4 ways to impress your executives using workplace data

As a workplace leader, you hold the keys to business-critical information: space and occupancy data. Your workplace management platform is a treasure trove of data that can help you make your office more efficient and productive. And you know who values this data? Executives. Business leaders value data that helps them make smarter, more cost-effective business decisions—and workplace data can do just that. 

In this post, we’ll show you four ways to use space and occupancy data to make smarter decisions on everything from your workplace design and attendance policy to your real estate portfolio and staffing needs. We’ll also share key insights to include in your reports to show off your team’s work and the impact of what you’re already doing.

1. Prove that you’re utilizing space efficiently

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a significant shift as employees return to onsite work in varying capacities. Currently, about one-third (33%) of U.S. employers require full-time in-office attendance—and this number is expected to grow in 2025.

The workplace is one of your company’s biggest investments, so proving its value is key for your executives. This starts with leveraging data: tracking who’s coming into the office, how spaces are being used, and how employees are engaging with onsite events. These insights not only validate the ROI of your efforts but also help identify areas for improvement to maximize impact​.

Here are some key insights to call out in your executive report:

• Average number of employees onsite. This gives executives a high-level look at how well employees follow your attendance policy. In addition to tracking the average number of employees onsite each week, month, and quarter, include month-over-month and quarter-over-quarter growth. Executives can use these insights to assess how workplace occupancy trends have evolved over recent periods and compare them to past performance.
• Busiest and slowest days onsite. This insight helps executives understand when employees prefer to work in the office, which can inform workplace policies and strategies. For instance, if data shows most employees prefer coming in midweek, executives might consider adjusting policies to make onsite work mandatory from Tuesday to Thursday. This way, they can foster a better company culture and promote more onsite collaboration, while also taking employee preferences into account.
• Teams and departments most frequently onsite. This gives executives a look into which groups of employees rely on the workplace most. With this information, they can make more informed decisions about what onsite amenities to invest in to best support these groups. You can also pinpoint the groups that come into the office the least and collaborate with their team leaders to identify ways to improve the workplace experience for these employees.
• Average meeting rooms and desks utilization. This helps executives understand how much of their floor space gets used. You can use this data to see if your current workspace layout makes sense for your organization. For example, if data shows meeting rooms on one floor are consistently full while individual workstations remain underutilized, you could repurpose some desks to create meeting pods. This change could increase the number of weekly meetings and turn unused space into areas employees actively use.
• Overall utilization: Solutions like Envoy provide an efficiency score—a single metric that highlights workspace performance at a glance. This reveals trends in space usage, simplifies decision-making, and helps executives track the impact of workplace design and policy changes.
• Comparative analysis: This helps executives understand how their company’s space and resources are utilized compared to similar organizations. For example, they can compare desk and room utilization, employee attendance, and visitor traffic. These insights can inform strategic adjustments to optimize workplace use and improve efficiency.

2. Show how your business gets value from its current workplace investments

‍Data on employee foot traffic and space usage is another way to highlight your team’s wins and help you make the case for additional investments. 

For instance, say you rolled out several workplace initiatives to encourage more attendance onsite. You can compare employee foot traffic data from before and after these initiatives launched to show how onsite attendance has increased. Then, you can show executives how changes to your space have helped increase usage and decreased wasted space. 

To highlight your workplace wins, set a goal for what you are trying to impact with your investment. For example, this might be foot traffic or meeting rooms booked. Then, pull a report from your workplace analytics software looking at month over month trends. Make note of when a workplace change was implemented so executives can see how it might have impacted utilization over time.

‍3. Rationalize future real estate needs

‍Data on employee foot traffic and space usage empowers executives to make informed real estate decisions. It helps them assess whether current assets provide value and guides choices on expanding or downsizing their real estate portfolio.

For example, data showing your workplace nearing capacity could spark discussions about future locations and help executives plan for additional space needs. Alternatively, it could lead to strategies like staggered work schedules to accommodate more employees with less space.

‍Making major decisions without data can leave your leadership team in the dark about what’s best for both employees and the business. With solid data, they can create a work environment that keeps employees productive and satisfied while also optimizing real estate costs.

‍4. Right-size IT, security, and workplace staffing 

‍With a strong grasp on workplace occupancy trends, your executives will know when they need to increase their spending on the roles that support workplace operations (AKA your team!). 

For example, with more people onsite on a regular basis, your organization might need to hire additional security staff to keep the workplace secure. Similarly, it might have to provide additional IT and workplace support to ensure folks have what they need while they’re onsite. If you aim to increase headcount, occupancy data can also help you build a solid case to expand your team.  

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Workplace occupancy data can unlock opportunities for you, your team, and your business. Equipped with accurate data, you can share valuable insights with executives about employee foot traffic and space usage trends. Learn how to unlock even more data with an integrated workplace platform that connects to your existing tools.