By this point, if you’ve been nodding along to the last few posts, you might be thinking:
“Okay… I can feel that something’s off in our workspace.
But how do I actually figure out what the problem is… without guessing?”
That question is the turning point.
Because most businesses don’t lack good intentions when it comes to their office.
They lack a clear way to assess it.
Most business owners don’t audit their workspace, they tolerate it
What usually happens instead looks something like this:
People adapt quietly
Workarounds become normal
Frustrations get minimised
Issues get labelled as “just how it is”
Until one day, the problems feel too big to ignore.
The challenge is that when you finally stop to look at your space, it can feel overwhelming.
There’s too much to notice. Too many opinions. Too many possible fixes.
That’s where a strategist’s lens makes all the difference.
When I walk into a workplace, I’m not scanning for furniture or finishes first.
I’m paying attention to:
how people move
where they gather (and where they don’t)
where noise travels
where people avoid sitting
where things pile up
how the space feels compared to how the brand presents itself
Over time, I’ve learned that the clearest insights come from looking at a workspace through three specific lenses.
Not all at once.
Not perfectly.
Just intentionally.
Lens 1: Aspirational - what your space communicates:
This is about perception and identity.
Your workspace is constantly telling a story, to clients, to your team, and to you.
Questions I always ask here:
Does this space reflect the business we’ve become?
Does it feel aligned with our brand, values, and maturity?
Would I feel proud walking a key client through here today?
Misalignment in this area often shows up as:
outdated finishes
patchwork furniture
reception areas that feel accidental
a disconnect between online brand and physical space
When this lens is off, confidence quietly erodes, even if everything technically “works.”
Lens 2: Functional - how well the space supports daily work
This is where productivity lives (or dies).
Functional assessment looks at:
focus vs collaboration needs
adjacencies between teams
access to quiet spaces
meeting room usage
noise and distraction
flow and circulation
Common signs of functional friction:
constant headphone use
meeting rooms booked for solo work
people avoiding the office to concentrate
a layout that made sense years ago, but not now
When this lens is misaligned, people compensate all day just to get through their work.
Lens 3: Operational - the “invisible” layer
This is the least glamorous, but often the most impactful.
Operational assessment looks at:
storage and clutter
equipment placement
circulation bottlenecks
acoustics
wayfinding
how easy it is to do basic tasks
This is where small inefficiencies quietly stack up:
wasted time
unnecessary movement
frustration
fatigue
When operational issues aren’t addressed, even a beautiful office feels hard to work in.
Why these three lenses work together
Most businesses only look through one lens at a time.
They ask:
“Does it look nice?”
or“Do we have enough desks?”
or“Does everything technically function?”
But a workspace that truly works is:
brand-aligned (Aspirational)
easy to work in (Functional)
smooth behind the scenes (Operational)
You don’t need to fix all three at once.
You just need to see them clearly.
What an audit actually gives you (beyond answers)
A proper workspace audit doesn’t tell you what to buy or how to redesign.
It gives you:
language for what you’re sensing
validation that the issues are real (not personal)
clarity on what matters most right now
confidence to make decisions without second-guessing
And most importantly - it replaces vague frustration with focus.
After years of having the same conversations with business owners:
“Something feels off, but I don’t know where to start”
I realised what was missing was a simple, structured way to pause and assess.
The Workspace KPI Audit™ walks you through these three lenses and helps you:
identify where your space is supporting you
pinpoint where friction is creeping in
see patterns you might be too close to notice
No judgement.
No pressure to act immediately.
Just a clear snapshot of what’s really going on.
If you’re ready to move from reflection into clarity, start with the Workspace KPI Audit™
And if you’re wondering “Okay… and then what?” that’s exactly what we’ll be unpacking together in the upcoming Creating Workspaces That Work masterclass.
The audit is the starting point.
The masterclass is where it all comes together… save your seat now!