Corporate Real Estate is hard. Our job is to provide space to a business that doesn’t give us all the information we need or real control over how space is used. It is a reactionary game that we play.
Trying to forecast how much space we need next year without an accurate forecast of the business is crazy. Trying to reduce risk through collaborative space and seat sharing is also out of the question if managers don’t enable their employees to use it.
Accurate forecasts start with information. Data is the currency of the current age. You can’t play Moneyball if the only metric you are given is last year’s batting average for players with more than 400 at bats. It is not even good enough for broad assumptions.
The question is, how much money are you leaving on the table by not knowing how you are using your real estate?