Paul Statham CEO, Condeco Software talks to us about the issue of wasted space and what businesses can do to save money.

Hi Paul, thank you for taking the time to speak with us about the amount of money companies are losing to underutilised office space. How much money on average are companies losing?

The issue of under utilised space is one that is becoming a massive issue for businesses in the UK, especially in London and other major business regions. Trying to estimate the ‘average’ figure that businesses are losing is like asking how long is a piece of string, as we deal with businesses across all sectors and verticals.

The best way to answer your question is to say that it’s not the average that business leaders should be worried about; it’s the unknown figure that should be causing them sleepless nights. When we start working with a company, there is one trend that we see across ALL businesses. And this is that businesses understand there is a problem; they just don’t understand the true extent of it. When they do, it’s what we call the ‘light bulb’ moment, when they realise just how much money they could be saving.

We work with huge, multi-national organisations, saving them millions of pounds by analysing their space utilisation and consolidating their real estate so that it is better suited to their workforce. This has a knock on effect in terms of staff productivity – by allowing staff to work more flexibly and in a modernised office environment, we often see lower staff turnover, which has a significant impact on the business’ bottom line.

So to businesses that are worried about the ‘average’ figure they are losing, I’d say you should be a lot more worried about the ‘unknown’ figure you’re probably losing, as this is most likely much more.

How can companies avoid this waste or minimise it?

There are a number of ways to avoid wasted space, but the first, and most crucial for any business is analysis. As I mentioned above, businesses often know they have a problem, but feel powerless to do anything about it.

With our technology, we can effectively analyse an office environment, understand what areas need attention first, and begin to put a strategy in place to change the workplace for the better. Once you have the data, businesses can empower themselves to make crucial decisions involving budget, in order to improve their work environment.

What is Condeco and why was it created?

Condeco is a specialist in meeting room booking, desk booking and space utilisation technologies. Our products consist of both software to manage bookings across an organisation and hardware like wayfinders, touch screens as well as infrared sensors to measure occupancy of desks, meeting rooms, break out spaces and footfall around the building so that business owners can get a fully rounded view of how and when the office is being used.

Condeco was created due to a gap in the market, with organisations, particularly multi-national financial firms in London, demanding a product that allowed them to manage their real estate more effectively.

There were a number of solutions out there at the time, but none of which that I saw were offering the in-depth analysis that these sprawling organisations required. For them, managing offices across multiple regions with thousands of employees was becoming increasingly difficult to manage, and there was nothing that I could see available, that was helping them control this effectively, so Condeco was formed.

Who should use Condeco Sense?

Condeco Sense is a product that can (and should) be used by a number of people within an organisation.

At the C-Level, Sense can help improve a company’s bottom line by reducing rental costs for a business. We have certainly helped a number of financial directors and CFOs in our time to reduce their real estate costs

For facilities managers and operations, our software helps them to effectively plan and manage their estate. So when desk moves are taking place, or staff seating needs to be reconfigured, our solutions give them the detailed data they need to ensure any disruption to the business is substantially minimised.

But essentially, it’s the owner or chief executive of the business that should be implementing Condeco Sense. This unique wireless sensor continually and accurately measures a workplace allowing you to identify the right quantity of spaces and real estate. And when it comes down to it, reduced costs and happier staff all ultimately lead to an improved bottom line for the business.

What are the advantages of Condeco Sense/disadvantages?

There aren’t any disadvantages of engaging Condeco Sense. As with any product, there is an initial cost to the business (although the rental model available makes this a very minimal cost) when installing and analysing your space usage. But for EVERY client that we have installed this for, the return on investment in terms of money saved far exceeds the initial cost.