What is a right-sized workplace?

A right-sized workplace is one that has been re-organised or re-vamped to meet the needs of an increasingly hybrid workforce. It takes an open mind to embrace these changes, especially when you’ve invested so much in real estate. Keeping an office design stagnant doesn’t serve employees well. Their expectations change and develop over time. Traditional workplace norms don’t look the same as they did five, ten, or fifteen years ago, and they will continue to change as new generations enter the workforce.  

A right-sized workplace is dynamic, and always adapting to meet the needs of its users. Before the pandemic, you had an office that took up an entire floor of a building. But now, two years later, only a third of your employees have expressed a desire to be back in the office for one or two days a week. That means you’re looking at a significant amount of wasted, unused square footage — and real estate spend that isn’t benefitting employees.

Right sizing that workplace might look like giving up half the floor and implementing a hoteling desk policy for employees to be able to book a desk the day before they wish to come in. You might also add more collaborative workspaces and add some phone booths throughout since people are largely coming back to the office to collaborate (but also want privacy for the occasional video call).  

Right sizing a workplace is an investment in and of itself. It takes a team of dedicated facilities managers and workplace strategists, and a lot of new technology to create a truly hybrid-friendly, inclusive office. In addition, it pays off with happier employees, a more productive workplace, and an efficient work environment.

The Difference Between Downsizing and Right Sizing a Workplace

It can be helpful to know the difference between right sizing vs. downsizing. Downsizing automatically means giving up some space. However, while right sizing can include reducing the physical size of an office, it doesn’t have to. It can even mean increasing office square footage. Some offices are finding success with right sizing by simply overhauling the layout and usage of their existing space. Whether or not it makes sense to downsize an office space, redistribute square footage based on new employee needs, or just redesign it all depends on the behaviours and patterns of your employee base. ‍

Benefits of a Right-Sized Workplace

A right-sized workplace is an efficient, inclusive, flexible workplace. Some of the benefits of right-sizing an office space include:

1. Lower carbon footprint. When HVAC systems run on pre-set schedules, lighting and internet is based on predicted use, and real estate sits unused due to an increasingly mobile workforce, companies contribute unnecessary emissions. Why is lowering your carbon footprint important? In addition to environmental benefits and creating a more sustainable workplace, lowering your carbon footprint through right-sizing saves money, improves facility utilisation rates and increases employee engagement.‍
2. Happier, more engaged employees. They know they’re trusted to get their work done at home but can also come into a well-designed office environment where they can collaborate in person with their teams. Why is improving workplace morale important? A strong work environment and positive company culture contribute to higher levels of productivity, lower turnover rates, and better retention, which saves significant hiring and turnover-related costs.‍
3. Massively reduced real estate spend over time. If your workplace surveys have shown vast unused space, it may make sense to reduce the size of your office when right sizing. In addition, smaller spaces are baseline much more affordable and incur lower heating, electric, and internet utility bills.. Why is reducing real estate costs important? A right-sized or optimised real estate portfolio provides a better ROI and serves employees in a more personalised way.
4. ‍A more inclusive workplace. A workplace that suits the needs of fully remote, fully on-site, and hybrid employees — if a working parent has found it easier to work from home, why shouldn’t they be able to? In addition, if a new college graduate can’t get anything done with their roommates at home, they have an office that gives them the right headspace to get their work done. Employees deserve to work for companies that provide the resources and support they need to thrive, no matter what their individual needs look like. When workplaces are more equitable and inclusive, they become more diverse, employees are happier, and they are more productive and successful in hiring top talent.

Solutions for Designing More Flexible, Right-Sized Workplaces

1. Survey Your Team. The first step of any major change to a workplace is finding out what’s currently working for your employees, and where and how they hope to work for the foreseeable future. Conduct an office space survey, and then cross-reference results with workplace behaviour data.
2. Use technology to audit your current office layout and usage. Sensor technology can help you corroborate your survey findings with usage data for individual desks, meeting rooms, conference rooms, individual executive offices, and whole sections of the office. With the workplace analysis data, you get from Studio DB, you can create a plan to restructure, renovate, and revitalize your workspace to meet the needs of a hybrid model.  If you’re seeing that few staff members are coming in more than once a week and that outdated massive board rooms are going completely unused (and you’re spending money heating or cooling those spaces!), you’ve got a clear path forward to make some changes.
3. Create different types of workspaces for varying work styles. Once you have executive buy-in to make some major changes to the office, make sure you’ve incorporated a balance of the following types of spaces:

• Collaborative spaces e.g., café-style areas with lots of communal seating
• Quiet spaces, like soundproof phone booths
• Desks that can be booked in advance  
• Spaces to unwind and socialise, since teams are coming back to the office because they miss the connection of office work
• Provide amenities based on objectives and employee needs, like meeting tech for hybrid teams

Once your space is flexible and built to accommodate meetings that are in-person, remote-only, and hybrid, the last piece of the puzzle is including best-in-class technology in every room and across your workplace tech stack. This will make hybrid meetings as smooth as possible and create an onsite work experience that’s seamless and enjoyable for your employees. A more inclusive work environment maintains a positive employee experience independent of work location.

Studio DB can help you know how well these changes are working, how much you’re saving on wasted energy, and how your employees are making use of the spaces you’ve provided and improved. For more info, get in touch with us, we’d love to chat.