Choosing Great CRE Space Management Software | RefineRE

Space management is the art of physical workplace organization through space scheduling tools, real estate utilization, and management strategies. Considering the major changes in the physical workplace since March of 2020, space management has grown in importance to corporate real estate workplace leaders. As the practice of space management has increased, so has the selection of software solutions to make the job easier for folks like you.

Selecting a space management software that works for your business is a big decision. Many of these solutions are not cheap, so it’s crucial for companies to maximize their ROI with the new tool. Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of space management software, and what features make for a great selection.

What are the Benefits of Space Planning/Space Management Software?

Space management is more important than it may seem at first thought. It’s similar to laying out your home – the organization of your surroundings has a significant impact on your mood and productivity. In a workplace, it goes deeper considering the amount of people + their teams. For example, the efficiency of your Controller would suffer if their desk was in the middle of the marketing team. The right space management software does more than just floor space planning, though. For example, our Workplace Analytics Solution seamlessly automated a daily “head counting” task that was a massive time spend on an employee.

• Safety & Security: Still working through the kinks of returning to the office? A smart space management solution will expedite the process and determine if you’re really optimizing the space you have.
• Optimizing Space: We know workplace changes can happen quickly, and when you least expect them. Look for a tool that quickly and efficiently re-evaluates your space when you need to make adjustments. Balancing your short vs. long term strategies is not an easy task, but the right space management software does so in an intuitive, seamless way.
• Consolidated Details: Pulling data for a presentation can be the most time-consuming task when preparing for a meeting, but a great software solution will have the details consolidated, validated, and presentation-ready at a moments notice.

Essential Features in Space Management Software

Choosing the right space management software for you will be different for everyone, but there are a few overarching features that are crucial for any company.

Rapid Reporting

 Space management is not a static process. Workplace decisions can change in a blink of an eye, and it’s important for you to be able to quickly pull reports with defendable data to make informed decisions.

Wi-Fi Utilization

Our Wi-Fi Utilization Platform gives you a live view of how many employees are in the office, and the utilization of each area. This has proven to be extremely beneficial for companies working through their “return to office” plan. This attaches to wi-fi routers throughout the building to report on how much/where/when space is actually being used, and identify trends.

Commute Patterns

RefineRE’s Workplace Solution takes into account employee data (home address) to quantify potential commutes if your company is considering location changes.

Occupancy and Vacancy Data

This data operates in tandem with the Wi-Fi Utilization platform – summarizing space utilization data with your lease data (focusing on vacant lease costs and cost per FTE).

Labor Markets

RefineRE’s Labor Market feature with the Workplace Solution breaks down all markets in the U.S. based on employment, population, growth, and income. This allows you to identify potential markets that fit a particular labor and cost requirement.

What Separates Great CRE Space Management Software?

Aside from the features you’ll look for in a space management software, there are also a few qualities that separate good choices from great ones.

• Reliable Data: This is the foundation of a great software. What good is a pretty interface + quick reporting if the data it’s using is actually just wrong? Ensure the data your solution is using (whether it be your own data or peer benchmarks) is data you can trust.
• Customer Support: A reliable support team that you have a relationship with is important should your needs quickly change. The RefineRE team is with you through every step – we take the “lift” off you by ensuring your data upload is accurate and standardized.
• User Interface: A pleasant user interface used to just be a “nice to have” feature, but is quickly becoming the standard. I’m not just talking about the color and fonts here – the presentation of options/features within the platform should be logical and easy to read. A quick litmus test for this is to ask for the “How to:” handbook – typically the smaller it is, the more intuitive their interface is.

Maximize Your Space with RefineRE’s Workplace Analytics/Space Management Software

Speaking of great Space Management software, have you explored our Workplace Analytics Solution? RefineRE offers the best-in-industry solution for space management/planning that includes all the features listed above, plus the extra benefits too. Workplace Analytics has all the metrics you care about (and maybe even some new ones that will help you down the road)!

Aside from the core features, our data is reliable. We work hand-in-hand with you to ensure the workplace data you’re uploading is accurate + standardized, and our database of external data holds over 805MM square feet. The data you see is data you can trust. Our interface is also seamless and quick to learn, with several different “views” of how the data is presented. Do you want to see a heat map of a specific location usage? That’s an easy click with both historical + live data within our Wi-Fi Utilization feature.

We recently saved a Silicon Valley Tech Company over $1.5MM by giving them a comprehensive understanding of space density and employee mobility. Historically relying on badge swipe data (an expensive solution to implement), our Wi-Fi utilization platform measured the metrics that matter to them at a fraction of the price of a sensor install. RefineRE was able to automate a previously manual headcount process and give the right information to plan for a cost-effective return to the office.

Ready to see it in action? Get in touch with us for a quick phone call on how we can help you make data-driven decisions.