In the flexible working era… Do you really know who is in your building?

By Paul Scott, CTO of Matrix Booking 

The way we use workspaces has evolved at a rapid pace. Hybrid working, shared offices and flexible schedules have reshaped how we work. In fact, as of early this year, 62 per cent of UK workers have the option to work from home regularly, and 16 per cent work from home exclusively. This is in stark contrast to the 4.7 per cent of UK employees who worked from home in 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic.

However, this shift in workplace evolution has shaped not only the physical office layout but also how people interact with these spaces. Now, employee-specific permanent desks and five-day weeks are mixing with hot-desking, unstructured attendance and organised team schedules.

While this shift brings new opportunities for flexibility and collaboration, it also introduces a huge challenge for facilities and workplace managers: visibility. On any given day, it’s difficult to know how many people will be in the office, where they’ll be sitting or even which teams will be working together. 

This results in inefficient space usage, frustrated employees and increased operational costs. Yet, this is more than just a logistical issue. It’s a health and safety issue. The question now is no longer about attendance, but about accountability: do you really know who is in your building?

Legacy is lacking 

Many organisations still rely on outdated tools to manage occupancy, from paper-based sign-in sheets to siloed digital datasets. But these legacy approaches were not designed with the complexity of hybrid work environments in mind. 

Fragmented datasets are often the result of multiple disparate digital systems – for example, separating employee attendance from visitor records – making it difficult to gain a unified view. Manual processes only compound the problem, offering even less visibility and control. They offer no real-time insights and leave critical blind spots when it comes to managing foot traffic, tracking visitors or preparing for emergencies. What’s more, they fail to reflect the flexible ways people use the office today. Simply put, they are no longer fit for purpose.

Yet, modern digital systems are not infallible; they present their own challenges. Organisations often face cultural and operational challenges with how they manage access to the building with Return-to-Office (RTO) mandates. Companies like PwC and EY aremonitoring swipe-card data to enforce in-office attendance, but these methods are often perceived as intrusive. When people feel monitored, they find workarounds – whether it’s sharing cards, signing in for others or simply avoiding entry systems altogether by not turning up. Trends such as ‘coffee badging’ – where employees check in briefly to meet attendance requirements before leaving – only add to the problem.  

This is only exacerbated in multi-tenant buildings or shared spaces, where employees, contractors, cleaners and visitors move in and out with little oversight. Access control systems might exist, but organisations often don’t own the data – landlords do – and it may not include vital data such as visitor information. Even in single-tenant buildings, visibility can still be a significant issue if data is siloed across systems. Without a unified view, facilities teams can’t ensure compliance or respond effectively to emergencies.

And the stakes are continuing to rise. Particularly in light of the Building Safety Act 2022 – which mandates a continuous ‘golden thread’ of information about a building’s design, occupancy and maintenance. As such, organisations cannot afford non-compliance. Yet only 26% of workplace managers are currently familiar with the Act’s implications for their role. Without reliable, real-time data, meeting these obligations becomes a significant challenge.

Working smart 

Therefore, as workplace models evolve, so too must the tools facilities and workplace managers use. This is particularly important, with research from Verdantix showing that many organisations are ramping up investment in real estate technology – with more than 60 per cent saying they’re strengthening physical security management plans, up from 46 per cent in 2022.

But effective occupancy management is not just about adding more tools. The most effective workplace strategies avoid siloed point solutions in favour of integrated and unified platforms that understand how an environment is being used.

Rather than tracking individuals, unified smart workplace systems track trends: which days are busiest, how certain teams use meeting rooms or whether areas are consistently underutilised. These insights can inform everything from cleaning schedules to long-term property decisions. Additionally, in multi-tenant environments, technology also needs to be intelligent enough to protect sensitive information. This means making sure only authorised users see specific data, while maintaining an overall picture of building occupancy and access patterns.

Unlocking the right space

Forward-looking organisations are already rethinking their approach. They’re moving away from isolated, reactive tools and towards unified configurable platforms that deliver visibility, flexibility and control in real-time.

With these systems, organisations can establish a view of how a space is being used – whether across a single floor, an entire building or even multiple regions – without compromising privacy.  Within this context, occupancy and environmental sensors play a valuable role in the workplace technology stack, by capturing real-time data on space usage, air quality, temperature and other key factors. These actionable insights help optimise day-to-day operations, reducing wasted space and energy usage while enhancing employee satisfaction. A recent report from Matrix Booking detailed how critical integrated platforms are in managing complex, dynamic environments. One example it highlighted was EDF’s Energy Campus. Faced with the challenge of coordinating bookings across accommodation, conference rooms, transport and other facilities, EDF consolidated every aspect of the visitor journey into a single platform. This resulted in a fully connected, seamless experience for its visitors – built around security, visibility and efficiency.

Ultimately, workplace management today is about balance. Safety, efficiency, usability and trust don’t have to be at odds. With the right blend of tools and transparency, it’s possible to keep people safe while giving them the freedom to work how they choose.

Looking ahead

The hybrid office is here to stay – but managing it effectively requires better insight into who is using the space, how often and why. From meeting compliance regulations to enhancing the employee experience, modern workplace systems must be smarter, more connected and less invasive.

It’s no longer enough to rely on outdated and disconnected check-in systems or incomplete data sets. Facilities and workplace managers need platforms that can integrate resource booking, occupancy analytics and visitor management – delivering a real-time, accurate picture of activity across the workplace. When platforms offer a full view across past usage, current activity and future needs, organisations gain the foresight to optimise space, improve experiences and plan with confidence.