How Can You Avoid IT & Space Planning Mistakes in Your Office Move?

The Robin Team

Published on

March 18, 2025

When it comes to working in the office, IT infrastructure is often overlooked, until something goes wrong.

One bad connection, one misconfigured security system, or one AV failure, and suddenly your beautiful new office is useless. That’s one of the reasons we consider IT to be the silent hero of the workplace. When things are going well, you forget all the things that are needed to make working, well, work.

That’s why in Part 3 of our Office Move Lessons series, we’re diving deep into the IT & infrastructure side of an office move, what it really takes to rebuild your company’s tech without bringing work to a screeching halt.

Robin’s IT Manager Shane Ballou and Workplace Experience Specialist Emily Anderson share what they learned firsthand, including:

✅ The must-have IT checklist for a smooth transition
✅ AV setup & hybrid meeting best practices
✅ Physical security considerations most teams miss
✅ How data shaped our space planning decisions

Plus, we’ll hear from Robin’s People team (Libby Kiely & Elizabeth Fierman) and CFO John O’Donnell about why IT decisions aren’t just technical, they’re business-critical.

Lesson 1: The IT Checklist You Need

IT infrastructure isn’t something you can “figure out later.” The key to a smooth transition is front-loading the work before move-in day.

Shane Ballou knew this all too well. In fact, in his career Robin's relocation was the third office move he coordinated from an IT perspective. He knew that he had to set out with a plan.

“Every office move means rethinking connectivity, security, and how people interact with the space,” explains Shane.

“We spent weeks testing everything—Wi-Fi speeds, badge readers, conference room acoustics—because we knew that once people walked in, they’d expect everything to just work.”

In fact, here’s the checklist he thinks everyone should start with:

📡 Internet & Network Infrastructure
🔹 Choose an ISP early & confirm installation timelines
🔹 Ensure redundant connections for failover (no one likes surprise outages)
🔹 Pre-configure Wi-Fi access points & test coverage before move-in

🎥 AV & Hybrid Meeting Rooms
🔹 Standardize room setups (same hardware = fewer support headaches)
🔹 Pre-test video conferencing tools in real-world conditions
🔹 Consider soundproofing & acoustics—hybrid meetings only work if people can hear each other

🔐 Physical Security & Access Control
🔹 Set up badge access systems (before employees arrive, not after)
🔹 Confirm security camera placements & remote access for monitoring
🔹 Integrate visitor management software with access systems

PS: Here’s a free version of our IT move checklist for you to use during your next move.

Lesson 2: IT Is a Business Decision—Not Just a Technical One

IT choices don’t just affect technical teams—they impact every employee, visitor, and meeting experience.

John O’Donnell, CFO at Robin, highlighted why investing in the right tech upfront made financial sense:

Real estate is one of the biggest line items for any company. If your IT and AV don’t support hybrid work, you’re not just wasting money—you’re reducing productivity. You can have the nicest space in the world, but if the Wi-Fi is spotty or meetings constantly fail, employees will opt to stay home.”

The takeaway? Investing in IT isn’t an extra cost—it’s the foundation of a functional workplace.

Lesson 3: Space Planning—Using Data to Make Smarter Decisions

Once IT was handled, the next challenge was making sure our space actually worked for how our team wanted to use it.

Emily Anderson, Workplace Experience Specialist, knew that this move was the prime time to use data from from our own platform to guide space decisions.

“We didn’t just guess how much desk space vs. meeting space we needed, we looked at usage patterns from our old office to make data-driven choices, explains Emily.

📊 Here are some of the key insights from our data and what we did with that knowledge:

Fewer assigned desks, more flexible seating: Hot desking was already the norm, so we leaned into that model.
More collaboration space: Meeting rooms and informal huddle spaces were in high demand, so we prioritized them.
Dedicated focus areas: Hybrid work requires deep-focus space, so we ensured quiet zones were available.

At Robin, we had the advantage of data from our platform. Without that data, companies often overbuild for things like desks and underinvest in things like collaboration spaces. Our team avoided that mistake by letting real usage patterns drive our decisions.

Key Takeaway: A Tech-Enabled Office Is a Productive Office

Robin’s IT and workplace teams didn’t just move equipment into a new space—they designed a workplace built for how teams work today.

“The best office is one that just works,” explains Elizabeth Fierman, VP of People. “If employees walk in and don’t have to think about IT, space constraints, or meeting logistics, you’ve done your job right.”