A guide to Space Rationalisation
The current challenging economic climate, compounded by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, has focused many businesses to reappraise their operating models and workplace models alike. Space rationalisation programmes are an impactful tool to assist businesses and decision makers in how best to optimise their workplace and operating strategies following the rise and apparent success of remote working practices. The workplace is after all, second only in value to a firm's people as an asset.
What is Space Rationalisation?
In a nutshell, space rationalisation involves a study to assess your present office requirements and how they align with your business' objectives and strategy. It involves gathering data on how you currently use your office space including user experience, in order to identify efficiencies and inefficiencies in the way that space operates in delivering your business objectives. The purpose is ultimately to identify how the space can be optimised to increase efficiency, align with corporate strategy, and increase return on investment.
The benefits of remote working and the technologies that support it, have been developing for a number of years, resulting in flexible office space supporting so called Agile Working. The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated uptake of such strategies, but the issues raised are nothing new.
Space Rationalisation Outcomes
Following a Space Rationalisation study, some businesses may decide to simply remain in the current workspace whilst supporting remote working and utilising lower occupancy levels to promote socially distant working patterns. Others may take less space, perhaps sub-letting unused space to protect for future growth. Covid-19 secure protocols are forcing some firms to seek more office space. Indeed in any economic downturn there are always rapid growth companies that rise with exponential demands for office space.
All the above outcomes however must be informed by a clear empirical study of what is required before commitment and investment is made. The importance of making the correct decision has never been more crucial for businesses in order to encourage employees to return to the workplace in some capacity and promote collaboration, innovation and creativity. Increasingly, the workplace is being seen as a social hub around which a businesses workforce can congregate and develop teamwork and a successful culture for the business. At Actum-IF our internal design expertise allows for our studies to be embellished with creative design solutions for your workplace. We find that manifesting the Space Rationalisation study's empirical evidence with design solutions assists our clients in having and understanding of the data and confidence in decision making.
Space Rationalisation Programme
Space rationalisation should be an ongoing, core part of your operating model, continually assessing the appropriateness and efficiency of your workspace asset in delivering your corporate objectives. Essentially tailored to your specific business. The catalysts for such a programme can be wide and varied, but generally include the following;
Appraisal of a complex or overburdened real estate portfolio
Business relocation
Inefficient use of space
Reassessment of fixed costs and overheads in the business in a drive to improve profit
Outdated workplace design
Attracting and retaining talent within the workforce
Adopting new ways of working to support corporate objectives
01 Understanding your objectives
Clearly identifying your business objectives and how your workspace should support these is a crucial first step of any Space Rationalisation study. When aligned with measurable Key Performance Indicators, you can elicit a powerful data set from which to measure the performance of your current and future workspace.
In developing your objectives and KPIs it is helpful to consider the following general questions;
How does your workforce currently work?
Where do they work?
How do you foresee your organisation working in the future?
What do your employees require to ensure success?
Is there anything that works particularly well in your current workspace? What doesn't work and why?
What part does technology play in delivering your objectives? Can it be improved?
What specific tasks do different teams do each day?
Does the workspace support these tasks effectively?
02 Gathering Data
Compiling data on how your current space is used is a core objective of any Space Rationalisation study. This will involve recording how staff use the workspace, patterns of use, and potential future patterns of use. Recording health and wellbeing in the workplace is also important to understand Staff sentiment and morale levels. This insight given by soft data, is important in determining how the workplace can support staff to perform at their best.
03 Identifying Inefficiencies
Analysis of hard and soft data will inevitably highlight inefficiencies in the use of your workspace. It will also highlight where it is excelling. Interpretation of the data is important to inform any plans for change that may be required. Key questions can include;
Is there any unused space? Why is it not used? What could it be used for?
What percentage of your workforce wishes to work from home, the office or both? Is this appropriate? Why do they want to work from home?
How is desk space used during the course of the day?
Are meeting rooms fully booked?
Where do employees congregate? What is the percentage of impromptu meetings? Are these considered valuable?
Is there enough areas for 'deep work' or private calls?
04 Plan for Change
It is important to engage, consult and inform your workforce on any proposed change to the workspace to ensure buy in. Imposing change on teams is never a good idea. Better to explain the reasoning behind change. Flexibility and adaptation in your workspace are more than ever needed in today's rapidly evolving corporate environment. They must however, align with your business resources and objectives. At Actum-IF we are experienced at helping clients implement creative flexibility that is appropriate to Client need;
Consider subletting a part of your floor plate to protect future growth potential.
Innovative and creative use of modular furniture can optimise a space to be multipurpose.
Adopting innovative working practices such as Agile Working and hot desking.
Consideration of co-working spaces as a short term solution.
05 Documenting your new space requirements
At Actum-IF our inhouse design team will document and record your new space requirements via space plans and visualisations. These are helpful in manifesting design decisions and eliciting buy in from your workforce. Executed via drawings, 3D visuals, precedent studies, specifications and schedules, the final document set is a robust set of information that can be utilised to sell the changes to all stakeholders and ultimately be priced for construction.
The document set will give confidence in execution allowing the business to plan effectively for the change both in terms of logistics and cost.
06 Design and Delivery
Once your design is agreed and recorded in a robust document set, it is time to procure the delivery of your Project. Having a trusted and established team to deliver your Project that you trust is extremely important. It is important to appoint an internal Project Manager within your organisation to liaise with the design and construction team to ensure an efficient refurbishment or move is executed to minimise disruption to your business. Appointing a team such as Actum-IF early can realise real benefits in streamlining this process.
07 Monitoring Performance
Once occupied, it is important to understand how the new space is operating. It is at this point that you should use the KPIs identified in Stage 01 to measure the performance of your new space. At Actum-IF we recommend monitoring once per quarter or annually as an absolute minimum. It is important to understand how the workspace is utilised over the course of a year, taking account of changing seasons. Your staff will use the space differently at different times of the year and also at different times in your corporate year. It is important to understand these cycles so that you can make any necessary changes to accommodate specific requirements and optimise the performance of your workspace.
If you feel that your business would benefit from a Space Rationalisation Study, we would be delighted to assist you. At Actum-IF our inhouse design team and office fitout professionals are able to provide a turn-key service for your business, or alternatively we can also simply undertake a Space Rationalisation Study for you. We also are more than happy to work with your design team as Principal Contractor to deliver your exciting project. Just contact us by clicking on the button below.