Start with how people use the space, not how many desks you need
Headcount is the easiest input to gather and the least useful on its own. Attendance patterns, meeting load, focus work, and client-facing time determine the right mix of workstations, rooms, and shared areas.
Before touring buildings, document a typical week: who is in, which days, and what they are doing. That picture drives the program far more reliably than a per-person ratio.
Plan for the range, not the forecast
Growth plans rarely land exactly. A workplace strategy should hold up under a low case and a high case — through expansion rights, contraction options, sublease flexibility, or a layout that can absorb change without a rebuild.
Adjacency and culture are design inputs
Which teams need to sit together, where clients arrive, and how quiet and collaborative zones relate to each other all affect both productivity and fit-out cost. Settling these early prevents expensive changes once drawings are underway.
Connect the workplace plan to the lease and the budget
A workplace strategy is only useful if it feeds the lease negotiation and the capital plan. The program should inform tenant improvement allowance asks, the work letter, and the CapEx budget — before the letter of intent is signed.