Most workplace decisions are made without clear visibility of how space is actually being used. At Westpac NZ, Aotea partnered with the team to change that. Through a workplace optimisation programme, we worked alongside Tether and Westpac NZ to understand how space was performing across meeting rooms, desks, collaboration zones, café areas and daily occupancy patterns.
Client: Westpac New Zealand
Delivery Partner: Aotea Group
Technology Partner: Tether
The Challenge
Westpac sought a clear understanding of how their workplaces were actually being used, across meeting rooms, desks, collaboration zones, café flow and daily headcount. The goal was to enable confident, data-backed decisions about space performance and layout while strengthening long-term workplace strategy and improving the experience for their people.
The Approach
Aotea Group partnered with Westpac to lead the workplace optimisation programme, bringing in Tether to provide real-time occupancy intelligence. Together, Aotea and Tether delivered full visibility of:
- meeting room utilisation
- desk/neighbourhood occupancy
- flow and congestion points
- daily headcount and peak patterns
This provided Westpac with measurable insight into how each space was performing in real time.
The Insights
The combined Aotea + Tether findings revealed:
- underutilised meeting rooms
- inconsistent desk use across teams and floors
- congestion during peak café times
- collaboration areas requiring resizing or rebalancing
For the first time, utilisation patterns were visible rather than assumed.
The Impact
- Meeting rooms and collaboration spaces right-sized to better reflect actual utilisation
- Café flow improved, reducing queues and wait times
- Clear, ongoing visibility established across the workplace
- A measurable foundation established for continuous, data-led workplace optimisation.
Why It Matters
Workplace strategy is shifting from assumption to measurable performance. Westpac set the direction, Aotea delivered the programme, and Tether provided the intelligence layer that made utilisation visible in real time.
By turning utilisation into measurable insight, the partnership established a sustainable foundation for ongoing, data-led workplace improvement.
For the first time, Westpac could see exactly how their workplaces were being used, enabling confident, data-backed decisions.
