Scenario planning helps workplace and real estate teams evaluate different future space options before making a decision. It models the likely impact of choices such as lease renewal, consolidation, or policy changes so leaders can compare cost, capacity, and employee experience before committing.
In facility management, scenario planning is the practice of modeling different future workplace options to understand how each one may affect cost, capacity, and space use. It helps leaders compare outcomes using data rather than assumptions.
Scenario planning is most useful when it helps leaders answer a small number of high-value planning questions.
1. Should we consolidate?
Compare current usage, projected headcount, and peak-day demand to assess whether space can be reduced without creating future capacity issues.
2. Can we absorb growth without new leases?
Test whether existing buildings have enough usable capacity to support hiring, reorganizations, or acquisitions.
3. What happens if we change hybrid policy?
Model how changes in office attendance may affect demand, layouts, scheduling, and capacity.
4. When should we act on expiring leases?
Review lease timing alongside utilization and future demand to decide whether space should be renewed, reduced, or exited.
Scenario planning is only as useful as the inputs behind it. Stronger models usually combine workforce data with real space-use data, such as: