How it works
A POE combines what people say with what they do. Surveys and interviews capture satisfaction with comfort, noise, rooms, technology and the ability to do focused and collaborative work. Occupancy and booking data, observation and building data such as temperature and energy use show how the space is actually used and how it performs.
The findings are compared with the project brief. Did the new meeting rooms get used? Did neighborhoods fit their teams? Did people come in on the days the policy expected? Gaps become a list of fixes, such as reconfiguring rooms, moving teams or changing booking rules, and lessons for the next project.
A POE is usually run once people have settled, often some months after the move, and repeated later to check whether the fixes worked. A baseline survey and occupancy study before the move makes the comparison much stronger.
How to measure it
- Occupancy and use by space type, compared with the capacity planned in the brief.
- Employee satisfaction with the space, using the same questions before and after the move.
- Room booking and no-show patterns, to see which new spaces are used as intended.
- Building performance such as temperature, air quality and energy use, where data is available.
Examples
- After a refurbishment, a POE finds that phone rooms are always full while a large lounge sits empty, so part of the lounge becomes more phone rooms.
- A POE shows a team's neighborhood overflows on its anchor days, and the team moves to a larger zone.
Common mistakes
- Relying on a survey alone; opinions without use data miss what people actually do.
- Skipping the baseline before the move, which leaves nothing to compare against.
- Running the POE too early, before people have settled into the space.
- Collecting findings and never acting on them.
How Kadence helps
Kadence employee surveys (WorkOps Pro) collect pulse feedback inside the Kadence app, and Workplace Insights reports attendance, occupancy, no-shows and office heatmaps from check-in data. Together they show how people feel about a new space and how it is actually used, before and after a move.
Workplace analytics · Workplace occupancy · Workplace analytics metrics guide
Frequently asked questions
When should a post-occupancy evaluation be done?
Run it once people have settled into the space and new routines have formed, often a few months after the move, and repeat it later to see whether changes worked. Collect a baseline before the move too, so you can compare before and after.
What methods are used in a post-occupancy evaluation?
Most POEs combine employee surveys and interviews with measured data: occupancy and booking records, observation walkthroughs, and building data such as temperature, air quality and energy use. Using both kinds of evidence shows how people feel about the space and how they actually use it.
What is the difference between a POE and a utilization study?
A utilization study measures how much space is used and when. A POE is broader: it includes use data but also asks whether the space works for people and meets the goals of the project. A utilization study is often one input into a POE.
Who should carry out a post-occupancy evaluation?
The workplace or real estate team usually owns it, often with the design team or an independent consultant. An independent party can make people more candid in surveys and interviews, while the internal team brings the occupancy data and acts on the findings.
Related terms
- Space utilization study A time-bound exercise that measures how desks, rooms and floors are actually used, before a lease, consolidation or redesign.
- Workplace experience (WX) How employees experience the office and its services, from finding a desk and colleagues to hosting visitors and getting help.
- Office fit-out The work that turns shell or existing space into a usable office: walls, services, finishes, furniture and technology.
- Occupancy monitoring Continuous measurement of how many people use each building, floor, room and desk, and when, from presence signals or sensors.
Sources
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed