How it works
A useful KPI set covers four areas. Space: average and peak occupancy, desk and room utilization, and no-show rate. People: attendance against policy, how often teams overlap in the office, and satisfaction with the office. Cost: cost per seat, cost per person and space per person. Operations: service request response times, room and desk readiness, and vendor performance.
Each KPI should point to a decision. Peak occupancy sets desk numbers; no-show rate sets booking rules; room seat use sets room sizes; cost per seat frames the real estate case. A KPI nobody would act on belongs in an appendix, not on the dashboard.
KPIs are read in pairs and over time. Occupancy without attendance hides whether low use is a space problem or a policy problem; cost without utilization hides whether space is expensive or simply empty. Before-and-after comparisons around a redesign or policy change show whether it worked.
Workplace KPIs: formula, meaning and data source
Express ratios as percentages where it helps. Keep one definition per metric across every site.
| Metric | Formula | What it tells you | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupancy rate | Units in use ÷ units available | How much of the space is in use | Check-ins, network presence or badge data |
| Peak occupancy | Highest units in use on a typical day ÷ units available | Whether the busiest day fits | The same presence data, by day and hour |
| Space utilization | Seat-hours used ÷ seat-hours available | How intensively capacity is used | Presence data with people counts per space |
| No-show rate | Bookings with no check-in ÷ total bookings | Whether booking rules and auto-release work | Bookings and check-ins |
| Attendance against policy | Office days attended ÷ office days expected | Whether the hybrid policy works, team by team | Presence data plus leave data from HR |
| Desk ratio | People assigned ÷ desks available | How much desks are shared | HR headcount and floor plans |
| Cost per seat | Annual occupancy cost ÷ seats | What each seat costs to provide | Lease, service and facilities costs |
| Space per person | Floor area ÷ number of people | How generous or tight the space is | Floor plans and HR headcount |
| Service request resolution time | Median time from request to close | How well workplace services respond | Ticketing or work order system |
How to measure it
- Choose five to eight KPIs tied to current decisions, each with an owner and a target range.
- Use one data source per KPI and document its definition.
- Report by building, floor and team: weekly for operations, monthly or quarterly for leadership.
- Show trends and before-and-after comparisons, not just this month's number.
Examples
- Space: average and peak desk occupancy, room frequency and seat use, no-show rate.
- People: attendance against policy by team, share of team days with most of the team present, office satisfaction score.
- Cost and operations: cost per seat, square feet per person, median response time for service requests.
Benchmarks
In CBRE's benchmarking, utilization rate was the most tracked workplace metric (83%), and increasing utilization was a top goal for 81% of corporate real estate teams.
CBRE, The Hybrid Reality (2026 Global Workplace & Occupancy Insights)
Common mistakes
- Tracking everything the tool can report instead of the few KPIs that drive decisions.
- Mixing definitions across sites, so buildings cannot be compared.
- Reporting averages only, when peaks drive capacity and complaints.
- Measuring space without asking people, which hides why use is high or low.
How Kadence helps
Kadence Workplace Insights reports attendance, occupancy, no-shows, heatmaps and average weekly hours, with CSV export. Insights Plus (WorkOps Pro or add-on) adds custom dashboards for leadership, including policy compliance reporting. Employee surveys (WorkOps Pro) add the people side next to the space data.
Workplace analytics · Workplace analytics metrics guide · Denbighshire story
Frequently asked questions
What KPIs should a workplace operations manager track?
Start with average and peak occupancy, desk and room utilization, no-show rate and attendance against policy. Add cost per seat for real estate conversations, service request response times for operations, and an office satisfaction score for the people side.
What are the most important space utilization metrics?
Average and peak occupancy, desk and room utilization measured separately, the gap between space booked and space used, and the spread between locations. Together they show how much space you need, of which type and where.
How often should workplace KPIs be reported?
Weekly for operational KPIs such as occupancy, no-shows and service requests, so teams can act quickly. Monthly or quarterly for leadership KPIs such as utilization trends, cost per seat and attendance against policy, where the trend matters more than a single week.
What is the most tracked workplace metric?
In CBRE's benchmarking, utilization rate was the most tracked workplace metric, at 83%, and increasing office utilization was a top goal for 81% of corporate real estate teams.
What office occupancy metrics should I report to leadership?
Keep it short: peak and average occupancy by site, desk and room use on busy days, cost per seat, and the trend over time. Leaders want to know whether the space is used, what empty space costs and whether that is changing. Name the data source behind each figure so the numbers can be defended.
Related terms
- Occupancy rate The share of available desks, rooms or floor area in use, at a point in time or on average over a period.
- Space utilization How intensively buildings, floors, rooms and desks are used against their full capacity over time.
- Cost per seat The total annual occupancy cost of an office divided by the seats it provides, or by the seats actually used.
- No-show rate The share of desk and room bookings nobody checks in to, which makes space look busier than it is.
- Workplace analytics Analysis of bookings, check-ins, attendance and occupancy data to guide decisions about office space, policy and services.
Sources
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed