GWA recap: How to create spaces that serve the modern workforce through data

Data-driven insights can enhance member experiences, improve space utilization, and boost overall efficiency, but many coworking and flex operators aren’t taking full advantage of the data available to them. Some businesses are collecting a lot of data but not analyzing it, while others aren’t collecting data at all—and are missing gaps in their space utilization as a result.

At this year’s Global Workspace Association (GWA) conference in Phoenix, Arizona, Kisi sponsored and co-hosted a panel tackling these issues. I was honored to lead the discussion titled “Harnessing Data for Coworking Success” alongside Daniela Mallarino and other industry experts. We explored how to harness data to make informed decisions, optimize operations, and drive growth. Join me in reviewing the key takeaways from the session to help you better understand what data matters for your space.

Getting to know the panelists #

Before digging into the details of the conversation, we’d like to give you some context about the renowned speakers who participated.

Flexspace offers ecommerce and revenue management for flex spaces. It serves as a pricing and occupancy connection for flex operators. Recognizing that the office of the past doesn’t serve workers and businesses of today, Flexspace is committed to creating a solution that aligns with the modern workforce.

REKalibrate provides services addressing occupancy, tracking, and workspace configurations. It’s a customer data platform that helps you better understand how you’re managing your space. REKalibrate gathers data through a variety of technologies, including turnstiles, sensors, and presence and tenant experience data from software like HqO, Cove, and Equiem.

Kisi was proud to serve as co-host and sponsor of the panel. We offer physical security and provide occupancy data from badges and mobile badges. We also provide an occupancy index and anomaly alerts, such as impossible travel events. With Kisi, tenant customers around the world can combine their occupancy data with IT and HR data to get a more complete picture of their workspace.

Types of data to track #

For some companies, the biggest challenge is determining what data is worth collecting. The answer differs from one organization to the next, particularly based on size and structure, but there are some essential metrics that are almost always useful.

Key data points #

Certain data points can tell you a lot about the strengths and weaknesses in your space management. Some of the most important ones to gather include:

• Check-in data: Track the days and times when members arrive.
• Occupancy metrics: Find out how many people are using the space at any given time.
• Bookings: See which desks and meeting rooms have the highest demand.
• Feedback: Discover what members have to say about the space and how you might improve it.

Each of these points serves an individual purpose, but combining them gives you a much deeper view of how effectively and efficiently you’re organizing your space.

The difference between space occupancy and utilization #

In the past, businesses often relied exclusively on occupancy to measure employee attendance and determine their space requirements. The rise of hybrid and remote work has made it necessary to look at workplace metrics in a new way. Space utilization is now an equally important point to consider.

Measuring building occupancy tells you how many people are in a space. While this is valuable information, it’s generally not enough to tell you everything you need to know to properly plan and allocate resources for your space.

Utilization, on the other hand, tells you how a space is being used. More specifically, it addresses who is using the space and what they’re doing during their time on-site. For example, space utilization lets you know how often people are using meeting rooms and other collaboration spaces and how much time they’re spending at specific workspaces. It also tells you how much or whether members are taking advantage of on-site amenities, such as cafeterias or break rooms.

Examples of actionable data #

When you collect the right data, it enables more strategic decision-making. Consider these statistics from Flexspace regarding the distance between member addresses and flex or coworking spaces:

• 45% of bookings are hyper-local, which means they were booked by addresses within less than 20 miles of the location.
• 37% of bookings are travelers or remote workers, booked by addresses that are less than 100 miles away from the location.
• 18% of bookings are commuters, booked by addresses of distances more than 20 and less than 20 miles from the location.

An organization looking at this data might decide to focus on potential members in their immediate area, recognizing that they’re the most likely to join. On the other hand, they might allocate additional resources to connecting with commuters, a potentially untapped pool of members.

Flexspace also offers insights into the rates of corporate and individual bookings. When reserving daypasses, 54% of bookings use Gmail email addresses belonging to individuals, while 56% of bookings are made with work email addresses. There’s a much wider gap when evaluating long-term bookings, with 21% made with Gmail email addresses compared to 79% made with work email addresses. This highlights that individuals are more likely to purchase short-term passes rather than make an ongoing commitment.

Data hygiene best practices #

The conclusions you draw from your data are only as good as the data itself. That’s why it’s so important to prevent errors, including outdated, incomplete, or duplicated information. These are some steps you can take to keep your data as clean as possible:

• Decide what key performance indicators (KPIs) you want to track
• Create standards specifying how you will name, sort, and store data points
• Use reliable data sources
• Regularly review and correct recently entered data
• Conduct audits to evaluate the state of your data

Adhering to these practices ensures you’re making decisions with the most up-to-date and accurate information.

The importance of integrated solutions #

Another key to gathering good data is using integrated systems. When you pull data from a variety of separate sources, inconsistencies are more likely. In addition to contradictory numbers, these systems might also use different formatting and naming conventions. This makes it difficult to get a holistic view of your space and draw sound conclusions. Integrated solutions bypass many of these problems by combining all your data into a single dashboard. This ensures that data is standardized and easy to sort.

Make an action plan for data analysis #

Reliable data is critical to understanding your space and planning for the future. To make that happen, establish your KPIs from the outset and build a data collection environment that promotes clear results. In addition, make sure you understand the difference between occupancy and utilization and how on-demand bookings can influence your space demographics and pricing strategy. Finally, develop a strategy for how you’ll analyze the data you collect and determine how it will impact your decision-making processes.

Want to learn more about data-driven space management? Follow Kisi for regular insights and updates. Get the inside scoop on upcoming events hosted by Kisi and watch past events on demand.