What Is Workplace Analytics?

Workplace analytics is the practice of collecting and analyzing data about how people use workspaces and how work gets done, in order to improve organizational effectiveness resources.liquidspace.com officernd.com . It goes beyond traditional HR metrics by looking at the broader work environment – for example, how office space is utilized, how often employees come on-site or work remotely, and how the workplace setup impacts productivity and collaboration engageforsuccess.org . At Gather Sciences, this data-driven approach is central to designing better workplaces. Gather Sciences uses workplace analytics to unlock the full potential of hybrid work through its Balanced Hybrid™ framework, which balances flexible scheduling with purposeful in-office interactions businesswire.com . Types of Workplace Analytics Workplace analytics spans several domains. The three main types are Utilization Analytics, Experience Analytics, and Performance Analytics yarooms.com . Each type focuses on a different aspect of the workplace: Utilization Analytics: This category examines how physical office space is used – often called office utilization data. It includes metrics like occupancy rates, desk and meeting room usage, and peak vs. average attendance. Utilization analytics helps organizations determine if they are using their space efficiently or if they have underused areas. For instance, tracking utilization can reveal high-traffic areas versus empty desks, guiding decisions on office layout or downsizing/upscaling needs officernd.com officernd.com . (In Gather Sciences’ Balanced Hybrid™ framework, utilization data (e.g. office occupancy) is a key input for tailoring hybrid schedules to ensure the office is used in a predictable, effective way businesswire.com .) Experience Analytics: This focuses on employee experience metrics – in other words, how employees feel and engage at work. It uses qualitative and quantitative data to gauge satisfaction, engagement, and well-being. Common inputs include employee satisfaction surveys, employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), sentiment analysis, feedback, and turnover rates yarooms.com yarooms.com . Experience analytics helps identify issues affecting morale or culture. For example, a low engagement score or high turnover might signal problems with the work environment or policies. By analyzing these insights, companies can take steps to improve workplace culture and retention (e.g. adjusting policies or providing better amenities). Performance Analytics: This type looks at work output and productivity – essentially, the hybrid work performance of teams and individuals. It involves metrics such as task completion rates, project delivery times, absenteeism, revenue per employee, or other KPIs related to performance yarooms.com yarooms.com . Performance analytics shows how effectively employees are working and can highlight obstacles to productivity. For instance, data on time spent in meetings vs. focus work can reveal if too many meetings are hindering productivity. By tracking performance analytics, managers can make data-driven decisions to boost efficiency (like revising meeting policies or providing better tools). These three facets together give a 360° view of the workplace. Utilization data shows how space is used, experience data shows how employees feel, and performance data shows what results are achieved. By combining them, organizations can correlate workplace conditions with outcomes. (For example, Gather Sciences’ Balanced Hybrid™ framework leverages all three: it collects office utilization data alongside employee sentiment and performance indicators to design personalized hybrid work plans businesswire.com .) In practice, robust workplace analytics software will integrate data across these areas to deliver holistic insights. Key Workplace Analytics Metrics Below are some key workplace analytics metrics (KPIs) and what each one tells you. These metrics cover utilization, experience, and performance aspects of the workplace: MetricWhat It Tells You Space Utilization RateThe percentage of office space or desks in use over time. A high utilization rate indicates your workspace is being used efficiently, while a low rate may reveal underused areas (opportunity to consolidate space). Peak OccupancyThe maximum number of people present in the office at once (as a percentage of capacity). This shows whether you’re nearing capacity at busy times or operating well below limits. It helps in office utilization data analysis and right-sizing decisions (e.g. if peak occupancy is consistently 50%, you have more space than needed). Average AttendanceThe average number of employees coming on-site per day or per week. This reflects how often people use the office, especially in hybrid setups. Tracking attendance trends can inform staffing (e.g. having front-desk or cafeteria services on busy days) and measure hybrid work adoption. Employee Engagement ScoreA composite index (from surveys or analytics) of how engaged and satisfied employees are with their work and workplace. Higher engagement correlates with better productivity and retention. This metric tells you the overall health of your workplace culture and whether employees feel motivated and supported. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)A specific measure of employee satisfaction and loyalty, gauging how likely employees are to recommend their workplace to others. A positive eNPS means employees are generally happy and would endorse the company as a great place to work, whereas a negative eNPS signals issues affecting morale yarooms.com . Employee Turnover RateThe percentage of employees who leave (voluntarily or involuntarily) in a given time period. A high turnover rate can indicate problems in the workplace or job dissatisfaction. In context of analytics, this helps you understand if changes in policy or work environment are improving retention over time. Revenue per EmployeeTotal revenue divided by number of employees (or a similar productivity metric). It’s a high-level indicator of workforce productivity and efficiency. Changes in this metric might reflect how well the work environment is enabling employees to perform (e.g. if revenue per employee rises after workspace improvements or new collaboration tools, it suggests those investments paid off). (Note: The above metrics are examples – organizations will choose KPIs that align with their goals. Workplace analytics dashboards often include many more data points, from meeting room no-show rates to collaboration-time vs. focus-time ratios, depending on what insights are needed.) FAQs What are workplace analytics used for? Workplace analytics are used to make data-driven decisions that improve the office and work experience. Organizations leverage these analytics to optimize real estate and reduce costs (e.g. identifying unused space), to enhance employee experience, and to boost productivity envoy.com . Rather than guessing how the office is performing, companies use workplace data to answer questions like: Are we using our space efficiently? Do we need to reconfigure the layout or adjust capacity? How engaged and happy are our employees? By analyzing trends, management can refine policies – for example, changing a hybrid work policy if data shows low attendance, or investing in better amenities if engagement scores are low. In short, workplace analytics help plan smarter, spend resources wisely, and create a better workplace for everyone envoy.com . For Gather Sciences and its clients, these insights are crucial for making work “better than ever” by aligning the office environment with people’s needs businesswire.com . What is the difference between workplace analytics and HR analytics? Workplace analytics and HR analytics are related but focus on different domains. Workplace analytics looks broadly at how the work environment is used and how it impacts people – covering space utilization, work patterns, and the overall workplace experience beyond individual HR processes engageforsuccess.org engageforsuccess.org . In contrast, HR analytics (sometimes called people analytics) deals more directly with traditional HR topics: hiring, retention, compensation, training, and employee performance reviews engageforsuccess.org . For example, HR analytics might analyze recruitment effectiveness or diversity in hiring, whereas workplace analytics might analyze office occupancy or collaboration patterns. To put it simply, HR analytics is about optimizing people processes, while workplace analytics is about optimizing the place and way work happens. Both use data to drive decisions, but workplace analytics goes beyond HR data to include environmental and operational data. (People analytics – often considered a subset of HR analytics – zooms in on individual employee behavior and sentiment, usually via surveys and performance data engageforsuccess.org .) In practice, an organization might use HR analytics to improve its hiring and use workplace analytics to improve how employees interact with the office space. Are workplace analytics only for hybrid work? No – workplace analytics are valuable in any work model, whether hybrid, fully in-office, or even remote. While the recent rise of hybrid work has certainly increased interest in workplace analytics (since managers can’t physically see office usage day-to-day), the principles apply everywhere. Even in a fully on-site company, analytics on space usage and employee engagement can lead to cost savings and a better office setup. And in a remote or distributed team, you might use “digital workplace” analytics (like tracking usage of collaboration tools or patterns in online communication). In fact, experts note that workplace analytics is “more essential now than ever – regardless of whether teams are working remotely, in the office, or hybrid” yarooms.com . The hybrid trend simply makes the data more crucial, because attendance fluctuates and old assumptions about office needs may no longer hold true resources.liquidspace.com resources.liquidspace.com . Gather Sciences developed the Balanced Hybrid™ framework precisely to address hybrid work challenges using data. This framework uses workplace analytics to balance flexibility with structure – for example, analyzing team schedules and office usage to ensure hybrid work performance stays high and that in-office days are truly valuable businesswire.com . But even if your company isn’t hybrid, the insights from workplace analytics (like which amenities employees use most, or what drives employee engagement) are still extremely useful. What kind of data is used in workplace analytics? Workplace analytics draws on a wide variety of workplace data. Key data sources include: space usage data (from occupancy sensors, badge swipes, booking systems for desks/rooms), attendance records (who is in office and when), employee feedback (surveys, pulse polls, sentiment analysis), digital activity data (e.g. meeting hours, email or messaging patterns, task completion from work software), and relevant HR data (like attrition or absenteeism rates). Modern workplace analytics platforms often integrate multiple systems to gather these metrics. For example, IoT sensors might feed data on real-time desk occupancy, while an HR system provides data on overtime hours or sick days. As an illustration, implementing workplace analytics could involve tools like occupancy sensors and badge systems to measure foot traffic and desk usage, survey tools to capture sentiment, and productivity software to log how work is getting done engageforsuccess.org . All this information is then aggregated and analyzed for patterns. A comprehensive solution will ensure data from different sources (physical space, HR systems, project management apps, etc.) is combined into a coherent picture engageforsuccess.org . The exact data used will depend on the questions a company wants to answer. For instance, if you’re interested in collaboration effectiveness, you might analyze meeting room booking frequencies and survey data on teamwork. If you’re focused on office cost efficiency, you’d look at occupancy rates and utility usage. The bottom line: workplace analytics can leverage any data that sheds light on how work gets done and how the workplace can better support it. Is workplace analytics software secure? Reputable workplace analytics software is designed with security and privacy in mind. Organizations understandably worry about “Big Brother” monitoring and sensitive data. The good news is that modern analytics solutions employ strong safeguards: data is often aggregated or anonymized to protect individual privacy, and strict access controls are in place for sensitive information. In fact, privacy-first analytics solutions ensure companies collect meaningful workplace data while respecting employee privacy and complying with data security regulations framery.com . This means that while you get insights on trends (e.g. how many people used the office each day, or overall email response times), the system isn’t exposing personal details about any one employee to just anyone. Most workplace analytics tools follow compliance standards like GDPR for data protection. They typically allow employees to opt-in or view their own data as well, increasing transparency activtrak.com . Additionally, data is secured through encryption and enterprise-grade security measures. When evaluating a workplace analytics platform, companies should check for certifications (ISO, SOC 2, etc.) and features like role-based access (so only authorized roles see certain data). In summary, yes – if you choose a trusted vendor, workplace analytics software can be used securely. It’s about finding a solution that balances insight with confidentiality. Gather Sciences, for example, emphasizes ethical data use in its analytics approach, building trust so that analytics become a tool for empowerment rather than surveillance. How do I get started with workplace analytics? Getting started with workplace analytics involves a few key steps: Define Your Goals: First, clarify what you want to achieve or learn. Are you trying to reduce office costs? Improve employee engagement? Measure hybrid work effectiveness? Identifying the questions or KPIs that matter most to your organization will guide your approach officernd.com . For instance, a goal might be “increase space utilization from 60% to 80%” or “improve our employee satisfaction score this year.” Gather Existing Data & Tools: Take stock of what data you already have. Many companies have some data available (badge entry logs, meeting room calendars, survey results, etc.). Also, assess your current tools – do you have sensor infrastructure or digital analytics in place? Sometimes starting with the data on hand can provide immediate insights. Choose the Right Analytics Platform: Next, evaluate workplace analytics software or platforms that fit your needs. Look for solutions that can aggregate the data sources you care about (e.g. integrate with your badge system and HR system) and provide dashboards or reports. Ease of use and strong security are important criteria. Some organizations start with analytics features in tools they already use (for example, Microsoft’s workplace analytics within Office 365, or analytics modules in space management software) before moving to specialized platforms. Pilot and Iterate: It’s often wise to begin with a pilot program. You might roll out sensors on one floor, or analyze data from one department, to test the waters. Use this pilot to ensure data collection works and to validate that the insights are actionable. Then iterate – refine what metrics you track or add new data streams as needed. Act on Insights: Analytics is only as good as the actions you take. Once data starts coming in, translate findings into an action plan officernd.com . For example, if the data shows low office attendance on Fridays, you might experiment with turning that into a remote work day, or if a certain meeting room is always over-booked, you might create another collaboration space. Set up regular reviews of the data (weekly or monthly dashboards) and include those insights in decision-making meetings. Build Organizational Buy-In: Communicate with employees about what you’re doing and why. Emphasize that the goal is to create a better workplace for everyone, not to micromanage. When employees see positive changes (like improvements in the office or work policies) as a result of data, they’ll be more supportive of analytics initiatives. Also ensure leadership is championing the effort – when managers actively use data in their planning, it reinforces a culture of data-driven decision making. Getting started can feel daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone. Consider leveraging experts or partners. For instance, Gather Sciences offers guidance through its data-driven Balanced Hybrid™ framework, helping organizations ask the right questions and set up the technology needed to capture answers. According to one guide, the process is: “First, figure out what information you need and what you’re trying to drive... Then find the right software to gather and analyze the data... Once you’ve analyzed your data, turn your findings into actionable strategies” officernd.com . In other words, start with strategy, implement the tools, and then use the insights to take action. By following these steps, even a small initial analytics project can quickly demonstrate value, paving the way for a more comprehensive workplace analytics program. Remember, workplace analytics is a journey. Over time, you can expand from a few basic metrics to a rich, continuous stream of insights that help you create a workspace where people want to be – and that drives the success of your business. With careful planning and the right partners, you’ll be well on your way to a smarter, data-informed workplace.