Tactic vs Kadence: Why Teams are Making the Switch

Why This Comparison Matters

Both Tactic and Kadence are legitimate workplace management platforms that can help you reduce your real estate footprint. Both can justify transitioning to a 0.6:1 desk-to-employee ratio. Both deliver the occupancy analytics your CFO needs to renegotiate lease terms.

The difference isn't about better or worse; it's about scope.

Kadence does what it's designed to do exceptionally well: provide the data and tools for space optimization. Tactic does that and adds a layer focused on making employees actually want to use that optimized space.

Your platform choice depends on your goals. If space utilization dashboards solve your problem, Kadence is a smart, focused solution. If you're also thinking about attendance trends and long-term workplace engagement, Tactic's broader approach may be worth exploring.

The Core Difference: Focused vs. Comprehensive

Kadence: Purpose-Built for Space Optimization

Kadence was designed to answer the CFO's question: "How do we cut our lease costs in half?" It does this well with:

• Strong hoteling management for companies with <1:1 seat-to-employee ratios
• Clear occupancy analytics to justify downsizing decisions
• Booking compliance tracking to ensure space utilization hits target thresholds

Kadence's focused approach means the platform does desk booking and space analytics really well. For many companies, that's exactly what they need.

Tactic: Space Optimization Plus Attendance Intelligence

Tactic delivers the same financial outcomes, desk booking, occupancy analytics, real estate ROI modeling, but adds tools focused on understanding why people come to the office, not just whether they do.

A study by Microsoft found that 84% of employees say they would be motivated to go to the office specifically by the promise of socializing with co-workers.

Tactic has seeing this to be true as companies using Tactic see a 78% increase in office attendance within the first 30 days, which means your optimized footprint actually gets used, your cost-per-occupied-desk drops, and your space efficiency improves beyond the initial downsizing alone.

Understanding the Strategic Difference

Both platforms help you shrink your footprint. The question is what happens next.

You can execute a downsizing strategy with either platform. But sustaining that optimized space requires understanding employee behavior, and that's where the platforms diverge.

The Challenge of Space Optimization Without Engagement

The typical downsizing playbook:

1. Implement desk booking to gather utilization data
2. Discover 30% average occupancy
3. Reduce footprint by 50%
4. Save $2M annually on lease costs

Many companies then discover that six months later, attendance has dropped further because the "optimized" office feels empty. According to Cushman & Wakefield's Experience Per Square Foot Report, 64% of companies that reduced their office footprint by 30% or more reported lower employee satisfaction within the first year, citing "lack of energy" and "ghost town effect" as primary concerns. The space savings are real, but the value of the remaining space has diminished.

This isn't a Kadence problem; it's an industry-wide challenge. Any desk booking platform can tell you how much space you need. The harder question is making sure people actually want to use that space.

When Each Platform Makes Sense

Choose Kadence When:

• You need a focused desk booking solution with strong space analytics, and that solves your problem completely.
• Your teams already have preferred solutions for room scheduling and visitor management, and you want to avoid platform overlap.
• You prefer a specialized tool that does one thing really well over a broader platform.
• Your primary stakeholders are Facilities and Real Estate, and they want pure space utilization metrics.

Kadence's focused approach is a strength for companies that know exactly what they need and don't want extra features.

Choose Tactic When:

• You want space optimization and tools to drive sustainable attendance, not just compliance data.
• You prefer a unified platform that handles desks, rooms, and visitors without managing multiple vendors.
• You recognize that space efficiency improves when people actually use the space and want a platform designed for that.
• Your employees expect consumer-grade UX (like Tessa AI in Slack/Teams) and won't adopt clunky interfaces.
• You're planning multi-year workplace strategy and need behavioral analytics beyond basic occupancy rates.

The Tactic Advantage: Going Deeper on Space Efficiency

Here's a concrete example of why the comprehensive approach matters:

Scenario A (space metrics only):

• 1,000 employees, 400 desks (0.4:1 ratio)
• 30% daily occupancy (120 people/day)
• Cost per occupied desk: 3.3x your target

Scenario B (Tactic's approach):

• 1,000 employees, 400 desks (0.4:1 ratio)
• 54% daily occupancy (216 people/day) after attendance lift
• Cost per occupied desk: 1.85x your target

Same footprint. Same lease savings. But dramatically better space efficiency because people actually use the optimized space.

The Bottom Line

Kadence is a good platform. It does desk booking and space analytics well, and for many companies, that's sufficient.

Tactic does those same things and goes deeper by focusing on the people and helping you understand not just how much space you need, but how to make that space actually deliver value.

Neither approach is wrong. Your choice depends on whether space metrics alone meet your needs, or if you want those metrics plus the tools to drive the sustainable attendance that makes your optimized real estate worth keeping.

Ready to See the Difference?

Book a custom demo to explore:

• How your current space utilization translates to optimized footprint recommendations
• What your unified desk + room + visitor dashboard would look like
• ROI modeling based on your real estate costs and employee engagement goals
• How Tessa AI automates workflows while driving adoption rates