Uniting Separate Offices: Stagwell's Global Hub Strategy

Global Hubs: A Unified Approach

Before 2020, Stagwell’s agencies operated independently in the same major cities. This isolated their brand presence and increased real estate and supply costs.

To simplify operations, they opted to shutter individual offices and focus their agencies into central hubs. They needed to find a tool that integrated into each agency's existing tech stack, maintained privacy among different agencies and was easy for users to adopt.

“It just had to be easy to use,” said Christian Acacio, SVP, Infrastructure & Strategic Projects. “This is a new way of working for a lot of employees, so if we gave them a clunky tool that was hard to use, then they were never going to buy into a flexible seating model.”

That’s when they found Robin.

One Workplace Tool: One Office Solution

The debut at Stagwell’s New York office hub, 1 World Trade Center, showcased Robin’s:

• User-friendly interface
• Customizable features and scalability
• Seamless integrations with tools like Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack and Microsoft Teams

Each office, equipped with its own Robin account, began easily booking resources in their new flexible environment. The user-friendly interface empowered Stagwell administrators and individual office managers alike to leverage Robin. 

Integrations with Outlook, Google, Teams, and Slack allowed each agency to maintain existing tech stacks. And given the new shared space, Robin’s visitor management solution helped keep track of NDAs for guests and maintain client privacy among competitors in their new shared space. This ensured a smooth transition for each agency as they settled into their New York hub.

With the success and experience of their New York hub under their belt, they moved to consolidate four more campus hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, and Toronto and are working to roll out across two additional hubs in Washington DC and Minneapolis. The consolidation achieved a significant cost reduction and positioned Stagwell as an industry leader.

Across each hub, Stagwell utilizes Robin features such as:

• Visitor management: Client’s privacy remains protected between competing brands and agencies while providing a seamless experience for guests and employees acting as host.
• Workplace analytics: Individual agencies are empowered with real-time data to better understand their workplace and create a collaborative, productive space for their teams.
• Resource booking: Teams can easily plan their workweeks and book in-demand resources like desks and spaces within the office.‍
• Integrations: Agencies are able to maintain autonomy by integrating Robin into the tools their teams are already using: Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Google and Slack.

Charting the Future: Robin 🤝 Stagwell

Stagwell's new campus hub strategy emphasizes collaboration and showcases the scale of their work to both customers and clients. Robin is each agency's one solution to streamline each campus hub and helps foster a collaborative and efficient workplace.

Stagwell was able to unify their agencies, introduce flexible work and bring their new hubs to life without disrupting their autonomy. Since Robin is so easy to scale and adapt in any environment, they were able to easily replicate their success in hubs across the world, with more hubs in Minneapolis, Washington DC and other locations planned in the future. The new global hub model showcases Stagwell’s impressive scale in the industry.

“When I think about the value of these campuses, I think it's first and foremost bringing the groups together so they can collaborate, learn, and grow,” said Acacio. “It's a signal to employees, to clients, that hey, Stagwell has a more significant presence.”

As they continue to grow as a company, Stagwell is finding new meaning in the saying better together.