Workplace Tech: 2024 Lessons and A 2025 Forecast

They say that experience is the best teacher, and that’s true when it comes to managing office spaces. In 2024, we learned a lot about what the future of offices looks like by trial and error. We've all watched as companies played the familiar game of will-they-wont-they with in-office policies. While some companies went full throttle and did a complete uno reverse on their previous policies, most organizations are coming out of the office debate and settling on a hybrid schedule.

But what else have we seen happening more regularly with our customers? And what learnings can we take from 2024 into the New Year? Let's dive in.

‍Structured Hybrid is Here to Stay

Gartner data shows that 96% of leaders say they will adopt or have already adopted a hybrid plan for those who can work in that way, with the "3-2" model (three office days, two remote days) emerging as the dominant arrangement. Meanwhile, 70%-80% of companies have downsized their space since 2022. 

This means companies need innovative solutions to ensure people have the resources to work while working in a reduced physical space. Here’s what top-performing companies are doing to solve this problem:

• Giving priority to VIPs for specific space
• Planning their space collaboratively with integrated with usage data
• Allowing permanent desk assignments some days while hoteling those desks when not in use

Automation is No Longer Optional

Employees are unwilling to spend the time to reserve their desks every week. With the rise of a global workforce, it is typical for the creator of a meeting to sit in a completely different area of the world than many of its attendees, leaving people shuffling to find a room for essential meetings at the last minute because the meeting creator doesn’t know where they work. 

Employees need confidence that their arrangements will be taken care of, or they will resent coming to the office. Automated desk and room booking continues to gain traction and is on track to become the norm in high-performing workplaces.

Workplace Operations are Critical to Workplace Management

You’ve probably heard of “IWMS” or Integrated Workplace Management Software. The irony is that most focus on facilities (leases, maintenance) and asset management (desks, maps, inventory of physical objects). They focus on the things in the office and overlook the most critical parts of the workplace - people.  

Workplace management is highly people-centric. Robin customers who identify their job as real estate, facilities, or workplace management cite employee satisfaction with the office as the #1 factor in their performance reviews. A people-centric office needs to centrally manage all of the following, in addition to their backend facility management workflows: 

• Visitor experiences
• Meeting services
• Delivery management
• Activities and events
• Announcements
• Centralized device management and issue reporting
• Workplace experience surveys

Data Quality Comes from Within

In the past, our customers had concerns about data accuracy despite our analytics being correct. It turns out the way data was collected didn’t reflect the realities of the workplace. Additionally, employees have a low tolerance for manual entry or check-ins, leading to an incomplete office picture. Take athenahealth for example: 

“We wanted to make the best use of the spaces we do have, so we started exploring what that meant, things like finding the right team days, deciding on how many rooms we need - we didn’t want to be reactive in making choices; we wanted to use data. That’s where Robin comes in." - Brittany Freeman, Workplace Experience Director, athenahealth

Companies that benefit most from workplace insights have created multiple mechanisms for capturing office occupancy data. Robin customers typically implement a combination of the following.

• Presence detection from companies like VergeSense and Embrava
• Badge swipe data from Kisi, Avigilon Alta, Brivo, CCure 9000
• Automated mobile and desktop check-ins via wifi
• Manual check-in via QR Code and mobile apps

With additional sensor information and desk check-ins, you can see the deltas between what people say they are going to do and what they actually do. For example, if a percentage of people badge in but don’t go to their desks, you may need to rethink office design to incorporate more common areas. 

What Does 2025 Have in Store for Office Spaces?

So, where does that leave offices heading into 2025? We recently shared insights on future trends from some of our Robin executives, myself included.

For those laser-focused on the HOW of office management and what we can expect, here’s a little more color on where I see things heading. 

1. Purpose-Driven Office Attendance

Employees are more discerning about why they go to the office. They want their time and money spent commuting and being in the office to be worthwhile.

While hybrid work offers flexibility, the office is not going away; its purpose is evolving. Offices will become hubs for collaboration and team building, not just spaces for individual work. For example, 73% of hybrid employees reported feeling more connected to their company when in-office with their colleagues.

Assigned seating increases as companies move toward a more structured office environment centered on collaboration. Companies risk losing talent if they don't provide a meaningful reason to be in the office. Fully remote, task-based jobs may even be automated in the future. Whatever way you slice it, purposeful in-office work will be crucial to engagement and, as a result, employee retention rates. Recent research found that retaining teams through hybrid work can potentially save companies millions:

According to Harvard Business Review, an employee quitting costs companies at least 50% of the employee’s annual salary. In Trip.com’s experiment, employees liked hybrid working so much that their quit rates fell by more than a third, saving the company millions of dollars a year.

2. The Emergence of Invisible Software

The future of workplace technology is seamless and integrated, with "invisible software" working in the background to automate tasks and streamline processes. This shift will eliminate repetitive data entry and automate workflows. The software anticipates employee needs and proactively handles tasks. For example, when an employee schedules a meeting, the system automatically handles visitor access, room booking, and catering. This trend addresses the increasing complexity of workplace technology, with companies using an average of 976 applications.

3. The Rise of Workplace Operations

The role of office management is expanding beyond facilities management to focus on employee engagement and satisfaction. Employee workplace satisfaction is the top performance metric for the majority of facilities professionals. Office managers create dynamic, adaptable workplaces catering to evolving employee needs.

Traditional IWMS systems are being reimagined to focus on the daily operational needs of the workplace. The modern office is seen as a "living, breathing entity" that requires proactive and strategic management. Medium-sized companies need user-friendly solutions that support their office management needs without being overly complex.

Is it Time to Reimagine Your Offices?

It's no secret that workplaces are going through one of their biggest transformations in decades. The learning curve has been steep for most companies and now the dust is beginning to settle. The goal for offices in 2025 will be to reimagine how physical spaces can impact the experiences of their teams for more purposeful, productive in-person work. The key to unlocking that? Investing in the right workplace technology.

Check out what Robin can do for you and your office plans today!