Desk-to-headcount ratio in flex office: the Kytom method for calibrating between 0.6 and 0.8, measuring actual occupancy and securing your real estate sizing.
"How many desks for how many employees in flex"
A poorly calibrated ratio is expensive: oversizing by 20% over 1,000 m² represents 200 m² of wasted space, i.e. nearly €100,000 excl. VAT per year in real estate costs in the Ile-de-France region. Conversely, undersizing generates occasional rentals of external rooms, charged at €40 to €80 excl. VAT per hour.
A shortage of desks on peak days erodes engagement and accelerates turnover. In flex office, 38% of employees report losing more than 10 minutes a day looking for a space, i.e. nearly 40 hours per year per person.
Regulations require minimum floor areas per workstation as well as appropriate ventilation. An aggressive ratio at 0.5 without acoustic management exposes the employer to a risk of non-compliance with its obligations. A 40% reduction in energy consumption is also expected by 2030, calculated on the actually used floor area.
Kytom builds the desk-to-headcount ratio from measured data, never from estimates. Our teams cross-reference three sources: presence sensors over 4 to 6 weeks, analysis of HR badge data, and manager interviews by department. Across 1,200+ projects delivered since 2006, we observe that the relevant ratio oscillates between 0.6 and 0.8 depending on company culture, the negotiated remote-work policy and the share of mobile sales staff. We deliver sizing segmented by department (a ratio of 0.5 for sales, 0.85 for accounting), combined with a plan for fallback zones, phone booths and project rooms. The trajectory is then consolidated by comparison with industry benchmarks and market indicators to secure the sizing.
We deploy anonymous sensors over 4 to 6 weeks to measure the actual occupancy rate, desk by desk and hour by hour. Deliverable: a quantified report with the Tuesday peak, the Friday trough, and a target ratio justified by department and by space type.
Workshop with the workplace, HR and real estate departments to settle the target. We compare three scenarios (ratio 0.6, 0.7, 0.8) with their impacts on floor space, budget and social acceptability. Deliverable: a validated framing note, incorporating lease constraints and the regulatory energy-reduction obligations applicable to the tertiary building stock.
Layout plans sized on the chosen ratio, with fallback zones, phone booths (1 per 10 desks), project rooms and informal spaces. Deliverable: 2D/3D plans, furniture schedule (trade-off between premium ranges such as Vitra or Herman Miller) and an acoustic simulation compliant with the prevailing environmental and quality-of-use benchmarks.
Works carried out in 12 weeks on average, then post-delivery measurement at 3 and 6 months with the same sensors. Deliverable: an occupancy dashboard, adjustment of the ratio if the drift exceeds 10%, and a continuous optimisation plan managed with the facility manager.
"We thought we were at 0.7 based on intuition. The sensors revealed actual usage at 0.55. Kytom secured a ratio of 0.6 and saved us from re-leasing 300 m² of unnecessary space."
Between 0.6 and 0.8 depending on company culture and the negotiated remote-work policy. With 2 days of remote work per week, a ratio of 0.7 absorbs the Tuesday peaks without a shortage. Below 0.6, the social risk becomes high.
Segmented, always. A sales team runs at 0.4 or 0.5 (high external mobility), an accounting team at 0.85 (near-daily presence). An average ratio masks these gaps and produces poorly sized floors.
Anonymous presence sensors (infrared or Wi-Fi) deployed for 4 to 6 weeks, cross-referenced with HR badge data. The cost amounts to €15 to €30 per desk measured, recouped from the very first decision on avoided floor space.
Moving a ratio from 1 to 0.7 frees up 30% of theoretical floor space. On 1,000 m² at €550 excl. VAT/m²/year in the Ile-de-France region, the saving reaches €165,000 excl. VAT per year, excluding charges and taxes.
The reference thresholds for a balanced flex office stand at 1 phone booth per 10 desks and 1 project room for 4 people per 20 desks. Below these ratios, acoustic complaints multiply and measured concentration drops by 15 to 20%.
Post-delivery measurement at 3 and 6 months with the same sensors. If the gap exceeds 10% relative to the target, we reconfigure the zones (adding mobile desks, converting an underused room) without touching the structural works.