Councils waste £1.5bn on under-utilised office space
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Councils across the country are wasting £1.5 billion annually through under-utilised office space and empty desks, according to research from workplace management firm RNM Systems.
With an average desk occupancy rate of 45 per cent in local government buildings brought about by a migration to a flexible working environment, the research concludes that on any given day, there can be as many as 297,000 empty desks in local authorities across England alone.
On average, a 10 square metre desk can cost an organisation £5,000 per annum to run and up to £13,000 in London. However, by insisting on occupying a number of buildings full of empty workspaces, local authorities are consistently overlooking a phenomenal opportunity to help cut costs from divesting under-utilised desks by introducing a desk-sharing environment.
However the research has found that the one exception to the rule is Winchester City Council, which recently consolidated its administrative offices into a single location making considerable savings on their real estate costs. At the same time, the council installed RNM's Condeco desk management solution to reduce workstation wastage and empty desk scenarios, helping them to considerably office occupancy.
Paul Statham, managing director at RNM Systems, said: "Winchester City Council is a perfect example of a local government body innovating and making savings to better serve its residents. But sadly, the vast majority of local authorities in England are missing a trick when it comes to realising the compelling cost effective potential of rolling out desk sharing as well as the moral case in reducing their carbon footprint."
He added: "The current economic climate will put councils under tremendous pressure to make savings wherever possible and these figures undoubtedly put forward a very strong case for them to consider desk sharing as a lucrative and viable option, which will enable them to divest unnecessary and expensive real estate and office space."