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If badge swipes and desk bookings do not tell the whole story, what does workplace performance look like beyond utilisation, and is the answer landing with the board?
Utilisation vs Performance, hosted by Simon Privett of Embrava, examined what workplace teams measure when attendance figures fall short, and how that evidence is received by leadership.
Tribe Host: Simon Privett
Co-Hosts: Sarah Tait (Lloyds Banking Group), Louisa Kidson (Travers Smith), Hanro Hennig (Wise), Keith Begley (Snap Inc), Rebecca Milne (Haleon), Lee Maddin (Interpath) and Chloe Baum (LinkedIn)
Scribes: Ismah Khan and Suha Kamran
Utilisation Data Only Tells Part of the Story
No single data source explains workplace performance. Access-card swipes, desk bookings, Wi-Fi connections and sensors each answer a different question: a desk booking shows intent and a badge swipe shows presence, but neither shows what employees do once they arrive. Many of the Tribe described combining data from several sources, including catering, meeting room usage and surveys, instead of chasing a single figure.
Attendance averages were highlighted as particularly misleading. Tuesday to Thursday regularly sees peak demand while Mondays and Fridays are much quieter, so designing around average occupancy produces severe overcrowding midweek and wasted space on quiet days.
Many of the Tribe felt capacity should be planned around real peak patterns, and that the measure to move towards is overall workplace performance, with utilisation as one input.
Data Shows What Happens, People Explain Why
Quantitative data identifies patterns but cannot explain human behaviour. Ghost bookings, badge sharing and unexpected use of space are behaviour problems more than space problems, which makes direct observation and ongoing conversation essential.
One US headquarters had persistent HVAC issues that sensors could not explain until on-site teams noticed employees routinely propping meeting room doors open. Small positive touchpoints, such as a popular barista or effective collaboration areas, can lift the overall office experience out of proportion to their cost.
The Tribe largely agreed that workplace teams need to pair data with human insight, and that being able to measure something does not always mean you should.
Leadership Expectations, Office Attendance, and Alignment
Return-to-office expectations vary widely, from flexible hybrid models to mandatory multi-day requirements, and leadership expectations often differ from actual attendance. Some leaders see physical presence as a direct driver of performance, while others look for evidence of broader outcomes such as productivity, collaboration, talent retention, culture and belonging.
There was broad agreement that global mandates often fall short, and that expectations are best set by role requirements, career stage and local leadership. One approach discussed was asking new joiners to attend the office five days a week for their first six months, to support learning, mentoring and cultural integration, before moving to a three-day hybrid model.
Many of the Tribe believed attendance policies should reflect role requirements, employee development and measurable business outcomes.
Justifying Investment Through Flexible Design and Reliable Data
Workplace strategy has to stay flexible enough to absorb shifts in headcount, working styles and business priorities without costly renovations. Reliable occupancy and performance data strengthens the business case for real estate decisions, such as adjusting a desk-to-employee ratio (0.75, for example) or evaluating cost per visit alongside cost per square foot.
Data can validate a major move: one organisation saw a 27% increase in attendance after relocating to a larger, better-designed space, although performance still needs to be tracked independently. Data can also prevent unnecessary capital expenditure by challenging proposed changes, and in one London office usage data supported a quick switch from underused soft seating to phone booths.
The Tribe largely agreed that clear evidence is what justifies investment, demonstrates value and challenges unverified assumptions.
Biggest Opportunity: Connecting Attendance to Performance
Many of the Tribe saw the greatest opportunity for workplace teams as moving the conversation from “How many people came in?” to “What did the workplace enable?” Combining system data with direct observation and employee feedback lets teams answer leadership expectations with evidence rather than opinion.
Pilots allow teams to prove what works, such as relationship-focused spaces for engineering teams, before committing significant capital, which gives workplace leaders a stronger voice in strategic decisions.
For the next 12 to 24 months, the priorities that emerged were more on-site observation and direct conversation, metrics for productivity, collaboration, retention and cost per visit alongside attendance, and more small-scale pilots before wider rollout. They also included consistent baseline experience standards across locations with room for local culture, better data architecture, ownership and quality, and financial and real estate decisions that take employee experience and spatial performance into account.
Biggest Challenge: Interpretation and Data Foundations
Collecting data is the easier part; many of the Tribe saw interpreting and acting on it as the primary hurdle. Leadership teams are often divided between those who believe presence drives performance and those who rely on outcome metrics, which makes consensus difficult.
Regional differences in how metrics are measured, and rapid headcount growth that outpaces lease cycles, complicate long-term real estate planning. Many of the Tribe believed the answer is to go back to basics and establish strong data governance, architecture, ownership and integrity before adding advanced analytics or automation.
OCCUPEERS took place on 13 October 2026 at Fulham Pier, London.
Find out more about the event at space-plus.org/occupeers
