Workshifting How-to Kit for
Executives
Workplace observation guide
Observing your existing workplace is a critical step in the design of a next-generation workplace—an open,
fluid environment in which people can work and collaborate more freely to become more productive. This task
is often outsourced to a third-party consulting company, such as Jones Lang LaSalle or CBRE Group Inc. The
information collected in a workplace observation and utilization study helps your organization understand how
people leverage different spaces within a workplace. This document provides a high-level summary of the way
a workplace environment is typically assessed.
Workplaces analyzed
Identify the office buildings or workplace environments you will observe and assess as part of your workplace
redesign effort.
Location
Occupancy length
Departments
Individual work areas
Meeting rooms
Informal collaboration
spaces
Lunch rooms and other
social areas
Workshifting How-to Kit
Office Space 1
Where is the office
located?
How long has the space
been occupied?
Which departments are
located in the defined
workplace? What % does
each department
represent?
What type of individual
workspaces does this
office space include
(high-walled cubes,
offices, open seating,
etc.)?
What types of meeting
rooms are available in
this office space?
What types of open
collaboration spaces are
available in this office
space?
What types of lunch or
social areas are available
in this office space?
Office Space 2
Workplace observation guide
Office Space 3
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Workplace observations
To gather a comprehensive view into each facility and its utilization, you should observe the entire workplace
environment, including individual work areas, meeting rooms, open collaboration areas, lunch or social areas
and any other facilities. This will help you adapt your workplace to support how and where people want to work
while optimizing occupancy costs. Four key areas should be analyzed when redesigning a workplace; space
quantity, layout, quality and utilization.
1) Space quantity
Observation approach
• Collect data from the entire facility
• Observe every space, including offices, cubicles, conference rooms, break rooms and other areas
• Mark how many of each type of space there is on a given floor and in a total office facility
Data analysis
• Determine whether there are any gaps in specific space types by floor and across the total facility
• Assess whether the space allocations appear unbalanced by floor and across the total facility
2) Space layout
Observation approach
• Collect data from the entire facility
• Observe every space, including offices, cubicles, conference rooms, break rooms and other areas
• Capture a visual diagram of how the different types of space are spread out across each floor and the
total facility
Data analysis
• Determine how accessible the different types of space are for user groups
• Assess any misaligned or misplaced spaces, such as a quiet room positioned too close to a popular
break room
3) Space quality
Observation approach
• Collect data from the entire facility
• Observe every space, including offices, cubicles, conference rooms, break rooms and other areas
• Rate the quality of key space attributes, including aesthetics, noise level, air quality, natural light,
temperature, furniture, privacy, space for collaboration, space for storage, etc.
• Mark what technology and resources are available, including projectors, video and voice conferencing,
speakers, whiteboards (including digital), phones, scheduling tools, LCD monitors, laptops, PCs, mobile
devices and wireless networks
• Test technology in multiple spaces
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Workplace observation guide
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Data analysis
• Determine which spaces have the highest and lowest quality ratings
• Determine how important low-rated quality attributes are to the given space
• Determine which spaces have technology gaps and how important it is to fill those gaps
• Assess how new or outdated the available technology solutions are by space
• Understand how much it would cost to fill a technology gap or update each technology solution
4) Space utilization
Observation approach
• Collect data every 1.5 – 2 hours during business hours for 1 – 2 weeks
• Observe all spaces, including offices, cubicles, conference rooms, break rooms and other areas
• Measure whether people are in the location, or not, at each given time
• Mark all locations that are vacant
• If people are in one of the spaces, note how many people are in the space
• If people are in one of the spaces, note what they are doing in the space
Data analysis
• Determine utilization differences by time, day of the week, user group and space
• Perform an initial analysis of how mobile the workforce is within that workplace environment
• Determine where people are collaborating or interacting with each other
• Understand how many people are in a single meeting room or collaboration area at one time
• Determine how much time is spent on different types of activities in each space
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Workplace observation guide
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