Glossary · Moves & change

What are additions in workplace management?

Short answer

In workplace management, additions are the work of preparing space for a new occupant, such as a new hire, contractor or incoming team. They are the adds in moves, adds and changes, and cover assigning a desk or neighborhood, setting up equipment and building access, and updating workplace systems so the person can work from day one.

Also called new starters, seat additions.

How it works

An addition usually starts in the HR system when a new hire is confirmed with a start date, team and location. Contractors and interns may come from a different source, such as a manager's request.

The workplace team decides where the person will sit: an assigned desk, a place in the team's neighborhood, or booking rights for shared desks. Facilities and IT then line up furniture, a laptop and peripherals, a locker and a badge. The directory and booking system need the person's account before day one.

Additions in bulk, such as a new team or an acquisition, become capacity questions: does the neighborhood still fit on the team's busiest day, or does the team need more space? That is where addition planning meets headcount planning.

Additions differ from the other two kinds of MAC (moves, adds and changes) work. A move relocates someone who already has a seat, and a change alters a space while its people stay put; an addition creates a place for someone who has none. Leavers are the mirror image, releasing a seat, equipment and access, which is why many teams track additions alongside moves and leavers as joiners, movers and leavers.

How to measure it

  1. Track the share of new starters who have a seat, equipment and access ready on day one.
  2. Measure lead time between the HR record and the seat assignment.
  3. Check neighborhood capacity against peak attendance after each wave of additions.
  4. Count additions per month by team and floor, so capacity planning sees growth before it arrives.

Examples

  • A new hire is added in the HR system weeks ahead; the workplace team assigns a desk in the team's neighborhood and IT prepares a laptop for day one.
  • A graduate intake joins in September; the planner checks peak-day demand for the team's floor and adds a row of bookable desks.
  • An acquired company of forty people joins in one month; the workplace team checks peak attendance, extends the acquiring team's neighborhood and seats everyone in bulk before day one.

Common mistakes

  • Learning about a new starter on their first morning.
  • Seating a new hire far from the team because the neighborhood was full on paper, when attendance data shows room.
  • Forgetting to create the booking account before day one.
  • Giving every new hire an assigned desk by default, which grows the footprint faster than attendance.

How Kadence helps

With the Kadence HRIS integration (WorkOps Pro), new starters sync from Workday, BambooHR or HiBob, and Move Manager plans seating for new starters before they start, with recommendations and bulk auto-assign. Leavers are removed from seats automatically. Team neighborhoods, assigned desks and SCIM directory sync mean the new person can find their team and book from their first day.

WorkOps · Space management · Pricing

Frequently asked questions

What does add mean in moves, adds and changes?

An add is preparing the workplace for a new occupant: a new employee, contractor or team. It covers where they will sit, the equipment and access they need, and the records that must exist in workplace systems before they arrive.

How do you prepare a workspace for a new employee?

Confirm the start date and team from HR, choose a seat or neighborhood near the team, arrange equipment, a locker and a badge, and create their accounts in the directory and booking system. Send them a note on where to go and who to meet on the first morning.

Should new hires get an assigned desk?

It depends on the seating model and the role. In a hybrid office, many new hires do well with a place in their team's neighborhood and booking rights, which keeps them near colleagues without holding a desk that sits empty on remote days. Roles in the office every day may still need an assigned desk.

How far in advance should additions be planned?

As soon as HR confirms the hire. Seating and access are quick, but equipment, badges and any furniture changes take longer, and bulk additions may need a capacity check or a layout change. An automatic feed from the HR system removes most of the lead-time problem.

How are additions different from moves and changes?

An addition gives a place to someone who does not have one yet, such as a new hire or contractor. A move relocates someone who already has a seat, and a change updates a space or its rules without relocating anyone. Together they make up MAC, the moves, adds and changes that keep a workplace matched to the organization.

  • MAC (moves, adds and changes) The routine work of relocating people, seating new occupants and updating workspaces as an organization changes.
  • Joiners, movers and leavers (JML) The process that keeps access, equipment, seating and records in step when people join, change role or leave.
  • Moves Planned relocations of a person, team or department to a different seat, neighborhood, floor or building.
  • Changes Updates to a workspace, team area or setting that do not relocate the people assigned to it.
  • HRIS integration A connection that syncs joiners, leavers, teams and leave dates from the HR system into workplace software automatically.
  • Headcount planning (for space) Forecasting how many people will work in each team and location, and turning that into the office space they will need.

Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed

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