Space planning for office refurbishments: Maximising efficiency before you build

What is office space planning?  

Office space planning is the process of translating your organisation’s needs into a practical and efficient layout that ensures you have the right types and quantities of spaces, including areas for focus, collaboration, and flexibility, in the right places. 

Before you move any walls or specify furniture, a space-planning expert will analyse how you currently use your office. They will identify any bottlenecks and inefficiencies and design a space that supports your natural workflows while leaving room for future growth.

Done well, office space planning goes beyond layout. It streamlines movement, removes friction and empowers your employees to do their best work. It also helps you control costs and ensures you have sufficient capacity to support flexible ways of working. 

Why office space planning matters

Effective office space planning isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about creating workplaces that actively support productivity, maximise utilisation and remain adaptable to changing ways of working. Here’s how it can help:

• Productivity

Poorly designed offices, particularly those with high noise levels or a lack of private spaces, can hinder performance. Studies show that as many as 37% of employees in open-plan offices feel that the layout reduces productivity. Thoughtful space planning addresses these issues by creating zones for focus, collaboration and quiet work to boost employee efficiency and satisfaction.

• Utilisation

Many offices are underutilised, with average occupancy sitting at around 45% and costing businesses millions in unnecessary real estate. Effective space planning can optimise occupancy, ensuring that every desk, meeting room and collaborative area efficiently supports how teams work.

• Cost efficiency

Space planning can reduce costs by identifying potential issues before construction begins. Testing layouts and anticipating challenges reduces the risk of expensive and disruptive redesigns and helps businesses generate the maximum value from their investment.

• Flexibility

Future-proofing is essential for growing businesses. Space planners can create flexible layouts that adapt to shifting team sizes, new technologies and evolving working styles. That ensures your office remains efficient while avoiding costly redesigns over time.

Step-by-step guide to efficient office space planning

1. Assess your current space usage

The first step in space planning is understanding how your workforce operates in your current office. Many organisations assume they know how they are using their space, but the data often tells a different story. 

Workplace studies track desk occupancy, meeting room usage, collaboration patterns and quiet work needs to pinpoint inefficiencies and highlight opportunities for better utilisation. For example, you might find that workstations are only occupied 60% of the time due to hybrid working, while meeting rooms are constantly booked. 

Employee surveys and workshops can also reveal pain points that might not appear in utilisation data. Staff may report issues such as a lack of privacy for focused tasks, insufficient informal meeting spaces or poor proximity between teams that often collaborate.

Combining the quantitative data with employee insights allows office space planners to rebalance the layout and create a fit-out design that reflects how your employees actually work.

2. Define your business goals

Once have a clear understanding of how you use your space now, you can then consider your organisation’s strategic goals, from future growth and working styles to team collaboration needs and company culture. Setting clear goals will help you align your refurbishment strategy with your broader objectives.

3. Identify different working styles

Modern offices must accommodate a variety of activities in their fit-out design. Using the quantitative and qualitative data from step 1, you can map out spaces for focused work, team collaboration, meetings, informal interactions and socialising.

You’ll need to strike the right balance between quiet areas and collaborative zones while creating spaces that enable employees to switch seamlessly between tasks while maximising comfort and productivity.

4. Optimise ergonomics

It’s important to consider ergonomics in your fit-out design and its impact on employee wellbeing and the overall effectiveness of your space. 

For example:

• Positioning workstations near windows, vents and other sources of fresh air and natural light can support employee comfort, focus and productivity. 

• Keeping collaborative and social areas separate from quiet workspaces can minimise distractions and maintain smooth workflows.

• Creating wide walkways and leaving clear paths between desks, meeting rooms and breakout areas can reduce congestion, encourage movement and facilitate seamless navigation.
  
  

5. Consider flexibility and future-proofing

A crucial element of workplace optimisation is designing a space that can adapt as your business evolves. Think about how modular furniture, movable partitions and multi-purpose rooms can support shifting teams and new ways of working. Flexible layouts help prevent early obsolescence, reducing the need for costly redesigns and technology upgrades over time.

6. Visualise and test the layout

Once you have a proposed fit-out design, use digital tools such as CAD software, 3D visualisation and workplace simulation platforms to test the layout. Visualisation will help you understand the spatial arrangement, movement flows and capacity limits before construction begins. 

Testing multiple scenarios will reduce the risk of costly errors, ensure practical functionality and allow for adjustments before implementation.

Office space planning services from BTG Eddisons

At BTG Eddisons, our office space planning specialists work with you to understand how your team operates, before turning those insights into efficient, well-structured layouts. From analysis and design development through to implementation, we deliver space-planning and refurbishment and fit-out services that maximise the potential of your workplace.

Find out more about our work in the office sector, including our building and consultancy services, and get in touch to discuss your workplace optimisation goals with our team.