VergeSense VP of Product & Marketing Kanav Dhir was invited to join Robin’s webinar, “From Chaos to Clarity” for a candid conversation on how today’s best-run workplaces operate in the real world. The session brought together leaders from TraceLink, Kabam, and VergeSense to explore what’s working, where friction remains, and how data is shaping the next phase of office planning.
Big thanks to Robin for hosting and to panelists Jen Bozec (TraceLink) and Brenton Kelly (Kabam) for an engaging and thoughtful discussion.
The conversation touched on everything from policy design to space shortages, but several insights stood out as especially relevant for workplace and real estate teams navigating today’s hybrid challenges.
Rethinking Workplace Demand: A Data-Backed Lens
Kanav reframed office attendance as a funnel that narrows from headcount to real, in-office overlap. “At the top, you’ve got your assigned employees,” he explained. “Below that is the policy, say, a two-day in-office requirement. But not everyone adheres to that, so there’s a drop-off. Then, even fewer people actually overlap during the same hours.” A policy anticipating 800 people might result in just 600 showing up, and only 400 on-site at the same time.
Designing space around headcount or policy alone often leads to overspending or underutilization. Accounting for real-world behavior and attendance overlap provides workplace teams with a more accurate baseline for planning.
Kanav also introduced the concept of a breakpoint—the moment when space stops supporting productivity, even if capacity hasn’t been reached. “Your office might support 600 people on paper,” he said, “but you might hit a breakpoint at 400—when all your conference rooms are taken, phone booths are full, and employees can’t find space to work the way they need to.” This shift from capacity planning to experience planning helps avoid the hidden friction that drives dissatisfaction. It’s also the foundation for Breakpoint Analyzer, VergeSense’s latest tool designed to help teams pinpoint that tipping point before it starts impacting performance.
That friction often surfaces as complaints about space shortages, even when badge data suggests low utilization. “Badge data says 40% utilization, but you’re still hearing ‘there aren’t enough spaces.’ That’s a design problem, not a volume problem,” Kanav noted. With Breakpoint Analyzer, teams can track when and where space types fall short, especially high-demand assets like phone rooms or small huddle spaces, and adjust accordingly.
Flexibility Works Best When Leadership Leads the Way
Both panelists from TraceLink and Kabam emphasized that return-to-office success hinges less on rigid mandates, and more on how policies are modeled and implemented. Jen Bozec, Senior Facilities Manager at TraceLink, shared how her team makes a five-day in-office policy work without reverting to pre-pandemic rigidity. “We aren’t expecting a 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday regimented schedule,” she explained. “We want people in the office, but we also recognize people have families, workouts, and lives—we build around that.”
Brenton Kelly, Workplace Experience Manager at Kabam, echoed the importance of culture but pointed to leadership presence as the real differentiator. “If the manager isn’t coming in, neither is the team,” he said. Perks and amenities can support engagement, but the most powerful signal comes from leaders who show up. His team also invests in physical environments that provide something employees can’t get at home, like writable conference tables and full-floor whiteboards, but emphasized that even great design can’t compensate for absent leadership.
Continue the Conversation
Many thanks to Robin for hosting this thoughtful discussion and to our fellow panelists for an engaging exchange of ideas. If you’re interested in diving deeper into breakpoint analyzer and how it can help your team right-size space and eliminate waste, VergeSense is hosting two upcoming sessions:
How to Use Breakpoint Analyzer to Rebalance Your Space Supply and Eliminate Waste
July 9, 12–1 PM ET
Office Hours (Live Q&A + Demo)
July 23, 12–1 PM ET