One thing that I’ve seen over and over in my career is that few people actually realize the ways their workplace is used across the business. It’s not uncommon for a real estate group to have a complete misconception of the day-to-day reality of a site they are about to run a project in. This isn’t to say they are operating without asking first but it’s just as common that managers at the site don’t realize it either.
Most of our perceptions about how an office is used come from anecdotal information. We experience a shortage of conference rooms on the occasions that we go looking for them or we think things are too loud because we do a lot of heads down work. It also comes from hearing about things that are going on – but the things people usually share are bad events. Most anecdotes around the office are the negatives.
The day-to-day reality of most offices is that everything runs smoothly. There’s usually enough desks for everyone. Most people can get a conference room when they need it. Most people make use of the work areas to be productive. The biggest risk in a workplace change is breaking the culture.
How does one actually learn how the workplace really works? The basic blocking and tackling that occurs in any other group: asking people. Surveys on how offices are used go a long way and systems to track usage data around desks/conference rooms/equipment. Blocking and tackling is most of the job in most areas and it’s just as true in real estate.
The biggest difference between real estate and other areas is that a workplace design isn’t going to change much from when it is implemented. That design is going to be in place for anywhere from 5 to 10 to 20 years depending on wear-and-tear. Planning too much around today can actually be a bad thing because the primary requirement of an office space is to be useful for years to come.