AI in the Workplace: Why Your Office Move Needs More Than Just Smart Technology
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
The conversation around AI in the workplace has reached fever pitch. Every week brings new headlines about artificial intelligence transforming how we work, prompting urgent discussions in boardrooms across the country. But if you're planning an office move or refurbishment in the coming months, the real question isn't about AI at all—it's about understanding what problem you're actually trying to solve.
The Technology Trap
There's a common mistake happening right now in workplace design: organisations are starting with the technology rather than the outcome. They're asking "What AI tools should we implement?" when they should be asking "What are we trying to achieve for our people?"
This isn't new. We've seen this pattern before with cloud computing, which was supposed to solve every business problem imaginable. There was massive hype, skills shortages, job losses, and new roles created. Sound familiar? The difference with AI is the breadth of impact—it's not just touching IT departments, it's affecting everyone from facilities managers to end users walking through your door each morning.
The lesson from history is clear: technology eventually sorts itself out if you get the people, processes, and outcomes right first. When you have the right mindset and focus on solving real problems, great things happen. The technology becomes the enabler, not the end goal.
Smart Buildings Aren't Automatically Intelligent Buildings
Over the past five years, there's been a rush to make buildings "smart" by installing sensors everywhere. Occupancy sensors, environmental monitors, access control systems—all generating rivers of data. But here's the uncomfortable truth: having 10,000 sensors doesn't make your building smart any more than having a thermometer makes you a doctor.
The real value comes from what you do with that data. Who owns it? Who's analysing it? Who's making decisions based on it? These are questions of governance and strategy, not just technology procurement.
The most successful smart buildings have created entirely new roles—essentially a building CTO who sits at the intersection of IT, facilities, and operations. This hybrid position understands both the technical infrastructure and the human experience, bridging traditionally siloed departments to create genuinely responsive environments.
The Silo Problem
Speaking of silos, they remain one of the biggest barriers to creating effective workplaces. Traditionally, you might deal with the IT department for connectivity, facilities for environmental controls, operations for access, and perhaps marketing for audio-visual systems. Each operates independently with their own budgets, priorities, and vendors.
But the workplace of 2025 and beyond demands joined-up thinking. Your environmental controls affect cognitive performance. Your occupancy data should inform your booking systems. Your AV infrastructure needs to integrate with your collaboration platforms. These aren't separate concerns—they're interconnected elements of a single user experience.
If you're planning an office move, the first step isn't choosing which sensors to install or which AI platform to adopt. It's getting your stakeholders in the same room and asking: what do we want people to feel and achieve in this space?
The Half-Life of Skills
Here's something that should concern anyone planning a multi-year office project: the half-life of technical skills is now approximately six months. Twenty-five years ago, you could learn a programming language or system design approach and it would remain relevant for a decade or more. Today, the tools and platforms evolving so rapidly that software engineers are starting projects assuming the tools they'll need haven't been invented yet.
This creates a peculiar challenge for workplace design. Traditional projects follow a design-procure-build-operate timeline that can span several years. By the time you've completed design and moved into build, your specifications may already be outdated. It's like trying to hit a moving target while standing on a moving platform.
The answer isn't to avoid planning or to wait for the technology to stabilise (it won't). Instead, think about flexibility and lifecycle from day one. Don't design something fixed and rigid. Design something that can adapt, learn, and evolve. Consider operational requirements upfront rather than as an afterthought.
What This Means for Your Office Move
If you have a lease event or office move coming up in the next few months, here's the approach that actually works:
Start with maturity. How joined up is your thinking currently? Do your IT, facilities, and operations teams collaborate or compete? Are you honest about the skills and knowledge gaps in your organisation?
Define the problem, not the solution. Whether you're an occupier wanting to maximise user experience or a landlord wanting to maximise asset value, start with the business outcome. What does success look like for the humans using this space?
Think beyond traditional project lifecycles. Don't approach this as a linear waterfall project where you design, build, and then figure out operations later. The operational perspective needs to inform design decisions from the very beginning.
Plan for non-human use cases. This might sound like science fiction, but some new builds are already incorporating design requirements for robots and autonomous systems—wider corridors, charging infrastructure, contactless access. Even if this seems far-fetched for your organisation, it illustrates an important principle: design for adaptability.
Get the AV right from the start. Here's where many office moves go wrong. Audio-visual systems are treated as an afterthought—a few screens to bolt onto walls once the building is nearly complete. This is a massive mistake. AV infrastructure affects everything from meeting room configuration to power requirements to network capacity. Bring it into the design conversation early, or you'll pay for it later.
The Real Risk
The biggest risk isn't that AI will replace jobs or that robots will take over (though the media loves these narratives). The real risk is investing significant capital in a workplace that's inflexible, siloed, and designed around tools rather than outcomes.
You'll have spent millions creating a space that can't adapt to new ways of working, can't integrate new technologies, and frustrates rather than enables your people. And in a market where getting people back to the office remains challenging, that's a risk you can't afford.
Your Next Step
If you're planning an office move or refurbishment in the coming months, don't start by asking which AI tools to implement. Start by getting clear on what you're trying to achieve for your people and your business.
Then work with partners who understand that technology—including AI and audio-visual systems—should serve that vision, not define it. Work with an AV company that knows what they're doing, one that asks about your outcomes before talking about their products.
Download our AV Bundle to get meeting room design guides, a meeting room configurator, and project risk maps. These tools will help you think through the real requirements of your space—not just the technology specifications, but the human outcomes you're trying to create.
Because ultimately, the future workplace isn't about having the latest AI or the smartest sensors. It's about creating spaces where people can do their best work, where technology enables rather than frustrates, and where your investment adapts as the world continues to change around it.about where we work—it's about how we work together.
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