For organizations looking to be cost-effective, optimizing the office space has become more important than ever.
Real estate is expensive. You need to figure out the employee-to-desk ratio to make the best use of your office space.
Consider this – In a prime location like central London, the cost of desk space is £14.5K per annum. Costs are similar in other posh locations around the world.
With the hybrid work model gaining in popularity, the same employee is not hogging the same desk all the time. So, if you invest in a desk utilization solution, your employees can book the desks in your office for the time they will be using them. At other times, other employees can book and work from the same desks.
Now a desk utilization software like ecobook also provides useful data like the desk utilization rate. You can draw valuable insights from this data that will help you to be more cost-effective, energy-saving and future-ready.
Calculating the desk utilization rate
The ecobook desk utilization software provides your employees with an app on their mobile phones. They can use this app to book a desk before they come to the office. When they arrive at the office, they can scan the QR code pasted on the desk with their mobile phones to check-in. Similarly, they can check out.
So, the software records data on how every desk in your office is being used. Also, it is connected to sensors that provide accurate data on occupancy. This data helps you understand how different employees are using the same desk, when they are checking in, how long they are using it, peak usage times and more.
How does this help?
The desk utilization rate helps you hit the sweet spot between the number of desks you have in your office and the number of your employees. Say, for example, if you have 100 employees, you don’t need 100 desks. This is because your employees are following the hybrid work model – partly working from the office and partly working from home.
The desk utilization solution will tell you that your employees are working two and a half days from the office. When 50 of your employees are working from the office, the other 50 are working from home and vice versa. So, you can do with 50 desks for your 100 employees. This helps you save on costly real estate, thus positively enhancing profitability.
When your desk utilization is data-driven, it gives you the power to plan and create your office space in a way that meets the needs of your employees as well as your organization.
For example, you will know which team members like to book desks in a quiet part of the office so that they can work without being distracted or which of your employees book desks near each other so that they can collaborate.
Also, those parts of the office that house desks which are not occupied all the time need not have lights and ACs running throughout the day. This will help you save on costly utility bills every month.
If you understand how well your office space is being used, it will help you manage density – that is the number of desks available for each employee. Too many people in a particular space in the office can be uncomfortable. So, if you have the foresight into the problem, you can assign them the same desks at different times.
Ghost bookings where employees book desks but don’t occupy them are a waste. Also, sometimes employees occupy desks without booking, which can be a nuisance for those wanting to book those particular desks. Both these problems cost time and are a hassle for those employees who need those desks.
A desk utilization solution like ecobook helps you see if a desk is being used by someone without booking it. Check-in data will also show if a desk that has been booked is being used or not. Ecobook will automatically release the desk if nobody has checked in to it.
Summing Up
You can save money by using a desk utilization solution. And the office desk utilization rate helps you with better decision-making that increases your efficiency and profitability.
So, set up your hybrid office for success with our complete desk utilization software, ecobook. To know how it can streamline your day-to-day office processes, feel free to contact our product consultant.
Cheers!
