Space Effectiveness & Workplace Change
Space Effectiveness & Workplace Change covers how physical workplaces support work and how redesigns or moves affect people’s experience.
Terms here relate to measuring space use, post‑occupancy evaluation, utilisation and occupancy metrics, acoustics and privacy, flexible work settings, and the processes used to plan and evaluate workplace change.
Activity Mapping
Activity mapping is a method for recording where, when and how people use different parts of a workplace to create visual maps (heatmaps, flow diagrams or occupancy charts) that show patterns of behaviour over time. It helps teams see which spaces support focused work, collaboration and services so they can make evidence-based space decisions.
Activity-Based Working (ABW)
Activity-Based Working (ABW) is a workplace approach that provides a variety of shared spaces designed for different tasks—focus, collaboration, meetings and socialising—rather than assigning employees to fixed desks. It encourages people to choose the place that best fits the work they need to do.
Adjacency Planning
Adjacency planning is the process of arranging teams, workgroups and shared spaces so that people who need to work together are located near one another and environments support how work actually happens. It balances collaboration, focus and operational flows to make space more effective after a change or redesign.
Capacity Planning
Capacity planning is the process of estimating how many people a workplace can support and matching that capacity to current and future demand so teams can allocate space efficiently and safely.
Change Impact Assessment
A Change Impact Assessment measures how a specific workplace change (for example a fit-out, move, policy or hybrid working rollout) affects people, space use and workplace outcomes. It compares pre-change and post-change evidence to identify benefits, drawbacks and actions required.
Change Readiness Assessment
A Change Readiness Assessment measures how prepared people and teams are for a planned workplace change (eg. a move, redesign or new hybrid policy). It identifies strengths, gaps and practical barriers so leaders can plan and reduce risk.
Desk Hoteling
Desk hoteling is a system where employees reserve a workspace for a set period rather than having a permanently assigned desk. It enables flexible, shared use of desks to support hybrid working and optimise office capacity.
Desk-to-Employee Ratio
The desk-to-employee ratio measures the number of desks (or dedicated workstations) available relative to the number of employees, typically expressed as desks per employee or employees per desk. It's a simple metric used to guide space planning, hot-desking policies and capacity decisions.
Hot Desking
Hot desking is a flexible seating approach where employees use any available desk rather than having assigned seats. It’s commonly used to increase space utilisation and support hybrid or mobile working patterns.
Occupancy Rate
Occupancy rate is the percentage of available workspaces (desks, meeting rooms or floors) that are occupied during a defined period. It shows how much of your space is actually being used.
Peak Occupancy
Peak occupancy is the highest number of people present in a workplace, floor or room during a defined time window (for example a day or week). It identifies the busiest moments that drive space demand and service levels.
Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE)
A Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is a structured review of how a new or changed workplace is performing after people start using it. It gathers feedback and evidence about comfort, use, and outcomes so teams can fix problems and optimise the space.
Space Right-sizing
Space right-sizing is the process of aligning the amount and type of workplace space with how people actually work, so organisations provide the right number of desks, meeting rooms and collaboration areas for current and expected demand. It balances occupancy, cost and employee needs rather than simply cutting or expanding space arbitrarily.
Space Utilization
Space utilization measures how much of your workplace (desks, meeting rooms or square metres) is actually used over a given time period. It shows where space is under- or over‑used so teams can make evidence-based decisions about layout, capacity and policy.
Work Setting Typology
A work setting typology is a named classification of the different kinds of spaces people use for work, grouped by the activities they support (for example focus, collaboration, socialising or learning). It provides a consistent language to design, measure and manage workplace space.
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