Accessing the Power of Data in Your Spaces

Paav Gandhi, Head of Product at Flexible Space Association Service Provider Member Accessia, looks at how flexible workspace operators can use technology to harness the power of people-attributed data to monetise and optimise their spaces while delivering a better member experience.

There’s so much data in your spaces

Every day, your members, customers and their guests engage with your flexible workspace in countless ways. Whether it’s using a meeting room, jumping in a phone booth for a quick call, catching up in the kitchen or simply sitting in the lounge, the way that customers use a space can give us so much insight into what works for them, and what doesn’t. And using that insight can help you improve your offering, keep customers coming back, and make sure you’re getting the most out of every inch of your floor space.

Putting that data to work

So why aren’t we doing more to map and understand these engagements? Building up a picture of movement, preferences and occupancy patterns over time gives us practical analytics, and those analytics help to unearth opportunities for improvement and optimisation. But if we only capture a few data points such as entry and exit times or visitor sign-ins and room bookings, we don’t get a complete picture of how members are using spaces, and how to improve that experience.

Getting the right technology in place helps build that detailed picture, giving us real-time, actionable data into how people are using your flex space.

More value for everyone

Imagine how easy it would be if members could just walk into a meeting room and start using it, without pre-booking. In making accessing rooms easier, you’d likely see an uptick in usage. And imagine what that could look like for your margins if you could automatically, and accurately, bill for that usage.

And it doesn’t need to stop there. Deploying smart analytics technology in your flex space can help you drive efficiencies as well as increase revenue. An accurate picture of use and occupancy makes it easier to predict future needs, whether it be where to allocate cleaning services based on which areas were heavily used or using historical data to see how much coffee to buy for the week ahead. It can even help answer some more fundamental questions around what kind of layout would work best, and how much space you should allocate for co-working desks or meeting rooms.

A tailor-made experience

Of course, effective technology should not only be about making spaces better, but also delivering a valuable visit experience that is second-to-none. And members that get more value from their visits are more likely to visit again (and again).

Good technology enhances an experience, great technology does so in a way that doesn’t get in the way of people getting on with what they need to, making it easier to access and use spaces and services. The data that technology can provide on member preferences and patterns give us a better understanding of the customer community, and by understanding what members like and how they use spaces, operators can tailor services to keep customers happy and coming back.

Future-proof flex spaces

The insights that can be gleaned from data collection in flex spaces, enabled by smart technology, can not only help operators make more from their spaces but also help contribute to member satisfaction, operational efficiencies and informed decision-making. The future looks bright for operators that harness the wealth of data in their spaces.

To find out how Accessia can help you get more from your flex space, visit accessia.com