How it works
Attendance is a people measure, not a space measure. It counts who came in and how often, whereas occupancy counts how much of the space was used. Two versions are common: daily attendance (the share of employees who came in on a given day) and policy attendance (the days each person attended against the days the policy expects).
The data comes from presence signals. Desk and room check-ins, automatic detection on the office network, badge swipes at the door and kiosk sign-ins each record an arrival. Bookings show intent, and people often plan more office days than they make, so attendance built on bookings runs high.
Attendance is most useful by team and by weekday. Team-level views show which groups use the office together and which rarely do, and before-and-after comparisons show whether a policy change moved behavior. Used this way it informs team days and space; used to police individuals, it erodes trust.
Ways to measure office attendance
Attendance needs a signal that knows who came in. Combining two, such as network presence and badge data, closes most gaps.
| Method | Counts a person as in when | Gaps | Effort for employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badge swipes | They badge into the building or floor | Tailgating, shared entrances and sites without readers | None |
| Office network presence | Their device is detected on the office network | People without the software, or who never connect | None once installed and signed in |
| Desk or room check-in | They check in to a booked desk or room | Missed check-ins and people who do not book | A tap, unless check-in is automatic |
| Bookings | They booked a desk or room | No-shows count as present; walk-ins are missed | Booking ahead |
| Sensors | Never: anonymous sensors count people, not who they are | Cannot measure attendance by person or team | None |
Formula
Attendance rate = (Office days attended ÷ Office days expected) × 100
- Office days attended
- Days on which each person had a check-in, network presence or badge arrival, summed across the group.
- Office days expected
- People in scope multiplied by the office days the policy asks for in the period, excluding leave, holidays and client-site days.
Worked example · illustrative figures
- A team of 25 has a policy of 2 office days a week: 25 × 2 = 50 days expected.
- Presence data shows 38 office days attended that week.
- 38 ÷ 50 = 0.76.
Attendance against policy: 76%.
How to measure it
- Define attendance once: any presence during the day, a minimum stay, or a check-in. Apply it everywhere.
- Use presence data, and decide whether lockers or parking count as being in the office.
- Take leave, holidays and client-site days out of the expected days.
- Report by team, location and weekday, and compare before and after policy changes.
Examples
- A firm expecting two days a week finds most teams at or above policy and one team at a third of it; that team works mostly with a remote client, so its expectation changes.
- Attendance data shows most people come in on the same two midweek days, so the workplace team schedules catering and events on those days.
Benchmarks
In CBRE's benchmarking, 70% of respondents said employees are in the office less than leaders require or expect, up from 61% in 2024.
CBRE, The Hybrid Reality (2026 Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights)
Common mistakes
- Counting bookings as attendance.
- Reporting one company-wide rate that hides differences between teams.
- Using attendance data to discipline individuals rather than to plan space and team days.
- Leaving leave, holidays and client-site days in the expected days, which makes attendance look low.
How Kadence helps
Kadence Workplace Insights reports attendance, occupancy and average weekly hours from check-ins and automatic presence, with a setting for whether lockers and parking count as being in the office. Insights Plus (WorkOps Pro or add-on) adds custom dashboards, including policy compliance reporting. Presence comes from the Kadence Agent on the office network, desk and room check-ins, kiosks, badge data or the API.
Workplace analytics · Workplace occupancy · Hybrid working coordination
Frequently asked questions
How do you measure office attendance?
Record arrivals from presence signals such as check-ins, office network detection or badge swipes, then compare the days attended with the days the policy expects, excluding leave. Report it by team and weekday rather than as one company-wide number.
What is the difference between office attendance and occupancy?
Attendance measures people: who came in and how often. Occupancy measures space: how much of the desks, rooms or floors was in use. A team can meet its attendance policy while its floor stays lightly occupied, if it has more desks than it needs.
Is tracking office attendance legal?
In most places, yes, with conditions. Data protection law generally expects a clear purpose, transparency with employees, proportionate data and limited retention. Measuring space use in aggregate carries less risk than monitoring individuals. Check local rules, such as works council requirements in parts of Europe, with legal advisers.
Why is office attendance lower than our policy?
Common causes are a policy people see no reason to follow, teams that do not coordinate their days, and bookings mistaken for attendance. Team-level data usually shows the pattern, and coordinated team days tend to move attendance more than reminders do.
How do I see who is in the office today?
Use a live view built from today's check-ins and office network presence, with bookings shown separately as the people who plan to come in. A good view shows who is in, who is out and whether they are in for the morning or the whole day, so you can find a colleague or message only the people on site.
Related terms
- Office attendance policy A rule that sets how often employees are expected in the office, such as a number of days per week or month.
- Occupancy rate The share of available desks, rooms or floor area in use, at a point in time or on average over a period.
- Presence data (sensorless occupancy) The record of who was actually in the building and when, from signals you already have: network, badges and check-ins.
- Badge data Access-control swipe records showing who entered a building or floor and when, often used to measure attendance.
- Return to office (RTO) An employer requirement that remote or hybrid staff spend more time in the office, either full time or on set days.
Sources
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed