Planning provision

DYNAMIC CAPACITY PLANNING

What Krishnamurthy advocates in this arena is dynamic capacity planning. We’ve all seen how workplace demand has become more dynamic. No longer do employees simply expect a desk to work at. They expect a variety of space options, be it that dedicated desk, quiet areas, relaxation zones, standing desks, collaborative spaces or private meeting rooms.

“You can see this in daily variation in demand,” Krishnamurthy affirms. “Freespace’s data has already shown a huge discrepancy in the number of people in offices between Tuesday and Thursday compared to the eerily quiet Fridays. Equally, while typical occupancy might be 20-40 per cent lower than it was pre-pandemic, the desired use of collaborative spaces has actually gone up.”

To meet changing needs, offices need changing spaces.

With dynamic capacity planning, organisations assess capacity (space quantity, space typology and standards, asset, tool and services availability and flexibility variables) against demand (team space requirements based on a complex analysis of individual employee needs and preferences for activity-based working, time variables, and team performance goals). In doing so, they can identify opportunities where spaces can be changed to best service its users at all hours of the day.

“Let’s consider a company with 5,000 employees,” Krishnamurthy states.

“Most commercial buildings accommodate somewhere between 200 and 500 people places per floor, so such a company would more than likely be operating across multiple levels – say 10 floors.

“Where hybrid working models typically see occupancy levels at 40 per cent, suddenly there is an opportunity to change capacity based on demand. If only 2,000 people are coming in, I can look to cater to their needs on five floors, perhaps.

“The key is recognising that demand for spaces will change at different points. Mondays might see more people coming in to get their head down and require quiet spaces. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, however, might see people coming in to meet, collaborate and socialise, in which case they’ll need different spaces.”

Here lies the benefit of dynamic capacity planning. If companies have the knowledge, data and insights into how their spaces are used and what they need at all times, they may dynamically alter their spaces to meet those needs while also unlocking several other efficiency benefits.

“Perhaps the lower four floors are dedicated to head-down working, and upper four floors are dedicated to collaboration,” the CEO adds. “On Monday you might have four lower and two upper floors open, and Tuesday have two lower and four upper floors open.

“Resultantly, you’re able to meet demand while unlocking massive efficiency gains. When we talk about energy savings, we usually talk about using LED bulbs instead of regular bulbs and things like that. But imagine if you can shut off an entire floor. It would remove massive portions of your electricity usage, your gas usage, usage of your water, your waste generation and the need to dispose, to clear, to clean, to sanitise…”

It is for these reasons that Krishnamurthy argues that dynamic capacity planning is equally important, if not more so, than dynamic demand planning. Indeed, the former allows spaces to be used in a much smarter manner, benefitting both employer and employee.

DATA USE

Of course, the collection, analysis and use of data is imperative here. Indeed, smart employers will be able to interpret workplace data to respond to changing needs while also providing tools that use such data to positively empower their employees at work. Yet doing so is no easy task.

Krishnamurthy explains: “You need incredibly detailed and granular data – second by second, real time usage data. You need behavioural data. You need to know what is typical on every day of the week, hour of the day, minute of the hour. You need to know what happens on Thursday afternoons versus Friday afternoons, and when Monday really starts.

“You need to know what type of spaces are popular, what are not, what people use and what they don’t. Only then can you make intelligent decisions.”

Not only is obtaining that data a significant investment, but then using it to manage significant complexity for multiple teams over weekday hours is a complicated and evolving process. Therefore, despite the benefits that dynamic capacity planning can offer, companies should carefully consider if such investments are the right move for them before diving in.

Here, Krishnamurthy outlines three key criteria for consideration.

“First, you need to consider your capacity. If you’re a company with 200 people operating on one or two floors, it’s difficult to conceive how dynamic capacity planning will work for you,” he begins. “It’s much more likely to work well for a company operating across multiple floors, or even multiple locations, providing staff with the choice to frequent different spaces for different needs.

“Second, you need to have true strategic intent for your space. What I mean by this is you need to see the value in creating spaces that will make a positive impact on people’s lives. The goal is to create workspaces where people will want to come to and are enriched in coming to. If you simply want to save 20 per cent on your space, then dynamic capacity planning isn’t necessary – you can just downsize.

“Thirdly, you need to set clear, logical goals around what you want to achieve with your space. From HR to facilities management, all key stakeholders should be consulted to establish informed objectives. It might be that you want to boost employee retention, improve morale, enhance productivity, reduce costs or a combination of the above. The key is to identify what you want to achieve from the outset.”

Here, the CEO recommends consulting various parties experienced in workspace transformation and dynamic capacity planning to understand a variety of experiences, and therefore potential benefits and challenges, to help determine if it’s right for you. Freespace is facilitating this with a network of global partners that look into various aspects of flexible working.

For many companies that meet those three key criteria, however, dynamic capacity planning is continuing to become an increasingly attractive and logical path to take.

“It is the future,” Krishnamurthy asserts. “We live in a time of immense cost scrutiny, so companies will need to justify to shareholders why they’re holding onto certain leases and using spaces in certain ways.

“The only way you can do that is if you have the data to confidently state that your space is supporting your goals and achieving what you want to achieve, be it improving employee retention, employee satisfaction, driving sustainability agendas or something else.

“It is logical, and simply a matter of time before it becomes the norm.”