Using Athena Analytics to Improve Workplace Space Utilisation

How well is your office space really being used? With hybrid work and flexible schedules, many organisations struggle to understand which areas are busy and which are underutilised. Relying on assumptions or guesswork can lead to inefficient layouts, wasted resources, and frustrated employees. Understanding space patterns is now more critical than ever to make informed workplace decisions.

Let’s see how Athena Analytics can turn raw utilisation data into actionable insights that improve efficiency and support smarter workplace planning.

The Importance of Space Utilisation

Space utilisation matters because underused or poorly allocated areas carry real costs. Rent and service charges do not fall just because desks sit empty or meeting rooms remain booked but unused. Without reliable utilisation data, organisations frequently overestimate demand and misallocate resources, which leads to avoidable expense and operational friction. Accurate insight into space use helps organisations align their workplace to actual needs, rather than assumptions.

Better space utilisation also supports workforce experience. Unnecessary crowding of popular areas or persistent shortages in meeting rooms can frustrate staff and reduce productivity. Understanding how space is used at different times of the day and week allows organisations to adjust layouts, optimise booking policies and ensure that the workplace supports people in doing their work. This evidence also strengthens decisions about future estate commitments.

What is Athena Analytics?

Athena Analytics is a workplace data platform that shows how spaces are actually used. It combines information from room sensors, booking systems and usage logs into intuitive dashboards and reports that reveal occupancy patterns, trends and anomalies. This gives organisations a clear picture of which areas are overused, underused or inefficient, allowing them to make targeted improvements to space planning and daily operations.

Athena Analytics modules include:

• Occupancy Analytics: Measures space occupancy and people flow to support optimisation decisions.
• Queue & Dwell Analytics: Provides insights on traffic bottlenecks and dwell times in key zones.
• IEQ Analytics: Reports indoor environmental quality metrics to support productivity and comfort.
• Sustainability Analytics: Tracks resource usage patterns to support sustainability targets.
• Room Amenity Analytics: Offers room utilisation details and equipment status to support better scheduling. 

How Athena Analytics Improves Space Utilisation

Athena Analytics gives organisations a clear view of how their spaces are actually being used and, more importantly, what to do about it. Instead of relying on occasional surveys or manual walk-throughs, teams can work from consistent, reliable data to guide both day-to-day operations and longer-term planning.

Here’s how Athena Analytics helps improve space utilisation:

• Reveal Actual Occupancy Trends: Athena Analytics shows how spaces are occupied in real time and over time, not just how they were booked. This helps organisations adjust workflows and policies based on what actually happens, rather than what was scheduled.
• Support Smarter Space Configuration: By identifying which room sizes and types are most used and when, Athena Analytics helps planners reallocate or redesign spaces to match real usage patterns. This ensures rooms are fit for purpose and reduces the need for costly additions.
• Improve Operational Workflows: It highlights locations or times with repeated issues like booking conflicts or low utilisation. Facilities and IT teams can prioritise improvements that prevent disruptions and streamline daily operations.
• Optimise Scheduling Practices: The platform reveals patterns such as frequent no-shows or late cancellations. With this insight, organisations can revise scheduling rules or implement policies that reduce idle time and maximise availability.
• Support Hybrid Work Planning: Usage data over days, weeks and months shows true demand for desks and rooms under hybrid schedules. This enables more precise planning for flexible work policies, ensuring spaces are neither over- nor under-provisioned.
• Provide Evidence for Estate Decisions: Longer-term utilisation trends give quantified evidence for lease negotiations, space consolidation or expansion. Organisations can approach these decisions with data that reduces risk and supports financial planning.
• Prioritise Resource Allocation: Athena Analytics helps clarify where investment will have the most impact, such as prioritising high-traffic areas for maintenance or technology upgrades. This ensures resources are used where they deliver the greatest operational value.
• Track & Measure Outcomes: With Athena Analytics, organisations can monitor the results of changes over time, validating the impact of interventions such as reconfigured layouts or new scheduling policies. This creates a feedback loop that supports continuous improvement.

Best Practices for Implementing Athena Analytics

Implementing Athena Analytics works best when treated as a strategic initiative rather than just a technical setup. With a clear approach, teams can use real-time insights to understand how spaces are used, plan for future needs, and make smarter decisions about space and resources.

Set Clear Objectives

Decide what you want to achieve, whether it is improving room availability, optimising desk space, or supporting hybrid work schedules. Define measurable outcomes so you can track progress. Clear objectives make it easier to prioritise areas and resources. Everyone involved understands the purpose from the start.

Start with a Pilot

Select a few representative areas such as open workspaces, huddle rooms, or collaboration zones. Run the pilot for several weeks to gather reliable data on occupancy and usage patterns. This helps validate assumptions and identify challenges. Early results build confidence before a full rollout.

Integrate All Relevant Data

Bring together occupancy sensors, booking systems, and usage logs into Athena Analytics. Combining these sources ensures dashboards and reports accurately reflect how spaces are used. Complete data enables better decision-making. Early integration avoids gaps that could mislead planning.

Communicate Clearly & Protect Privacy

Explain to staff why analytics is being used and how it helps improve the workplace. Use aggregated or anonymised data to prevent personal tracking. Transparency encourages cooperation and reduces resistance. Teams are more likely to follow policies supported by clear evidence.

Act on Insights & Review Results

Use the data to make targeted changes, like adjusting booking rules or redesigning underused areas. Track the impact of these changes over time to see if they meet your objectives. Continuous evaluation turns insight into improvement. Analytics should guide daily operations, not just long-term planning.

Scale Gradually

Once the pilot shows results, expand the deployment to more areas or buildings. Maintain consistent processes for setup, training, and reporting. Structured scaling ensures predictable outcomes and keeps data quality high. Gradual expansion also allows teams to adapt smoothly to changes.

Final Thoughts

Athena Analytics puts the full picture of office activity at your fingertips. With real-time insights from all spaces, it highlights occupancy levels, movement flows, and resource usage across locations, giving organisations the clarity to act immediately. This enables smarter decisions on layouts, scheduling, and facilities management, ensuring every area of the workplace adds value and supports productivity.

Beyond day-to-day operations, Athena Analytics provides the evidence needed for strategic planning. Long-term trends reveal how work patterns evolve, guiding space investments, hybrid work strategies, and operational improvements. By combining visibility, data, and actionable recommendations, organisations can optimise their workplaces with confidence, wherever their offices are located.

Take control of your workplace and make every space work smarter with Athena Analytics. Contact us to see how real-time insights can optimise your offices and support better business decisions.