What is Space Management?

Space management refers to the work surrounding control, supervision, and management of a business real estate portfolio or physical assets. Space management can be seen as a sub-branch of Facility Management and is often included as part of an integrated workplace management system (IWMS). Control, supervision, and management of space can include using single space management software assets, such as desks and meeting rooms, all the way to entire floors, buildings, or multiple buildings using integrated workplace management systems.

Especially now, when companies are shifting towards a hybrid mode of working, the management of a business's physical assets is becoming increasingly important. The surplus of office space, or the wrongly designed office space, can have a vast impact on both office costs and employee retention. For example, lack of seating, insufficient collaboration spaces, or shortage of equipment for digital meetings are active obstacles for employees in conducting their day-to-day work.

Furthermore, lacking a clear understanding of an office space's overall utilization makes it even more difficult to optimize space after employee demand. Space Management is the process in which facility managers and business leaders seek to gain these insights, build workflows around the areas of improvement and then maintain the set standard of their office space.

Even though the concept of space management seems straightforward enough, it's still a field involving many different steps. For example, it's one thing to maintain an office building, meaning managing fault reports, solving issues with the property, and exchanging broken resources, but a complete other to analyze office space utilization and create future strategies for one's office space.

A Facility Manager´s biggest challenge lies in finding easy and workable solutions that can combine all of these different aspects of space management – from floor planning and maintenance all the way to employee experience and retention. The best space Management tools on the market today make sure that all relevant aspects of space management, Control, Supervision, and Management are all included in one single platform. But how do we create a sustainable space management strategy?

Why Is Space Management Important?

Space management is a vital function of any organization. It involves planning, evaluating, and using space effectively to support the core business. Both office space management as well as facilities management. Space management can improve productivity and lower real estate costs while minimizing energy consumption and environmental impacts. Organizations must use every square foot of space to its maximum potential to stay competitive and meet their goals. To keep up with hybrid work models, managers of facilities must make smart decisions about their space and space utilization.

Effective space management can make for a much better workplace experience and employees that are more productive and happy, as well as help, attract future talent. An effective plan will help identify inefficient use of space and implement solutions to improve the situation for better future space allocation. It can also help you identify space-related issues, such as inefficient storage.

Space management can help your company save money on facilities and equipment. Real-time data on usage patterns can help you repurpose spaces to better meet your business goals. This data can also be used to justify expansion if necessary. This data can also make it easier for employees to book the right space for their needs, such as conference rooms, meeting rooms or other room reservations. Ultimately, better space utilization will lead to a greater return on investment.

Manage office space is vital

A well-designed office helps your employees feel comfortable and motivated. A space that is not too cramped or too small will most likely increase their work productivity. Office managers are also responsible for providing a comfortable and efficient working environment. They must consider the requirements of each employee. Depending on the type of work environment, an employee may need more space to complete a task or meet a deadline, but not too much space.

Effective space management practices include tracking physical space inventory, managing occupancy information, and developing spatial plans. Managing office space is vital to retaining and motivating employees. Effective facility management requires a clear understanding of space. It is the foundation for other activities and processes. It also allows an organization to manage costs and maintain operational performance.

Space management software helps the facility management team make informed decisions on the most effective use of office space. By analyzing accurate space data in a space management system, workplace admins can predict the needs of employees and adjust workspaces accordingly. This makes space management a valuable tool for both small and large businesses. They can improve efficiency by ensuring that employees have the space and appropriate square feet they need to feel comfortable.

Space management software and analytic capabilities using sensor technology

When it comes to space management software and other great tools for space management solutions, the first and most important aspect of a space management solution is to havedetailed and easy-to-use analytics. Improvements to having effective space management cannot be made without measurement and occupancy data. The first step to creating a sustainable real estate strategy is through analytics. Make sure that the space management solution you adapt includes sensors in their offering. Even if some space management software offers great booking solutions for employees, so booking data can be analyzed, this is most often not enough to get a clear view of how office space is actually used. Sensor data is an easy and affordable way to get precise and accurate data on space utilization and how single resources, up to complete buildings, are used on a day-to-day basis. This gathered data can, later on, be used to make strategic decisions about office space use and potentiallychange layouts to cater further to employee demand and need, such as a hybrid workplace.

Space management solutions with a clear floorplan overview

A clear floorplan overview can seem superfluous for many but is one of the most essential blocks in adapting an easy-to-use and manageable space management strategy. Having an interactive floorplan model as a part of your space management system makes it easy to locate all resources and understand the layout of your real estate and facility space. When using sensor data to analyze usage, having an interactive floor plan at hand makes it easy to understand the general flow of movement in the office and why certain areas are more popular than others. This is very useful for strategic planning and space inventory. An interactive floorplan also has benefits for employees, as they can easily see where resources in the office are available and understand the overall layout of the office space.Overall, having an interactive floor plan as part of your space management tools will save valuable time for both facility managers and employees alike.

Resource Management and Booking for Employees

One thing to remember is that space management also needs to have functions that enable employees to conduct their daily business smoothly. Many space management tools only cater to one or the other, but having an all-inclusive solution will help you bridge the gap between the management of office space and the actual usage of office space. Having a solution in place that helps employees book resources, and find the most optimal resources for their work, will greatly enhance the usage of your office space and also create a more satisfied workforce. This can usually be done by adapting to aHot Desking solution or Room Booking Software.

Fault Reporting Functionality

Space Management does not only entail control, strategy, and supervision but also office space maintenance. There are solutions on the market that gives everything from advanced analytics,resource booking, and also fault reporting, making it easy for employees to send support requests to a centralized hub. When the fault reporting function is connected to an interactive floorplan, fault reports can be displayed where the issue has occurred, which both alerts other employees and make them easy to find for facility personnel.

The benefits of space management

The benefits of space management are many. It can improve efficiency and make an impact on your company. For example, it can improve productivity by reducing the need for manual processes. It also helps your employees enjoy a seamless working experience. There is less worry about meeting room availability, desk setup, or other facilities when they use the physical space in the office in the most efficient way possible.

Want to know more about space management? Contact our experts to find out what type of solution fits your specific needs. Read more about Flowscape's Space management solution here.

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