How it works
Allocation happens at several levels. The stack plan assigns departments to buildings and floors. Within a floor, the block or neighborhood plan gives each team a zone. At seat level, each desk is assigned to a person, reserved for a team, or left open to book.
Most hybrid offices mix these models. People who come in most days, or need special equipment, keep an assigned desk. Teams that come in on set days get a neighborhood sized to their busiest day. Everyone else books from a shared pool, often with rules on how far ahead and how often they can book.
Allocation is never finished. New starters, leavers, reorganizations and changing attendance shift demand every month. Allocation software keeps assignments, neighborhoods and booking rules in one place and uses occupancy data to show when a team has outgrown its zone or holds more space than it uses.
How to measure it
- Occupancy by team and neighborhood, against the capacity allocated to it.
- Share of assigned desks used on a typical day and on the peak day.
- Seats allocated per person by team, compared with each team's attendance.
- Reports of no space available, which often point to a zone sized for the average day rather than the peak.
Examples
- A finance team that comes in Tuesday to Thursday gets a neighborhood on those days, which opens to others on Monday and Friday.
- Frequent office users keep assigned desks, and when they are away the desks open for others to book.
Benchmarks
A US medical lab and diagnostic company provided 150 desks for 200 employees returning to its headquarters.
Kadence customer story: US medical lab and diagnostic company
Common mistakes
- Allocating by headcount or org chart instead of measured attendance.
- Sizing neighborhoods to the average day, so teams overflow on their busiest day.
- Keeping assigned desks for people who rarely come in.
- Changing allocations without telling people where they now sit.
How Kadence helps
In Kadence WorkOps, admins assign teams to neighborhoods and people to permanent desks, schedule neighborhoods by date for rotating teams, and set booking rules, booking credits and priority access. Bulk CSV upload updates spaces and assignments at scale, and Move Manager (WorkOps Pro) handles new starters, leavers and relocations with seat recommendations. SpaceOps plans allocation floor by floor and publishes approved plans into WorkOps.
Desk booking software · Space management · SpaceOps
Frequently asked questions
What is desk allocation software?
Desk allocation software keeps track of which desks belong to which people or teams, which are open to book, and the rules around them. It shows allocations on floor plans, handles changes when people join, leave or move, and uses occupancy data to show whether each allocation still matches demand.
What is the difference between space allocation and space planning?
Space planning designs how space is laid out and how much of each type is needed. Space allocation decides who gets which of those spaces and on what terms. Planning changes the floor; allocation changes who uses it, and it happens far more often.
Should desks be assigned or shared in a hybrid office?
Most hybrid offices use both. Assign desks to people who come in most days or need special equipment, give teams neighborhoods on their office days, and let everyone else book from a shared pool. Review the mix against attendance data regularly.
How do you allocate office space fairly between teams?
Base allocations on measured attendance and the work each team comes in to do, not on seniority or headcount. Size each team's zone to its busiest regular day, publish the rules, and review allocations on a set cycle so teams can see changes are based on data.
What can I use instead of a spreadsheet to manage office seating?
Decide the rules first: which desks are assigned to a person, which belong to a team area and which anyone can book. Then record them on your real floor plan rather than in a spreadsheet, so new hires, leavers and team changes update one record everyone sees. A seating chart tool shows the result on the plan and keeps it current as people move.
Related terms
- Assigned desk A desk reserved for one person, either permanently or on set days, instead of being shared through booking.
- Neighborhood A zone of an office set aside for a team, project or activity, often on set days, so people who work together sit together.
- Occupancy planning Deciding where people and teams will work across floors and buildings, and how much space each needs, as the organization changes.
- Block plan A floor-level layout that assigns each team to a zone of one floor, between the stack plan and the seat-level plan.
- Hot desking and hoteling Two ways to share desks: hot desking is first come, first served; hoteling means reserving a desk in advance and checking in.
- Office seating chart A map or list of who sits where in an office, showing assigned desks, team areas and shared seats.
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed