From Data to Decisions: 5 Ways to Optimize Your Office Using Utilization Insights

The traditional office, built for 9-to-5 desk workers, is no longer fit for purpose. Hybrid schedules, on-demand collaboration, and dynamic team setups are redefining how and when people use physical space. Modern workspaces must now:

• Serve multiple employee populations (hybrid, full-time, occasional users),
• Adapt to new collaboration patterns and team dynamics,
• Align with cost-saving initiatives and sustainability commitments,
• And scale in line with business growth and operational needs.

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But here’s the challenge: how do you make strategic, cost-effective decisions when office usage is unpredictable? 

That’s where space utilization data comes in.

Whether you’re a facilities leader, workplace manager, or business executive, understanding how your space is used—and acting on that information—is critical to boosting ROI, optimizing operations, and improving the employee experience.

In this article, you’ll learn five practical, proven ways to use space utilization data to cut operational waste, improve employee satisfaction, future-proof your workplace strategy, and make smarter real estate investments.

Let’s dive in.

1. Cut Energy Costs by 30% with Smart Utilization Data

Most offices waste thousands of dollars monthly on heating, cooling, and lighting empty spaces. According to the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey, a typical 50,000 sq ft office building spends over $87,000 in annual energy costs—with heating, cooling, and lighting representing 54%–71% of consumption.

Yet office space utilization rates remain under 40%, a 45% decrease from the pre-pandemic global average of 64% (CBRE), meaning much of that energy is heating, cooling, and lighting empty spaces.

With space utilization data, facilities teams can change that. Space utilization data transforms energy management from guesswork to precision. By tracking utilization and occupancy trends, facilities leaders can:

• Turn off HVAC and lighting in unused areas.
• Automate systems based on booking activity or live usage.
• Allocate maintenance efforts where they’re most needed.

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Companies can reduce energy costs by 20–30% by dynamically adjusting lighting, HVAC, and cleaning schedules based on real-time and historical usage data. These savings also significantly support ESG goals (AEP).

🎯 Success Story: Brown Bag Films utilized data to review how their space is being used and identify the most popular spaces among their staff. By doing so, the animation studio was able to reduce unused space and lower its energy costs.

“We were using Skedda for a while and realized through the bookings data that we could condense some of our space.” – Aidan Murtagh, Director of Workplace Operations and Facilities at Brown Bag Films

In addition to energy costs, smarter use of space utilization data can also help organizations manage their workplace carbon footprint. Autovista Group reduced its carbon footprint by minimizing unnecessary travel and optimizing workplace energy consumption by adjusting office hours based on utilization data.

“Our company is ESG compliant, and we try to be as green as possible, so if just one person decides to come in and one of us has to be there for that one booking…  that is not efficient environmentally or otherwise.” – Vita Minas, Vendor Development Manager at Autovista

Reducing energy waste not only cuts costs—it also supports sustainability goals. With a data-driven approach, you can take action confidently without compromising on employee comfort.

Read more in our space management guide.

2. Stop Paying for Empty Desks by Rightsizing Your Office

Commercial office lease rates average $30-40 per square foot annually, with significant regional variants (Offices.net). But in most hybrid workplaces, 30-50% of that space remains empty on any given day (CBRE). That’s like paying for a full-time gym membership and going once a month. Companies that rightsize based on real utilization data can save 25–40% on lease and operational costs annually (JLL).

Your space utilization data can reveal information about:

• Average daily occupancy
• Peak usage day
• Lowest usage day
• Unused zones
• Wasted conference space

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Knowing this, you can make informed decisions about downsizing or reallocating space, and redirecting those savings for maximum business impact by:

• Identifying consistently underused rooms or zones.
• Consolidating floors or workstations.
• Subleasing extra space or pausing new lease expansions.

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🎯 Success Story: Lighthouse Credit Union achieved $10,000 in equipment savings by utilizing insights into desk usage to outfit only the desks used daily, thereby avoiding unnecessary equipment purchases and unlocking immediate, meaningful savings. 

“We probably saved easily $10,000 worth of IT equipment by not having to provision all these extra desks.” – Sean LaBrie, VP of IT Infrastructure at Lighthouse Credit Union

Space utilization data reveals not just how much space you need but also the kinds of space that your employees use the most (and the least). This isn’t just about cutting costs. It’s about aligning your workplace with how your people work today—and reallocating resources to more valuable business needs.

Explore our 3-step guide to rightsizing your office.

3. Design Spaces People Actually Want to Use

Your office was designed for 2019 work patterns, but your team operates in 2025 reality. Beautiful spaces that nobody uses are just expensive furniture showrooms. A well-designed space boosts productivity, fosters a positive culture, and enhances employee satisfaction.

Companies that redesign space based on real usage data are 3.8 times more likely to see high employee performance, 3.2 times more likely to enjoy high intent to stay among employees, and 3.1 times more likely to see low levels of fatigue among employees (Gartner).

Space utilization data can reveal the gap between your space design and actual work behaviors, revealing where design intent falls short of real-world behavior. You might discover that:

• Hot desks sit empty while collaboration zones are overbooked
• Certain teams tend to congregate in specific areas, while others are rarely occupied
• Quiet rooms are in high demand but poorly distributed throughout the facility

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Knowing this, organizations can then redesign their office layout for maximum productivity and satisfaction. You might undergo the following redesign strategy:

• Convert underused executive conference room to all-hands space or collaboration zones
• Establish team-based neighborhoods with flexible boundaries
• Create “focus cafes” with work-friendly seating and charging stations

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🎯 Success Story: Trent & Dove utilized data on employee usage to inform decisions about their layout. For the administrative team, having utilization insights into the office helped them make space design decisions. The organization was able to determine that a conference room they had considered gutting was, in fact, regularly used, and much more so than the team had believed from anecdotal evidence. Thus, the team scrapped the plan to eliminate the room for the better.

“Skedda helps us create a balance of supply and demand and understand what the right balance of desks versus meeting rooms versus team hubs is. We no longer find ourselves in situations where people cannot find a desk.” – Emma Cantrill-Jones, IT Project Manager at Trent & Dove

Use space utilization data to redesign layouts that meet the moment—creating neighborhoods, hot desking areas, breakout zones, and more.

Check out our tips on office design for great hybrid workplaces.

4. Turn Booking Frustration Into Workplace Satisfaction

Time spent looking for a place to collaborate is unproductive and can impact overall efficiency, and yet that’s what’s happening when office space isn’t used effectively. Gartner estimates the average employee spends 27 hours per year looking for available spaces to meet. Multiply that across your team, and booking friction becomes a massive drain on both morale and business results. 

Space utilization data can reveal certain “booking nightmares” and booking behaviors at your organization:

• “Ghost bookings” that were made “just in case” and never used (no-shows)
• Areas that rarely get booked—possibly due to location, equipment, or unclear access rules
• Patterns of last-minute cancellations or no-shows
• High-demand spaces with frequent booking conflicts

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Research by Gartner revealed that up to 30% of meeting room bookings are ghost meetings. Similarly, occupancy sensor data compiled by workplace consultants reveals that as much as 40% of booked conference rooms go unused due to no-shows or early departures. These no-show bookings tie up rooms that could otherwise be used by others, driving down overall utilization. 

The good news is that data-driven booking systems can dramatically reduce such waste. Once you have a clearer picture of your space utilization, you can take action to resolve these problems:

• Refine booking policies 
• Reassign underused rooms
• Promote under-the-radar spaces more effectively
• Incorporate check-in protocols

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A clunky space booking experience frustrates employees and leads to inefficient usage. With data, you can smooth out the rough edges. Space utilization data doesn’t just show you what’s broken—it reveals precisely how to create a seamless booking experience that people want to use.

🎯 Success Story: Actum Digital needed a desk and parking space reservation system that allowed them to map the complexity of their organizational structure without compromising ease of use. To ensure workplace satisfaction among their various business units, which have a mix of fully in-person and hybrid team members, they utilize data on office space and parking usage to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their office utilization across the board.

“It’s nice to see how certain space is allocated, especially for parking, because we have a lot of employees and not many spaces.” – Jan Opletal, a Security & Quality Specialist at Actum

A frictionless booking experience encourages people to make better use of the space and reduces stress for workplace admins.

Get inspired with 10 creative ways to use and book space in the modern workplace.

5. Build Your Workplace Future on Facts, Not Fantasies

Your next major real estate decision could cost millions and impact your business for the next 5 to 10 years. Unfortunately, most companies make these decisions based on outdated assumptions, gut feelings, and industry benchmarks that don’t reflect their unique reality.

Organizations leveraging space utilization data for strategic planning can achieve:

• Enhanced alignment between real estate investments and actual workplace needs
• Significant cost savings by identifying underutilized spaces and optimizing resource allocation
• Improved employee satisfaction through data-informed workspace designs (Disruptive Technologies)

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Beyond day-to-day operations, space utilization data serves a critical role in long-term planning. It helps you make strategic decisions grounded in real-world behavior. Space utilization data transforms high-stakes guesswork into confident, evidence-based strategy that aligns with your actual business needs. You can use it to:

• Forecast space needs by department or team
• Make informed decisions about expansions, downsizing, or reconfigurations
• Justify investments in technology, renovations, or sustainability initiatives

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🎯 Success Story: Space utilization data helped an energy technology company make informed purchase decisions for new laboratory equipment.

“We observed that several pieces of equipment were booked up to 90-100% of the time, providing us with compelling evidence to approach finance for additional units,” the Lab operations manager explained.  

Data-backed decisions reduce risk and increase stakeholder confidence, especially when high-stakes workplace investments are on the table.

Use our New Office Checklist for 2025 as a guide to plan smarter.

The Bottom Line: Smarter, Data-Driven Offices Are the Future

The modern workplace is transforming. Not just because of hybrid work, but also due to a convergence of pressures and opportunities:

• Escalating real estate and operational costs,
• Economic uncertainty demanding tighter cost controls,
• Evolving employee expectations for flexibility and purpose-driven spaces,
• Organizational commitments to sustainability,
• And the rise of smart workplace technology.

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In this new landscape, space utilization data is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s mission-critical. It helps workplace leaders create environments that are agile, efficient, and deeply aligned with how people actually work.

At Skedda, we believe that data-backed decisions are the cornerstone of resilient, future-ready offices. That’s why we continuously improve Skedda’s Insights Dashboard—a powerful tool that empowers you to collect, visualize, and act on your space data with confidence.

Want to see how it works? Book a demo and take the next step toward building a workplace that works better for your people, your budget, and your future.