Arun is part of the legal team for a multinational company. He spends three days a week at head office for about seven hours a day, with Tuesdays and Thursdays being key for in-person meetings. He’s typically onsite just before 10 a.m., leaving by 5 p.m.
Arun’s colleague Stella is a member of the recruitment team, working in another part of the office. She too spends about three days a week in the office, but her most important days for in-person work are Mondays and Thursdays. She too works about seven hours a day, but generally from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
For companies who are prioritizing hybrid workstyles, it can be challenging to figure out how people actually use spaces within offices.
In this case, it appears that both Stella and Arun (fictional employees) are at their desks for seven hours a day, two days a week. But is that actually the case? We don’t know how else they may be using the space, what resources they need, and if their other team members have different work styles. Fortunately, there’s a way to find out.
In one particular study, our teams installed the InnerSpace platform in the main office of a global leader in lodging and hospitality. The goal was to understand the behavior patterns of two distinct teams of employees in a space. The client wanted to design the space efficiently, putting resources where they were needed most.
To do so, they needed data to understand the true needs of their teams. To that end, using the WiFi signals of each person’s smart devices (maintaining full individual privacy), we helped this client identify key workplace behaviors and patterns of movement – and, as a result, inform office design, resourcing and seating assignments.
Importantly, this was not just occupancy data – which is essentially people counting in any one floor, zone, or room. That more baseline information can’t reliably help companies build, manage and measure hybrid workspaces.
Here, the InnerSpace platform answers deeper questions, such as: When do these employees come – and how often? Where do they work and migrate? These insights reveal true behaviors and the different needs and patterns of different teams – to help companies make spaces within their spaces as well-suited as possible to each department.
In this study, we were able to track individual time in-office, in team zones, in meetings, off the floor, and when employees arrived and left. While teams may seem homogenous, the data revealed that there are “teams within teams” that emerge when it comes to key behavior insights. Interesting and informative highlights include the following for Stella and Arun’s teams.
From what the data reveal, this global company can decipher key lessons in their head office. For instance, these employees are already quite mobile, working offsite two days a week, spending less than half their time in designated desks. As a result, they are well-positioned to begin a full hybrid shift. Employee:desk ratios were sub-standard, meaning the company could cut down assigned areas and build more touch down areas for overflow. And while resources were well-aligned overall, on a more micro level, resource needs vary with workstyles – both team to team and within teams.
In a hybrid work model, it is essential to keep tabs on employee behaviors and continue to adapt the office space as needed. To do this, collaborative space must increase and office designs be as flexible as possible, with room versatility a priority. To both chart course now and tweak direction over time, WiFi-based space utilization data can paint a clear picture.