Hybrid work has stopped being an experiment. Schedules have settled, return-to-office policies are in writing, and many organizations now face a lease renewal or consolidation with a question they can't yet answer: how much of our office do our people actually use?
The numbers back it up. CBRE's 2026 Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights found offices are busier than they've been since early 2020, with average utilization at 53%. But 73% of organizations named Tuesday their busiest day, and most are still short of the 65% they're aiming for. Hybrid isn't going anywhere, either: Gallup reports 52% of remote-capable U.S. employees work a hybrid schedule, a share that has held steady since 2022.
So the question has changed. It's no longer whether people will come back, but whether the office is built for the days they actually do. Answering that takes more than a hunch, and that's where workplace strategy & analytics comes in.
Workplace strategy & analytics is the practice of using occupancy data, utilization studies, and employee feedback to decide how much space an organization needs and how that space should be organized. It sits upstream of design and furniture selection: before anyone chooses a desk or a fabric, strategy answers how many desks, what kind, and where they belong.
In practice, it turns a real estate question into a people question. Who comes in, on which days, and what do they need to do once they arrive? The answers shape everything that follows, from the lease to the floor plan to the chair.
Headcount tells you who could come in. Occupancy and utilization data tell you who does, when, and which spaces they reach for. In a hybrid office, those two numbers can be far apart, and a plan built on the first one will miss.
CBRE's benchmarking shows why averages alone are misleading. Average utilization sits at 53%, but average peak utilization now reaches 80%. The same office can feel half-empty on Friday and overcrowded on Tuesday, which means wasted spend on some days and strained focus, comfort, and collaboration on others.
There's a people side to the gap, too. CBRE found 70% of organizations say employees come in less often than leaders expect. Data helps explain why: when the space doesn't support the work people come in to do, attendance policies have little to hold onto.
Getting these numbers right matters because office space is an organization's second-highest expense, CBRE notes. Measuring it is the first step to making it work harder for the people who use it.
A workplace strategy & analytics engagement combines hard data on how space is used with direct input from the people using it. Most engagements draw on six components, scaled to the size of the portfolio and the decision at hand.
Strategy data becomes the design brief. Once it shows how a team actually works, whether that's heads-down focus, frequent huddles, or client-facing meetings, it sets the mix of space types, which then guides design and furniture sourcing.
A common example: assigned desks sit empty most of the week while small meeting rooms are booked solid. The data points toward converting some workstations into enclosed focus and huddle space, such as Haworth Enclose booths, rather than adding square footage. The result is an office people can rely on to support the work they came in to do.
Because we're a Haworth Best in Class Dealer that also sources from more than 300 other manufacturers, the data drives the product choice, not the other way around. When nothing off the shelf fits an unusual floor plate or use case, Platform, our in-house custom furniture brand, builds pieces to the exact requirement.
For architects and interior designers, strategy data is a planning asset, not a competing service. It gives the design team a defensible program to design against, backed by numbers clients and stakeholders have already agreed to. We work alongside A&D partners to gather and interpret that data early, so the creative work starts from a brief everyone trusts.
The best time is before a major space decision is locked in, while the data can still change the outcome. These moments signal it's time to measure:
Once the data is in hand, the next step is often right-sizing the footprint to match it. At Hudson Pacific Properties, we've supported the same 400,000-square-foot relationship since 2015, reconfiguring and expanding as needs evolved. Ongoing measurement is what lets a space keep pace with its people instead of falling behind them.
What is the difference between occupancy and utilization? Occupancy measures how many people are assigned to a space compared with its capacity. Utilization measures how much of that space is actually used over time. In hybrid offices, occupancy can exceed 100% while utilization stays well below it.
Do we need sensors to start? No. Badge swipes, room-reservation records, and Wi-Fi data often cover the basics, and a short observation study can fill gaps. Sensors add precision for larger or more complex portfolios.
How long does a workplace strategy engagement take? The analytics phase typically runs weeks, not months. Timing depends on portfolio size and how much usable data already exists.
Does workplace strategy replace an architect or interior designer? No, it informs them. Strategy answers how much space is needed and for what; design answers what that space looks and feels like.
Who should be involved? Facilities, HR, real estate, IT, and finance, along with leadership and the design team. Employee input through surveys or focus groups belongs in the process from the start.
A hybrid office can't be planned on memory or headcount alone. Occupancy data, utilization studies, and honest employee input show what a workplace needs, so every design and furniture decision after that is made with confidence.
Contact us today to turn your occupancy data into a workspace that fits how your team actually works.