Efficient office space utilisation directly reduces real estate costs, improves employee experience, and supports sustainability goals. Post-pandemic workplace models — hybrid schedules, hot desking, and activity-based work — make it essential to measure how space is actually used, not how it's planned on paper. Organisations that translate utilisation data into policy and design decisions report higher satisfaction and measurable cost savings.
Use clear, comparable metrics to evaluate utilisation and guide actions.
Combine complementary data sources for robust office space utilisation insights.
Cross-validate booking logs with anonymised sensor data to find gaps between intent and reality. For privacy-first deployments, prefer thermal camera-free sensors that detect presence without identifying individuals — a key advantage for compliance and employee trust.
A simple, repeatable framework helps turn utilisation data into outcomes.
This cyclical framework ensures decisions stay evidence-based and flexible as occupancy patterns evolve.
Concrete examples illustrate the potential impact of focused optimisation.
Data point to track: organisations using combined booking and sensor analytics typically reduce underutilised desk inventory by 10–25% in the first year when paired with policy changes.
Selecting the right sensing technology affects both data quality and acceptance.
For reliable office space utilisation insights that preserve privacy, combine booking logs with thermal, camera-free people sensing. This yields desk-level and zone-level accuracy while maintaining employee trust.
After measuring, select targeted tactics based on your findings.
A crisp ROI model helps secure executive buy-in.
Current annual office cost = rent + facilities operation + energy.
Space reduction opportunity = underutilised capacity × rentable area. Operational savings = reduced cleaning, HVAC, and maintenance proportional to area closed or reprogrammed.
Sensors, analytics platform, integration, change management.
(Implementation cost) / (annual savings).
10,000 m² office, 35% average utilisation vs desired 60% → potential to right-size by ~4,166 m². Annual rent at $400/m² → potential annual savings $1.67M before restructuring costs. Sensor and analytics investments typically pay back in 12–24 months in medium/high-cost markets.
Show projected savings and non-financial benefits (employee experience, ESG) to make a balanced case.
A staged approach reduces risk and accelerates value.
Build employee communications into every phase to explain privacy protections and operational benefits.
Office space utilisation is a measurable competitive advantage. With a privacy-first sensing approach, clear KPIs, and an iterate-fast mindset, organisations can reduce real estate costs, improve employee experience, and accelerate sustainability goals. Start small, validate hypotheses with sensor-backed data, and scale changes that produce measurable ROI.
Butlr offers privacy-first, thermal camera-free people sensing and spatial intelligence to measure and act on office space utilisation. By combining accurate presence data with booking logs and analytics, teams can produce reliable utilisation baselines, detect no-shows, support HVAC and cleaning optimisation, and maintain privacy compliance and employee trust.
Meaningful utilisation baselines can appear within 2–4 weeks; aim for 30–90 days to account for schedule variability. Combining sensors with booking logs and occupant feedback shortens validation.
They typically achieve high presence-detection accuracy for zone-level and doorway counts. Accuracy depends on sensor density and placement; run a pilot to calibrate.
Yes. When anonymised and used in aggregate, data informs equitable policies without tracking individuals. Clear communication and short retention windows increase trust.
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