic times.
If you struggle to manage meeting room reservations, you can rely on space management software. The software provides information about scheduled bookings, room availability, room usage capacity, and booking frequency, among others.
With this data, you can allot meeting rooms according to size and requirement. Moreover, you can plan to acquire more space, if necessary.
Bonus Read: What is a Meeting Room Booking Software?
Ultimately, You Need Space Management Software Since You Have Trouble Moving Offices
Poor space management can make moving harder than it already is. Without a solid plan in hand, moving to a new space is just shifting floorplans around till it all fits. Also, it isn’t easy to understand how the process affects employees directly.
Space management software can help create interactive flooring plans. So, you can visualize scenarios and predict how the move impacts employees well in advance. You don’t like a particular floor plan? Your team can easily move things around virtually until they find a solution that works.
This will save time and effort on the organization’s end.
Sephora, for instance, reduced office move planning duration by 95% with the help of space management software.
Choosing an Effective Space Management Software
Organizations noticing the above signs should understand that it is about time their offices installed space management software. After all, who doesn’t want a multipurpose solution to manage and plan their office space better?
WorkInSync, in particular, comes with a flurry of features that includes team notification consoles, contact tracing, centralized dashboards, and employee seat booking facilities. You can opt for a demo to learn more.
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