Run your office project without becoming a site manager

The Office Manager arbitrates four concrete levers on a fit-out project: workstation density, brand image, acoustic comfort, overall budget. The reference ratios observed in the French office sector, cross-referenced with the NF EN 12464-1 standard on lighting of workplaces, frame density choices and provide a defensible basis when facing business unit management.

• Standard open space: 8 to 12 sq m per workstation (open space office segment, 2023 market observation).
• Closed individual offices: 12 to 18 sq m per workstation.
• Shared offices (2 to 4 people): 15 to 20 sq m per workstation (Kytom 2023 internal benchmark).
• Ancillary spaces (reception, meeting rooms, kitchenette): 25 to 35% of the total surface.

KYTOM segments floors into two functional typologies: sales and collaboration zones (open islands, high sound dynamics) and engineering and concentration zones (hexagonal workstations or acoustic partitions, target sound level below 35 dB(A) per NF EN ISO 3382-3 on the acoustics of open-plan offices). The distribution is validated in a 2-hour workshop with the Office Manager and one representative per business unit, based on current headcount and 3-year forecasts.

Kytom’s position: the doxa of systematic flex office underestimates the cost of absenteeism. The industry consensus pushes towards 0.6 to 0.7 workstations per employee to compress the leased surface. Our reading differs: on Kytom 2022-2024 projects where flex was installed without acoustically treated concentration zones, measured employee satisfaction dropped by 8 to 12 points. The Office Manager defending their budget envelope in the management committee should pose the inverse ratio: how much does an additional point of turnover cost against the sq m saved? At an average 850 sq m and 1 FTE replaced = 6 to 9 months of fully loaded salary, the equation quickly reverses.

When this ratio logic does not apply. Below 80 sq m or for headcounts under 8 workstations, the sq m/workstation calculation becomes misleading: the incompressible share of ancillary spaces (toilets, kitchenette, circulation) inflates the ratio and distorts the comparison. On these small floors, Kytom reasons in terms of usable surface dedicated to work zones, not in ratio per workstation. Likewise, for activities with field rotation above 60% of the time (mobile sales reps, travelling consultants), a flex office ratio of 0.6 to 0.7 workstations per employee prevails over the ranges above.

design and build method in 7 steps, workload limited to 2-4 hours per week

For the Office Manager: the real metric is not the overall project deadline, it is the weekly management workload. A 12-week project at 4 hours per week consumes 48 hours of your time; the same project under separate trades at 10 hours per week consumes 120, that is 1.5 weeks of effective work to recover elsewhere. It is this line, not the price per sq m, that drives the decision in the annual review.

KYTOM applies a formalised 7-step process that limits the Office Manager’s workload to 2 to 4 hours per week during the studies phase. A single project manager remains your point of contact from start to finish, which avoids repeating the context to each trade.

1. Brief interpretation and surface survey.
2. 2D design, technical drawings and 3D renders.
3. Finishes consultation: colours, fabrics, coverings.
4. Furniture selection with physical samples.
5. Presentation, validation and signature of the fixed package.
6. Project management: scheduling, supervision, trade coordination.
7. Handover, snagging, as-built documentation file.

The target deadline varies with the surface: 4 to 8 weeks for 80 to 300 sq m, 8 to 12 weeks for 300 to 800 sq m, 12 to 18 weeks beyond that or in phased occupied premises.

Limits of the fixed global design and build formula. The approach loses relevance in two cases. First case: a project with an unstable scope, where senior management reviews the real estate strategy mid-project (merger, site relocation, headcount reduction above 20%). The fixed package assumes a brief frozen at signature; beyond 2 major programme changes, a separate-trades contract with a dedicated project management team becomes more legible again. Second case: a project with a strong special technical component (laboratory, data centre, medical floor) outside standard office work. The standard scope of HVAC, low-voltage systems and partitioning does not absorb these specificities without dedicated engineering co-contracting.

Method

1. Internal scoping
   List your 3 priority constraints: deadline, budget ceiling, operational constraint. Retrieve the existing plans.
2. Kytom audit
   Request a free on-site audit within 48 hours, with a concise 1-page summary usable in the management committee.
3. Collaborative programming
   Organise 2 to 4 workshops of 2 hours with your teams to frame uses, density and employer brand.
4. design and build contract
   Sign a fixed-price proposal with a detailed schedule, penalty commitment and locked budget.
5. Weekly management
   Track the project via a 15-minute weekly report with your single project manager.
6. Handover and snagging
   Validate the delivery with a checklist, then benefit from the 12-month completion warranty.