Size of Your Workspace? Depends on the Time of Day

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Connecticut facility, executives of Deloitte touted their innovative workspace concept that will have junior and senior executives “rubbing elbows” in collaboration—literally! The company’s space in the building is much below the usual allotment for the number of employees. How will the 1,300 workers all fit?

According to an article in the Stamford Advocate, the square footage (120,000 square feet) is much below the usual commercial real estate allotment of 250 square feet per employee and is deemed appropriate for about 500 employees.

However, Deloitte has developed a concept that should accommodate employees through high-tech “hoteling.” The vision is that employees will come in only sporadically—often for an hour or 2—when necessary, such as for a meeting.

Employees will sign up to reserve a workspace online when they need to be in the office. The “workspace” can be a desk, a seat in a conference room, a “nook”—or even a bench! And you can change among the options as needed through the online scheduling.

They will also indicate which “neighborhood”—a Deloitte term for grouping employees working on different corporate areas and projects together—they need to be in when on-site that day. The interior was designed in the open workspace concept and is flooded with natural light.

According to the International Interior Design Association, the concept of hoteling was pioneered in 1994 by Ernst & Young to streamline operations and lower facility costs. However, the initial costs of hoteling are high because every space must be considered a workspace requiring power outlets, computer cables, and phones, as well as such furniture as “mobile” work counters and abundant chairs.

Deloitte has already successfully used the concept at its Rockefeller Plaza facility in New York City. Stamford Mayor David Martin told the Advocate the Deloitte facility “is a representation of how the world is moving.”