It's time to optimize your office space by combining workplace data analytics and workforce data analytics.
Your teams are back in the office, and everything is...not like it was in 2019. Sometimes the office feels empty. Sometimes, it feels like your conference rooms are bursting from the seams. On Thursday, there was a lineup for the espresso machine at 10am, but the third floor was a ghost town by 2pm.
Everything seems to be working; your leadership team report that people seem happy, and productivity isn't a concern with the hybrid work arrangement you've come up with. Still, you think, as you walk onto the rooftop deck and see a smattering of people with laptops, squinting in the sun, it'd be nice to know how people are using the office, since your real estate portfolio is your number one line expense.
What are workplace data analytics?
Workplace data analytics are increasingly important to your business. The shift that hybrid work has created within organizations mean many new questions that workplace leaders need to be on top of, in order to be effective leaders, to maintain employee engagement, and to ensure that space management is done effectively.
Workplace data analytics give you information about your space, and how your teams are using it. You can learn about occupancy rates throughout your space, pathways people use to navigate the office, and much more. Perhaps most importantly, workplace data can help you answer new questions that align with the changing nature of work, including:
- Is our hybrid work plan and schedule effective?
- Is our real estate budget realistic? Do we have the space we need?
- Do we have what we need to operate daily on site? i.e. enough seating, efficient internet, enough snacks?
- Are we properly supporting our workforce both in and out of the office?
- Do our people have the right tools to ensure they're engaged and able to be as productive as possible?
In order to be competitive in whatever market you're in, you need to be able to answer the questions above, and to do that, you need to be connecting workplace analytics data in real-time.
Workplace analytics can also help you manage your real estate portfolio, and know when it's lease renewal time if you're in the right space for your teams, or if it's time to rethink your office.
And workforce data analytics?
If workplace data analytics are office space data, workforce data analytics are employee behavior data. This data helps you understand how your people are working and includes metrics around performance, employee experience, productivity, and employee turnover. Gathering and measuring employee performance and employee behavior analytics is part of effective leadership, and while this varies, depending on the organization and industries, it's a key part of business outcomes. This data should include both historical data and real-time data and most organizations use some type of workforce analytics software. As decision makers, it can help you to:
- Maximize productivity
- Support talent management
- Learn about employee preferences
- Gather information to make informed decisions around hiring, workforce planning, people management, efficiently bringing on new hires, and much more.
Workplace analytics versus workforce analytics: You need both
Workplace data analytics and workforce data analytics are deeply connected, but two different metrics that will help you with decision making for your business. You need both to get a fulsome image of your business needs, and to support strategic decisions you may make now and in the future. When workforce analytics are combined with workplace analytics that companies can effectively boost employee productivity and enjoy a true competitive advantage.
What types of insights can I gather by combining workplace analytics and workforce analytics?
Business leaders know that in order to make the best strategic decisions, one must look at the business through a variety of lenses. You can have the best office space in your industry with every amenity possible, but if your marketing teams are unhappy with leadership decision making, you may have quiet quitters now, or in the future.
Alternatively, you might have an amazing, productive product management team who can't find the proper opportunities to collaborate on their days in the office because you don't have enough conference rooms or the right meeting space to accommodate their growing teams.
Collecting data and gathering and analyzing information from multiple data sources will give you data driven insights to predict future outcomes and make workforce related decisions from an educated place for the best possible outcomes.
Impactful human capital management needs workplace analytics and workforce analytics
Being on top of both workplace analytics and workforce analytics will ensure you've got a handle on your business as a whole, to ensure you're primed for success today, and in the future as your organization matures.
All effective leaders know their people are their most important resource, and ensuring you have information to make decisions that put their needs first, whether it's around the way they're managed to optimize productivity, or ensuring that their workplace is optimized for productivity, no matter if they're in the office one day a week or five will help you retain your best people, boost your collaboration capabilities, and give you a competitive advantage in the hiring process.
Am I using the right workplace and workforce data analysis tools?
Workplace and workforce needs are evolving, and it might be time to give your tools a refresh. If you'd like to learn more about how InnerSpace can help you understand gather the best workplace analytics, including not only where your people are in the office, but how they're using your office with market-leading accuracy, let's chat.