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6 Critical Goals for Workplace Innovators in 2025

5 min read 24 January 2025

Jackie Towers

6 Critical Goals for Workplace Innovators in 2025

Hybrid policies, renovations, portfolio downsizes (or upsizes), getting people in the office and making sure they have a top-notch time while they’re there…workplace innovators have a buffet’s-worth of goals on their plate for 2025.

 

Not to mention all the standard priorities like attracting and retaining talent, engaging employees and making sure the office is as sustainable as it can possibly be – how the heck do you figure out which ones to prioritize the most, let alone take concrete steps to achieve them? 

 

In this post, we jump back into our recent webinar on Dynamic Workplace Strategy with a transcript from our expert on all things Future of Work, Jane Young. In this transcript, Jane covers six critical goals for workplace innovators in 2025.

 

Rather listen or watch instead? Get the full webinar recording here ⬇️

Dynamic Workplace Strategy: 4 Core Capabilities for Success in 2025

Find our how to 10x the value of your workplace this year with a roadmap for measurable success in this webinar recording.

Let’s break down the six critical goals that we’re hearing most frequently from workplace innovators like your good selves. 

 

Your workplace strategy probably includes all of these to some extent; but how you prioritize them will depend on your overall business priorities.  
 
Because workplace strategy isn’t about setting a whole bunch of new goals in some workplace bubble over here… it’s about achieving your existing goals better and faster – as an organization, in terms of revenue growth or cost savings – and contributing to departmental goals within that. 

 

So how can the workplace strategy help you achieve your existing people goals better and faster – like talent attraction, retention, engagement; how can your workplace strategy contribute to existing goals around cost savings, carbon emissions; or goals like customer satisfaction, innovation and so on.  

 

And we’re seeing these people and place goals starting to merge as Real Estate leaders prioritize the People stuff – experience, effectiveness, not just efficiency – and People leaders prioritize place.  
 
This is also reflected in funky new job titles springing up, like Head of People and Place; and a rising number of CRE folks reporting into HR. 
 
This merging is critical given stakeholder alignment is fundamental to the groove of getting stuff done. 

 

Goal #1: Portfolio Optimization

This is about right-sizing your spaces and increasing workplace effectiveness.  
 
Maybe you’re reducing your footprint to channel savings into creating an inspiring destination workplace? That’s certainly something our customers have had great success with. Maybe you’re retrofitting your existing spaces for hybrid work. 

 

Portfolio decisions are high stakes. You need to answer big questions like ‘how much space do we really need?’, ‘what kind of space will support the business outcomes we’re shooting for?” 

 
 

Goal #2: Data-Driven Space Design

 Gensler’s Global Workplace Survey reckons that less than a third of workplaces have been redesigned in the past 3 years 

 
But Gartner said back in 2023 that 71% of workplace leaders were planning a major redesign of space for hybrid work. 
 
So home come this hasn’t happened? 

 

Well the same Gartner research pointed out that 96% of CRE leaders said they lacked data they needed to do this. 
 
So that’ll be why. 
 
We embraced the badge swipe thing but that can only take us so far and it’s not enough to get us to the next level.  We need to do stuff like get the right balance of focus vs collaboration spaces, right-size our rooms and neighborhoods, kit them out so they’re better than home. 
 
And we need to test design ideas before rolling them out more widely. One of our customers tested out kitchenettes as a way to bring people together and provide free food only to find nobody used them. So better to test and learn than burn through budget scaling low-value space types or amenities. 

 
And more widely, data-driven space design it’s about creating spaces that people genuinely want to use, because the experience feels good, because it’s energising. 
 
Some of the companies we work with are reimagining their workplace as a cultural hub that embodies what their brand is all about. They want their spaces to inspire people, to promote innovation, collaboration and creativity. 

 

Some want to create informal, home from home spaces, but better than home. At least for certain tasks. 

 

Some are all about healthy building design that promotes wellness. Vibrant social spaces that rebuild connection.  

 

Whatever your flavour of execution, data-driven space design is about using data on actual employee behaviour to inform architectural, design and configuration changes.  

 

Again, it’s about overcoming perception and assumptions by looking beyond what people say they want or what others are doing, to understand what your people actually do. 

4 Ways to Use Data to Design Your Hybrid Office

Data-driven design decisions will make your workplace both solid and adaptable. Here are four ways to make that happen.

Goal #3: Sustainability 

 Albeit that greenwashing has been a thing, let’s face it: there is a genuine recognition brewing of the business benefits of sustainability that’s tipping many leaders towards genuine commitment to change.  

 

Not least the fact that top talent who can pick and choose where they work are swayed by ethical and sustainable practices. Gallup reckons that 71% of workers consider a company’s environmental record when deciding on an employer. 
 
According to IBM, 76% of executives believe sustainability drives better business results and Deloitte says that 73% of CEOs are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050… which is no joke. That’s gonna be hard.  

 

So from a workplace strategy perspective, this boils down to: 
  

  • Occupancy driven energy management; and 
  • Carbon footprint reduction through space optimization  

 

For example, some folks with long leases are shutting down underutilized buildings or floors, to reduce energy consumption – all that wasting lighting, heating, cooling – while funneling people into spaces that feel more vibrant and less ghost-town-y. 

4 Ways to Reduce Office Carbon Footprint by Understanding Workplace Occupancy

28% of global emissions come from building operations. But by using workplace occupancy data in these four ways, your organization can but a sizeable dent in carbon emissions.

Goal #4: Purposeful Attendance

 This is about creating a magnetic workplace experience so that everyone who wants to come in and who’d benefit from coming in, does. It’s about creating demand for the office and earning the commute. 
 
We know by now that the top reason people want to come into the office is people. Yes, sometimes we want to focus and get some peace and quiet, sometimes we want to use fancy dual monitors, sometimes we want free coffee and bagels… but really it’s about getting out the house and reenergising by spending time together, collaborating, socializing, learning, and making good things happen. 

 

Goal #5: Wellbeing 

 This is about rebuilding social connection, workplace community and trust. Particularly between leadership and employees. 
 
Real life human connection buffers us against burnout, loneliness, even death – given loneliness is worse for us than smoking or alcoholism, according to Dr Robert Waldinger, the leader of the very robust Harvard Study of Adult Development. 
 
Around 2012 mental health started to tank. This is when smartphones and social media because ubiquitous and it really hit younger cohorts who are now in the workplace in their 20s and 30s: 

Percent of US adolescents and adults with major depression
Source: https://www.afterbabel.com/p/13-explanations-mental-health-crisis

This is one of many charts that show the severity of that. This shows the rise in depression. And it’s killing our output. 

There’s a massive correlation between mental health scores and the average number of unproductive days per month. So take the huge chunk of the workforce that’s struggling, the fact they could be unproductive like half of the time…. And consider the potential impact on productivity of improving mental health. 

Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost annually to depression and anxiety, costing $1 trillion in lost productivity, so says the world economic forum. 

 
This is partly about bringing people together – think networking events, team lunches, having fun, social learning. Maybe I’m into running and I’ll see there’s a running club on Wednesday so I decide to come in that day.  

 

It’s about overcoming the inertia of remote working – you know, put socks and trousers on, shake off the Cheeto dust and get out the door into the real world.  
 
You know we don’t have to build friendships at work, but it’s better if we do, in a whole bunch of measurable and immeasurable ways. Check out our webinar on rebuilding social connection for loads of stats around this. 

 
Another part is improving communications, because human brains struggle with clarity and uncertainty. A Harvard paper found that events can increase employee communications by 113%, with even once a quarter generating a lasting boost in social connection 
 
Just as important is providing flexibility and autonomy that demonstrates trust, so you support work-life integration and don’t kill intrinsic motivation. Because often people, particularly creative people and definitely your top performing people, are intrinsically motivated to do great work, for its own sake; and it’s up to leadership to not only cultivate that by creating the right environment, but also making sure you don’t wreck it, because it’s fragile.  
 
You see work keeps on getting more cognitively demanding – because technology does the repetitive stuff and enables us to do everything faster. This means our brains are handling complexity and trying to avoid distractions – and the biggest distraction of all isn’t just notifications pinging every 10 seconds and doom scrolling algorithms pinging at our endorphins and negativity bias, but feeling frustrated and upset that we aren’t appreciated or trusted or valued. That’s a recipe for presenteeism and loads of other isms. 
 
Cultivating social connection, a sense of belonging and feel appreciated is a huge retention driver, because lack of belonging and appreciation are top reasons why people quit.  

Feeling valued by your manager, valued by the organization and feeling a sense of belonging are way more important than people think.

So wellbeing is a big one and the workplace experience can support this. 

 

Goal #6: collaboration and productivity

 Again, closely related to the other goals… is collaboration and productivity 

 

We all know by now that hybrid work has changed how people use space. Less individual workstations. More collaboration space. More social spaces. Higher bar in experience and hospitality. The curation of a seamless, frictionless, memorable journey that inspires our best work because we have successfully delivered a workplace vibe… 

 

 So for this, we need: 
 

  • Spaces that support different work modes 
  • New work habits and rituals. A great starting point is to encourage all your managers to facilitate conversations with their teams on how work gets done: what are the moments of togetherness that matter the most – is it onboarding new colleagues, it is brainstorming, is it project kick offs, can weekly stand ups be done asynchronously but quarterly planning sessions face-to-face
  • Technology that removes friction, so we don’t slow down our flywheel. For example showing us when our favourite people will be in; and coordinating team days in the office without a load of back and forth hassle
Dynamic Workplace Strategy: 4 Core Capabilities for Success in 2025

Find out how to achieve these six critical workplace goals in this webinar recording.

Jackie Towers

5 min read 24 January 2025

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Fortune 500

Global Real Estate Lead @ Fortune 500 Company

"We will not make any meaningful real estate and workplace decisions without HubStar data."

Fortune 500

Global Real Estate Lead @ Fortune 500 Company

"HubStar allows us to see how space is being used and occupied, and helps us predict the space we’ll need going forward."

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Donna Porter

Senior Space Manager @ Sheffield Hallam University

"Team were very happy! Implementation was great. We were up and running in days."

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Law Practice

"Perfect fit. The application works very well, and the support given has been exceptional. This was originally required for desk booking, but the business quickly took to the system and have been requesting further functionality since."

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Application Analyst @ Oil & Energy Company

"Brilliant solution for managing office space. We've been able to be proactive and intentional about making our office space work."

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Commercial Director @ Technology & Services Company

"Would 100% recommended. Our account manager is by far the best and most approachable person I've met on any contract I've worked on. Nothings is too much. They always have the answer and help make the changes we need and want. Having this type of customer service really makes a difference."

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Facilities Manager @ Civic & Social Organization

"Support response and attention to detail is exceptional. Highly recommend as very good value for the investment. Staff find it easy to use and integration to Microsoft Outlook is great. Support is excellent."

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ICT Manager @ Nonprofit Organization

"What we've found most useful is the ability to customise the system to suit our needs. The rules and policy engine have allowed us to build in desk and room booking processes to communicate well with our team, and manage the space in our building."

5-3

Commercial Director @ Technology & Services Company

"The standout features are it’s clean and simple interface, ability to integrate with Outlook and the simple way it can be deployed to the display screens outside our rooms, not to mention the high level of support that’s provided with the product."

AEU

Evan Henderson

IT Officer @ AEU Victoria

"User-friendly interface, real-time reservations, and effective resource management improve productivity and space use. I use it everyday."

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Civil Engineering Company

"Very adaptable, highly featured and easy to use. I like the ability to address our very detailed requirements in a quick implementation with a modern, attractive user interface."

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Luxury Goods & Jewellery Company

"My favourite feature is the Outlook integration, as it enables our staff to book meetings in a familiar way. The bookings are automatically transferred without any extra steps for the end user."

AEU

Evan Henderson

IT Officer @ AEU Victoria

"The system was so intuitive, we really didn’t need to give people a lot of training."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"The reporting has been brilliant."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"Employees need to be able to collaborate closely, working in one room. The office environment needs to align with this seamlessly. What that means for us is that we need to measure usage and occupancy rates and adjust the workspaces accordingly as needed."

Mark-van-Rijt

Mark van Rijt

Managing Director of Facility Management @ ABN AMRO Bank

"HubStar has removed so much admin from my daily to-do list. These days I only spend about an hour a week, covering six offices and 800 staff members. Before I was spending an hour a day messaging people back and forth! This means the system has cut the time I have to spend on managing bookings by 80%."

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Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis

"There’s a tremendous range of reports that we use to measure capacity levels."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"HubStar allows us to see how space is being used and occupied, and helps us predict the space we’ll need going forward."

donna-porter

Donna Porter

Senior Space Manager @ Sheffield Hallam University

"The experience that users now have using HubStar is absolutely fantastic. The implementation went smoothly and our staff find the system really easy to use. The support I’ve had is phenomenal - incredibly knowledgeable about the product and so helpful. They’re second to none"

tristan-drinkwater

Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis

"With the single push of a button, my team gains insight into spaces that are consistently underutilised and how many ‘no-shows’ have taken place"

wur-350x350-1

Fred Jonker

Information Services Policy Officer @ Wageningen University & Research

"I’d absolutely recommend HubStar. If someone asked me why, I’d say it simply does everything you need it to do. The feature set is rich and covers all the requirements that most organisations are likely to have."

tristan-drinkwater

Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis

"HubStar enabled us to save millions in operating costs while not only avoiding disruption, but improving employee experience."

Fortune 500

Global Real Estate Lead @ Fortune 500 Company

"We will not make any meaningful real estate and workplace decisions without HubStar data."

Fortune 500

Global Real Estate Lead @ Fortune 500 Company

"HubStar allows us to see how space is being used and occupied, and helps us predict the space we’ll need going forward."

donna-porter

Donna Porter

Senior Space Manager @ Sheffield Hallam University

"Team were very happy! Implementation was great. We were up and running in days."

gavel_88dp_FFFFFF

Law Practice

"Perfect fit. The application works very well, and the support given has been exceptional. This was originally required for desk booking, but the business quickly took to the system and have been requesting further functionality since."

oil_barrel_300dp_FFFFFF

Application Analyst @ Oil & Energy Company

"Brilliant solution for managing office space. We've been able to be proactive and intentional about making our office space work."

5-3

Commercial Director @ Technology & Services Company

"Would 100% recommended. Our account manager is by far the best and most approachable person I've met on any contract I've worked on. Nothings is too much. They always have the answer and help make the changes we need and want. Having this type of customer service really makes a difference."

groups_300dp_FFFFFF

Facilities Manager @ Civic & Social Organization

"Support response and attention to detail is exceptional. Highly recommend as very good value for the investment. Staff find it easy to use and integration to Microsoft Outlook is great. Support is excellent."

volunteer_activism_300dp_FFFFFF

ICT Manager @ Nonprofit Organization

"What we've found most useful is the ability to customise the system to suit our needs. The rules and policy engine have allowed us to build in desk and room booking processes to communicate well with our team, and manage the space in our building."

5-3

Commercial Director @ Technology & Services Company

"The standout features are it’s clean and simple interface, ability to integrate with Outlook and the simple way it can be deployed to the display screens outside our rooms, not to mention the high level of support that’s provided with the product."

AEU

Evan Henderson

IT Officer @ AEU Victoria

"User-friendly interface, real-time reservations, and effective resource management improve productivity and space use. I use it everyday."

engineering_300dp_FFFFFF

Civil Engineering Company

"Very adaptable, highly featured and easy to use. I like the ability to address our very detailed requirements in a quick implementation with a modern, attractive user interface."

diamond_300dp_FFFFFF

Luxury Goods & Jewellery Company

"My favourite feature is the Outlook integration, as it enables our staff to book meetings in a familiar way. The bookings are automatically transferred without any extra steps for the end user."

AEU

Evan Henderson

IT Officer @ AEU Victoria

"The system was so intuitive, we really didn’t need to give people a lot of training."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"The reporting has been brilliant."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"Employees need to be able to collaborate closely, working in one room. The office environment needs to align with this seamlessly. What that means for us is that we need to measure usage and occupancy rates and adjust the workspaces accordingly as needed."

Mark-van-Rijt

Mark van Rijt

Managing Director of Facility Management @ ABN AMRO Bank

"HubStar has removed so much admin from my daily to-do list. These days I only spend about an hour a week, covering six offices and 800 staff members. Before I was spending an hour a day messaging people back and forth! This means the system has cut the time I have to spend on managing bookings by 80%."

tristan-drinkwater

Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis

"There’s a tremendous range of reports that we use to measure capacity levels."

Russell-Group

Jeremy Wilson

Operations Manager @ Russell Group University

"HubStar allows us to see how space is being used and occupied, and helps us predict the space we’ll need going forward."

donna-porter

Donna Porter

Senior Space Manager @ Sheffield Hallam University

"The experience that users now have using HubStar is absolutely fantastic. The implementation went smoothly and our staff find the system really easy to use. The support I’ve had is phenomenal - incredibly knowledgeable about the product and so helpful. They’re second to none"

tristan-drinkwater

Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis

"With the single push of a button, my team gains insight into spaces that are consistently underutilised and how many ‘no-shows’ have taken place"

wur-350x350-1

Fred Jonker

Information Services Policy Officer @ Wageningen University & Research

"I’d absolutely recommend HubStar. If someone asked me why, I’d say it simply does everything you need it to do. The feature set is rich and covers all the requirements that most organisations are likely to have."

tristan-drinkwater

Tristan Drinkwater

Facilities & IT Services Manager @ Exertis