Month: August 2022

3 Challenges Higher Ed Space Planners Need To Think About This Fall

Universities are becoming aware of the need for more space as students get ready to return to campus for the fall term. As the semester approaches, space planners in higher education are at the center of disputes about space because there isn’t enough of it. They keep coming back to one central question: What has happened to campus space since universities sent students home?

Everything from the design of buildings to their maintenance may need to change to fit a new framework. The goal of a higher education space planner is to improve the student experience, which requires a re-evaluation of conventional space allocation. Here are some challenges that higher education institutions should think about now and in the foreseeable future.

1. LIMITED CAMPUS SPACE HINDERS HOUSING NEEDS

As the fall semester begins universities find themselves overbooked due to increased enrollment. Lack of housing is one of the biggest concerns in higher education right now. Universities, without enough dorm space, are turning to hotels and even neighboring campuses to accommodate students.

While some overbooked institutions, such as the University of Tennessee and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte are using hotels as a means of housing their students. University of Iowa, on the other hand, reopened a residence hall it closed five years ago as temporary dormitories.

McCoy Real Estate had an interesting suggestion for the University of Arkansas, where enrolment has increased by approximately 1,000 students year over year. In a tweet, they advise parents of an out-of-state University of Arkansas student who does not have on-campus housing to buy a house for their child.

Purdue made the clever decision to purchase a four-story Aspire complex on State Street as an inventive solution to the housing problem. The big purchase is a necessary stopgap measure as they brainstorm long-term solutions for campus space planning.

2. MORE LAB SPACE NEEDED

The fight for the label “research university” has colleges drawing attention to their lack of labs and allocating space and resources to lab development in their master plans. Brown University responds to this need with a massive acquisition. In July of this year, Brown University acquired 10 properties in the Jewelry District from the Care New England health system, with intentions to construct a new laboratory. Brown wants to expand its research capabilities and be prepared for pandemics in the future.

Brown University isn’t the only one in the quest for additional laboratory space. However, the question remains: how can higher-learning institutions add these types of buildings quickly and without significant expense? Adaptive reuse, a practice within facilities management of repurposing old space into new building types instead of a complete demo and rebuild, is a reasonable solution. Adaptive reuse can assist universities in converting existing facilities into sustainable and cost-effective laboratory space with little time and expenditure.

3. VALIDATING ROOM, BUILDING AND COMMON SPACE RESERVATIONS

As campus footprints shrink, higher education space planners are in action to provide building occupants with the space they need. Room reservation technology only gets them so far – not all booked spaces get used in the end. Colleges turn to space planning teams to free up bookings or direct students to underutilized spaces. For instance, Thomas Jefferson University located in Philadelphia, has a smart space management team, Space Management & Room Reservations (SMRR). They schedule events and classes in individual spaces on campus and work to accommodate non-academic events.

University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University are also in the running to validate rooms and space available on-campus for events and meetings. The need for validation arises because faculty members believe they require privacy from time to time. According to Margaret Serrato, workplace strategist at AreaLogic Workplace Strategy, the need for privacy and a quiet place to do heads-down work that is accessible to students is important. Providing the right workspaces to accommodate the ways that individuals work is a reasonable resolution.

HOW CAN OUR SOFTWARE HELP HIGHER ED SPACE PLANNERS?

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, one of our customers, used our software to help them decide library staffing hours and cleaning schedules, among other things. Armored Things enables customers to gain real-time insights and historical overlays for predictive analytics with spatial intelligence. With our software, customers can understand estimates of peak usage and density to best optimize their space.

Nupur Patra contributes to the Blog and Social Media channels for Armored Things. She is currently a Graduate Student at Northeastern University in the Digital Media program.

The Evolution of People-Counting Technology for Space Management

There are four people sitting in a room designed to hold fifty. Does it matter? Strategic Space Planners responsible for multi-building corporate and college campuses say yes. Leasing agreements and building maintenance are major budget items for large employers and universities. But how do Strategic Space planners validate building, floor, and room utilization?

1. FIRST, THERE WERE CLICKER STUDIES

For many years, corporations have been utilizing clicker studies to gather employee data and occupancy analytics. They were used to shed light on where you need to increase collaborative spaces and the average number of people in a meeting room. The problem is that these manual studies become instantly outdated, capturing a moment in time not a true representative of use.

Facilities leaders found that manual counts lack the precision required to meet the transformational needs of today’s office space. Also, because these analytics aren’t connected to other types of data such as meeting room scheduling tools, what you have is occupancy data without context. Context becomes a driver in terms of what to change in order to maximize your space. Manual clicker studies don’t provide facilities leaders the ability to track patterns or visualize their spaces and how it’s being used.

2. HERE COME SENSORS

Facilities leaders began looking to sensors to gather employee data and space utilization analytics. Sensors were able to provide granular data about how many people may have occupied space, such as a conference room.

Sensors were able to do what clicker studies never could, which is to allow operation teams the ability to visualize their space in a format that could be easily understood.

Although sensors appeared to be a better way to measure occupancy, they came with many challenges. Like all on-premise hardware solutions, sensors require installation and maintenance which drives costs up. And if you’re managing a sprawling campus, scaling a sensor-based occupancy strategy becomes costly quickly.

3. OCCUPANCY CONCERNS DURING COVID-19

The emergence of the coronavirus resulted in people focusing on occupancy more than ever before. Overcrowded spaces soon became corporations’ biggest concern. Hot topics included occupancy monitoring and counting the number of people entering and exiting a building.

Apps such as the Doorman app which was originally marketed towards security staff at clubs and bars can now be used for routine occupancy monitoring. Occupancy data is no longer just a security concern, but can be crucial when making leasing decisions and designing office spaces for employees.

Corporations had to reduce their office space or restructure their office spaces to accommodate a workforce that was not likely to return to a 5-day office. They had to get creative. This meant turning unused conference rooms into new common areas for employees to reduce vacant space.

4. THE RETURN TO OFFICE AND CAMPUS

The evolution of technology relied on more sophisticated views that leveraged historical data for predictive future usage. A new campus experience combined with a return to office plan meant Senior Leadership Teams were reconsidering why they had to build or expand. For example, The University of Iowa is converting residence hall lounges into dorm rooms as enrollment and occupancy spikes.

This requires predictive analytics and software that can leverage existing infrastructures to collect space utilization information. Predictive analytics allows companies to understand patterns of life—how employees use office spaces over time—to inform major spatial decisions. The information is anonymized, so visual representations are provided without PII.

“If CREs can focus on utilizing data to look at employee behaviors on those data insight platforms, more so than chasing the next shiny technology object that’s being thrown at them, then I think that can be really helpful because there’s such an abundance of technology” says Robert Teed, Founder and CCO of Integri Group, quoted in an Armored Things Fireside Chat about the evolving role of CRE leaders.

The Armored Things platform allows users to uncover occupancy analytics and track patterns over time, relying on historical views to predict how a space will be used in the future.

Want to learn more about Armored Things Space Analytics Solution? You can visit our website or reach out directly to sales@armoredthings.com for a quick demo.

Alex Trotto contributes to the Blog and Social Media channels for Armored Things. She is currently a Northeastern University student in her sophomore year.

Predictive Space Analytics For Portfolio Management

Corporate facilities leaders are focused on optimizing attendance and deciphering how to provide accommodations that employees actually need.

A few years ago, companies were using clicker studies and sensors to collect office usage data and make workspace design decisions. Now, they are taking advantage of software and existing infrastructures like Wi-Fi to gather predictive analytics and inform their hybrid work strategies.

THE HYBRID SOLUTION STARTS WITH PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

Organizations started experimenting with manual clicker studies and sensor-based data for campus space planning, but that only got them so far. Today’s software-based solutions and spatial intelligence can harness utilization metrics – and are scalable, cheaper, and faster to get started. The information is anonymized, so visual representations are provided without PII. For example, the Armored Things platform allows users to uncover occupancy analytics and track patterns over time, relying on historical views to predict how a space will be used in the future.

When it comes to allocating space or making costly decisions to add or build space, predictive analytics can provide critical data to decision-makers.

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS CAN HELP:

Cost savings – What many companies don’t know is that an investment in smart space planning software can save them money per square foot and help them find cost savings at scale. For example, predictive analytics and space utilization software can help decrease deferred maintenance costs by providing data for relocations.
Reorient spaces – Predictive analytics can help facilities leaders reorient the workspace in a way that yields increased engagement and collaboration and lure employees back into the office. Companies like Amazon have begun to reevaluate their office designs in order to meet future employee needs. The pandemic has changed the way people connect and work, so it’s crucial that office buildings reflect that.
Forecast new property investments – Space utilization data allows space planners to predict future utilization patterns and pinpoint what spaces are occupied and aren’t. This information can help facilities leaders with lease decisions. Corporations can decide whether they need to expand or reduce their office spaces. This is known as Capital Expenditures or funds used to acquire, upgrade, or maintain capital assets.

HOW CAN COMPANIES USE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO RE-ENGAGE EMPLOYEES?

Companies can use space utilization software from Armored Things to measure occupancy and utilization patterns in order to make future spatial decisions – and in the end, save money.

Using predictive analytics, we are able to aid space planners by showing them where underutilized spaces exist based on usage over time. Armored Things works with Strategic Space Planners across the U.S. to optimize office spaces and help drive decisions around building leases and scheduling.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW CAMPUS EXPERIENCE?

We also help Higher Education officials prepare for the next chapter of on-campus learning by allowing them to solve space disputes and meet new space requests with hard data.

This sort of data is shared between offices including Space Planning, CIOs, Chancellor, and the Registrar. We help universities like the University of Tennessee Knoxville redefine and connect their campuses with modern cloud technologies.

Want to learn more about Armored Things Space Analytics Solution? You can visit our website or reach out directly to sales@armoredthings.com for a quick demo.

Alex Trotto contributes to the Blog and Social Media channels for Armored Things. She is currently a Northeastern University student in her sophomore year.

6 Things To Know About The New Workplace Experience

The rules for the new workplace experience are still being written. Employers are walking a fine line as they try to offer up a smart space and place for employees to get their best work done – and not simply reopen the same old offices.

So, what have we learned in the last two years? A lot of things, as it turns out. Here’s 6 things to know about the new workplace experience – trends that CRE and HR leaders know are here to stay.

1. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK

Companies are studying if a shorter week might solve some of the workforce’s biggest concerns as work and work life continue to evolve. The four-day workweek is a solution that makes sense for some companies.

4-Day Week Global is a not-for-profit community that researches and supports a shorter work week. Their research says 63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent with a four-day week. A four-day workweek is already supported by 85% of American adults, according to 4-Day Week Global. Companies of all sizes – including Microsoft – are giving it a whirl.

Microsoft did a small trial in Japan. During the summer of 2019, it gave its 2,300 employees every Friday off with no pay cut. Microsoft’s expectations were exceeded. When sales per employee were used to measure productivity, the company saw a rise of almost 40%. Microsoft said that the trial was a success due to short meetings and remote conferencing. The shift happened because workers only had four days to do a week’s worth of work.

A four-day workweek isn’t just for large companies; it’s been explored at a lot of organizations around the world as a way to improve the new workplace experience.

2. PROXIMITY BIAS IS REAL

“There are still harmful stereotypes that people working remotely are less productive or that flexible work means a loss of collaboration because people aren’t in the same space,” says Blessing Buraimoh, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, EMEA Workforce Advisory at JLL, quoted in this piece on Proximity Bias and other stereotypes associated with the new flexible workplace.

This “proximity bias” may have unfavorable long-term effects on workers and the organizations they work for. The bias needs to be worked on since it appears that most businesses will never return to the outdated 9–5 feet on the floor system.

3. COLLABORATIVE SPACES ARE IN DEMAND

Companies that embrace some remote and hybrid scheduled employees may nonetheless desire modern work spaces, trusting that regular office use would promote employee collaboration.

Companies aim to make conference rooms more hospitable and conducive to collaboration in order to entice workers back to the office. In a Wall Street Journal article about companies’ plans to remodel offices, President and Chief People Officer of Salesforce Brent Hyder stated that Salesforce strives to create shared spaces for teams to collaborate in conference rooms by replacing desks with couches and televisions. The goal is to create a pull towards the workplace rather than a push.

4. HYPERFLEXIBLE SPACES ARE CRITICAL

In a lot of industries, 40% space underutilization rates are real – a number no longer tolerable as corporate and college campuses begin to understand smart space planning.

That means multi-purpose spaces, configurable spaces, and shared spaces need remodeling.

As gatherings grow less formal and hybrid work patterns bring fewer people physically into conference rooms, the size and shape of the traditional conference room is evolving. For better or worse, the ways we use conference rooms is fundamentally changed – which means a new pattern of utilization.

5. SHARED WORKSPACES ARE BACK IN VOGUE

The New York Times’ Emily Woo reports that employees are choosing flexible co-working spaces over conventional offices because they allow them to sign short-term contracts or drop in to shared spaces as needed. These co-working spaces are currently overflowing.

However, even in these co-working spaces, replicating the atmosphere of a pre-academic office is the aim for some businesses. One of the first businesses to return to a WeWork space was a start-up, Merge, that creates business software for payroll, accounting, and human resources. It expects its employees to come in at least four days a week. After the official workday wraps up, they attempt to make WeWork’s common area feel like their own workspace by hosting a shared “work dinner” there.

6. HYBRID IS MAINSTREAM

HR leaders must assess how these trends will affect their organizations both now and in the future, as well as how much they will alter their strategic objectives and goals. In order to draw in and keep talent, an organization’s EVP must include a commitment to well-being.

In one Accenture survey, 83% of 9,326 workers say they prefer a hybrid model — in which they can work remotely at least 25% of the time. At the same time, these employees need to feel connected to a corporate culture and their teammates, and more than 65% across all age groups say they want to see other coworkers regularly.

The new workplace experience is about working smarter – from anywhere.

To learn more about how Armored Things is helping CRE leaders make the most of their spaces, check out our CRE Guide or reach out directly to sales@armoredthings.com for a quick demo.