Improving person to desk ratio became essential for a European perfumery and fragrance business needing to accommodate a growing workforce within its existing office. Its new layout used unassigned seating, but the facilities team lacked the occupancy evidence needed to understand whether the available space was being used effectively.
Understanding the capacity already available
OpenSensors deployed 226 desk and meeting-room sensors and provided utilisation analysis and bespoke reports. This gave the team a clearer view of how different spaces were used and where changes could help it make better use of its office.
Changing the person-to-desk ratio
The business accommodated 20% headcount growth within the same office, moving from one person per desk to 1.2 people per desk. Occupancy evidence helped the facilities team introduce more desk sharing and make room for the growing workforce.
The facilities team could examine occupancy by floor, community, day and time, giving it a more useful basis for discussions about hiring, extending the office or renting additional space.
“I can check occupancy of every desk and meeting room by floor, by community, by day and by time.”
Senior Facilities Manager, European perfumery and fragrance business
Planning for growth in your own workplace
A suitable desk-sharing ratio depends on your teams, attendance patterns and the work settings they need. Measure desk utilisation alongside peak demand before choosing a target.
Today, Observe supports workplace measurement, while Tessellate helps teams explore options and trade-offs using that evidence. Explore our hybrid workplace planning guide or discuss the capacity decision your organisation needs to make.
Download the original desk-ratio case study.
Here’s how this customer leveraged our utilisation software to maximise the use of existing space and grow headcount by 20%.