3 workplace metrics you didn’t know you needed—according to experts

These metrics identified by industry experts can change the way you think about your workplace. 

As the future of work continues to evolve, decision-makers are tasked with creating modern, dynamic office environments, prioritizing the employee experience above all else. But where should business leaders focus their efforts to enhance workplace culture and increase ROI, especially in a hybrid work environment? 

Leaders have more opportunities to enhance workspaces as new technology emerges and employee behaviors change. Below, we’ll explore critical workplace metrics you may not be measuring, and how they can revolutionize your approach to real estate, employee well-being, and the workplace strategy as a whole. 

3 workplace metrics to track in 2025

#1 Measuring workplace density for real estate decisions

According to Phil Kirschner, Sr. Expert and Associate Partner at McKinsey, the way real estate professionals analyze workplace metrics has shifted in recent years. 

In a recent Flex Index webinar, Kirschner explained, “We [once] talked about how the space was built, not occupied.” Before the shift to remote work, density in the workplace was measured by square feet per person, when one-to-one seating ratios and full-time in-office were the norms.

In the modern work environment, density is better measured by people, not seats or square footage. According to Kirschner, one new way to measure density is to examine employee behavior. For example, we can look at the average number of times an individual visits the office over a certain period of time. Do they come in once a week? Once a month? Once a year? This can help real estate managers and space planners understand an individual’s demand on the workspace. 

Another way companies are measuring density is by the average cost per visit. As Kirschner frames it, “With the fully loaded cost of this site over some period of time, divided by the number of times distinct people in our ecosystem come here, what is that cost?” 

Organizations can compare the cost of day passes at a coworking space, for example, against an office’s energy, facilities, and real estate costs. And while day passes may cost less overall, there is more than one right answer for where organizations should invest resources. As Kirschner explains, “That difference [in cost] is the cultural premium. In the place where you are paying for your own space, is the outcome for employee engagement and experience or business performance different?” 

Another metric to consider is “experienced density,” or how much perceived space and comfort employees have at the office. The right amount of space will vary by team and organization, but viewing density as a workplace experience metric can help teams better define the amount of space they need. 

#2 Measuring attendance and utilization with presence data 

Flexible work has dominated the landscape in recent years, making attendance tracking much more challenging. Some employees may work remotely but visit the office occasionally, while employees within a commutable distance may be required to be in-person more often. How can you determine the right amount of space and the types of spaces your teams need?

One solution is to leverage advancements in presence data. Employee presence is a powerful metric for the modern office, combining both occupancy and utilization insights to tell you how, when, and where your space is being used in real-time. 

How to measure it 

Presence data can be culled from various sources, including badge swipes, WiFi data, and occupancy sensors. With the right tools, you can evaluate presence on multiple levels, including by department, team, and employee. Surfacing this data into reporting tools enables you to quickly identify attendance trends and make strategic decisions around spaces and operations. 

For example, if you know which days of the week are the busiest at the office, you can schedule catering and cleaning services accordingly, scaling back on quieter days to save costs and resources. Additionally, if you have insights into peak occupancy and the critical mass of your space, you might opt for flexible seating arrangements. Rather than one-to-one assigned desks, you can get more out of your space with a shared neighborhood seating model, with fewer desks than employees. 

Instead of planning around when you think employees will come into the office, presence data gives you concrete, real-time reporting to make confident decisions about your workspace.

Kristin Peloso, the Facilities Space Planner at Quantum Health, is one workplace expert who leverages presence data to optimize office space and foster a better employee experience. “I really like presence data from badge swipes. I call it passive information. You don’t have to rely on employees to do anything except enter the building,” she shares. 

#3 Measuring employee engagement with the “choice of occupancy” metric  

Organizations can better understand behaviors and create environments that support their teams by paying attention to where and how employees choose to work.  

Melissa Marsh, CEO and Founder of Plastarc, a workplace consultancy rooted in social science, calls this “choice of occupancy,” highlighting the importance of customization at the workplace and how it drives return on investment in our spaces. 

The work-from-home era reinforced the importance of work-life balance, as employees had a newfound ability to customize their environments—adjusting temperature, lighting, and workstation setups to match their personal preferences. Marsh says, “We have to find ways to bring that degree of personalization and control back into shared office environments.”  

Marsh predicts that more companies will invest in workplace initiatives that support this level of customization, making the office a more desirable place to work. “Whenever we’re using technology to deliver something, whether it’s used or not is a metric of return on investment.”

Leaders can also measure the impact of choice in the workplace by whether it encourages space use and collaboration, or what Marsh calls the human capital benefit. If workplaces support individual and team preferences, there is a higher potential for increased engagement, and company culture will be strengthened. 

Next steps: Gain insights and take action with a workplace management platform

The world of work has shifted. Data is critical for shaping a sustainable workplace strategy and crafting a winning employee experience. By evaluating metrics like employee attendance and space utilization, organizations can understand what’s happening at their workspace to speed up decision-making and drive better business outcomes.

A workplace management platform like OfficeSpace can simplify data gathering and analysis, including presence data, real estate insights down to the employee level, and space utilization. 

With features that enable flexible seating arrangements, like increased sharing ratios for better seating efficiency and the ability to quickly adjust for capacity, businesses can stay agile while letting teams work the way they want. 

OfficeSpace also offers a suite of employee-facing tools to help businesses augment the day-to-day experience, including streamlined facilities requests, easier ways to connect with coworkers and find resources on site, and real-time insights on desk and meeting room availability. 

Ready to put these 3 metrics to work? Talk to a workplace strategist today, or see it in action here.