5 priorities for a seamless 5-day return to office

To prepare your office building for a full return-to-office (RTO) mandate, facility managers should focus on five priorities: tracking occupancy to right-size capacity, streamlining daily amenities through integrated apps, giving employees autonomy over their workspace, integrating building systems for unified control and optimizing HVAC for energy efficiency at higher occupancy levels.

Whether returning to the office two days or five days a week, by embracing the right technology, organizations can create a dynamic and adaptable workplace that puts people, rather than location, at the heart of it.

Here are the top five priorities for accommodating a return-to-office policy:

1. Track occupancy and optimize seating capacity

Worried about workspace capacity? Space management solutions can address seating capacity issues by tracking occupancy rates while opening floors only when needed, which can help mitigate rising energy costs. Space management software can also help organize the workplace into “neighbourhoods” to foster more productive work environments for individuals and teams. Having dedicated desk booking and collaboration areas gives employees the freedom to choose a working environment that best suits their needs, which increases productivity and morale. Different types of sensors – from occupancy to traffic and space utilization – continuously collect data to show actual usage in real time.

2. Streamline daily amenities with integrated apps

Digital workplace experience tools can create a smarter, seamless workplace for employees. Support their work routine with options to remotely pre-book meals in the cafeteria or order to their desks with integrated apps like OpenBlue Companion. Make visitor management easier with online guest registration, digital visitor reports and appropriate access pass issuance. A digital workplace experience solution can even make the daily commute less of a hassle with parking space booking capabilities.

3. Give employees autonomy over their workspace

Facility managers are increasingly tasked with creating smarter office experiences to give employees more control over their work environment. Enabling employees to choose their own workspace leads to increased productivity, autonomy and comfort. Different spaces for collaboration, heads-down deep work, virtual meetings and more give employees the flexibility required throughout the typical workday. Adding in digital access for entry keeps employees safe and ensures a smooth transition into the office environment.

4. Integrate building systems for unified control

Digital solutions that integrate seamlessly with building management systems and technologies allow for better control, monitoring and management of lighting, security and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Environmental sensors can identify energy consumption and wellness risks, revealing opportunities to reduce costs, eliminate waste and improve the employee experience. These systems also allow organizations to automate energy usage based on occupancy data. Robust reporting will also enable optimized resource allocation, increased building performance and regulator and IT compliance.

5. Optimize HVAC for energy efficiency at full occupancy

Higher occupancy levels will naturally lead to increased HVAC demand. This makes it essential to optimize for both cost and comfort. By implementing smart building management systems and automation, facility managers can ensure that HVAC systems are used efficiently, balancing the need for a comfortable work environment with the goal of reducing energy costs.

FAQs

What building systems should facility managers audit before a return to office mandate?

Facility managers should audit HVAC capacity, lighting controls, security and access control systems and building automation integration. Higher occupancy levels increase demand on HVAC, so verifying that these systems can handle full-capacity loads is essential. Integrated building management platforms allow you to monitor and control all of these systems from a single interface.

How do occupancy sensors help with return to office planning?

Occupancy sensors track real-time usage rates across floors and zones, allowing facility managers to open spaces only when needed and reduce energy consumption. This data also informs seating capacity decisions and helps create dedicated neighbourhoods for teams, improving both space utilization and employee productivity.

How can facility managers balance energy costs with occupant comfort during a full RTO?

Smart building management systems allow facility managers to optimize HVAC schedules based on actual occupancy data rather than fixed assumptions. By linking occupancy sensors to climate controls, facilities teams can maintain comfortable spaces in occupied areas efficiently while reducing energy waste in unoccupied areas – balancing cost and comfort dynamically.