Modernize Your Workplace with the 3 Pillars of Smart Office Planning

The Robin Team

Published on

September 4, 2024

Today, most companies allow partially remote work, but ask for the majority of eligible employees to be in the office on a predictable basis. With this, comes a need for structured floor plans AND flexible approaches to office planning.

And with that, comes a need for the right technology to support your workplace.

But what solutions do you really need? And what tools are more likely to cause you headaches than actually help?

Our customers can access everything they need for effective workplace management right in Robin.

User-Friendly Tech for In-Office Teams

Workplace management is all about supporting friction-free days in the office for people and empowering workplace leaders to plan for a better future. In order to accomplish this, the most effective office spaces are focused on three key areas:

1. Space Planning is essential for efficiently managing office layouts and seating arrangements, especially as workplaces evolve. It can be cumbersome in legacy systems, and modern offices require modern solutions. By leveraging real-time occupancy data, leading space planning tools today enable workplace managers to make smarter decisions, optimize space usage, and prepare for future needs with scenario and stack planning.

2. Workplace Operations covers anything that is needed to manage common workflows in the physical workplace. This includes functions like visitor management, meeting management and service requests, resource booking and office feedback. The primary goal here is to manage end-to-end workplace operations workflows in a single platform.

3. Employee Experience encompasses all the touch points between your workplace tech and your people. Solutions won’t be effective if teams don’t use them. Offices today require user-friendly, informative and scalable tech that integrates with other popular workplace software. The cherry on top? When your chosen solution gives employees easy access to shared resources, visibility into who will be in the office when, maps for easy navigation, and helps organize office news and events.

Offices that Support the New World of Work with Robin

Talking strategy is one thing, putting these ideas into action is another. What does it actually look like when an office takes on new tech to better address ongoing concerns or friction points with flexible office spaces?

Space Planning that Saves Time and Money

Stagwell, a global marketing company, uses Robin to centralize workplace management across 70+ agencies and 13,000 employees. Using robust workplace data and the ability to manage spaces and allocate resources, the company consolidated offices into hubs in major cities. This resulted in significant cost savings with a decreased real estate footprint, and more meaningful time together in person.

“We know from a cost efficiency play that there’s going to be savings to the bottom line by reducing the footprint,” said Christian Acacio, SVP, Infrastructure & Strategic Projects at Stagwell. “But I think what I’m excited about is how the offices start coming to life.”

When you have the right data, you can make better decisions about your office.

Workplace Operations, Managed (Without the Headaches)

VHB, a civil engineering consulting and design firm, needed to reimagine its offices for hybrid work. The firm previously used a custom-built tool to manage workplace operations across office locations, but realized it needed a more comprehensive solution as it rolled out its hybrid policy and a new Boston office location. Robin’s platform reduced administrative tasks and IT support needs, led to quick employee adoption and enabled workplace leaders to make decisions about spaces using data moving forward.

“Once I rolled out Robin, I didn’t hear from anybody. In IT, that just doesn’t happen.” - Dale Arnt, IT Operations Manager at VHB

For VHB, Robin was the bridge their teams needed to use the office in a more flexible and effective way.

Employee Experiences that Attract and Retain Top Talent

Bet Tzedek, a nonprofit legal services organization, was experiencing a dramatic increase in office utilization after the pandemic. Quickly, the organization realized that positive employee experiences at the office were critical to achieving their business goals around hybrid work. Using Robin’s platform gave employees autonomy to coordinate their workweeks and secure resources easily, ensuring their days at the office were productive and meaningful.

“Aside from salaries, our employees and top talent are looking for the flexibility that Robin has allowed us to incorporate.” said Diego Cartagena, President & CEO of Bet Tzedek. “They are looking to retain that flexibility. I don't think we would have as much success trying to achieve that without Robin.”

Productive In-Person Work

Companies today need their office spaces to be adaptable, data-driven and easily managed by different location leads.

You know that when you can unify your tech, you are better positioned to support productive in-office days. Even better? You’ll have the tools and data you need to continue modernizing your workplace strategy. Ready to get started? Let's talk.