Author: Anna Grayhek, Workplace Strategist, Hendy
As we enter a new era of business the workplace will need a reboot.
We have just experienced the largest cultural workplace experiment to happen in our lifetime. One where overnight, most organizations were forced to implement a remote working strategy. No preparation. No training. We simply sent our employees home with laptops, remote logins and the widely held assumption that this situation would be temporary.
It has become increasingly obvious that the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to have a long-lasting impact on how we work, when we work and where we work. A recent work-from-home survey performed by Global Workplace Analytics shows that 80% of workers want to work from home at least some of the time. Which leads us to question: “Do we need to bring everyone back to the office?”
As organizations start to rollout plans to reenter their old office spaces, many are beginning to weigh the benefits associated with having a permanently remote workforce as part of the mix. The increased productivity, potential cost savings and employee satisfaction have all suddenly seen proof of concept in ways that many leaders never believed possible.
However, before you leap into making any long-term assumptions, it’s important to understand that this change won’t be an ‘all-in’ or ‘all-out’ solution. The impact to the workspace won’t be a one-for-one trade either. Meaning, a 10% reduction in headcount will not necessarily equate to a 10% reduction in workspaces.
“A recent work-from-home survey performed by Global Workplace Analytics shows that 80% of workers want to work from home at least some of the time.”
New process and methodologies will be required to adequately support the needs of this blended workforce. There is no prescriptive solution or one-size-fits-all answer in determining the amount of office space you will need or its configuration. Each organization will have a different solution depending on culture, leadership style and business objectives. Building a successful mobile workforce also will require a coordinated set of tools, including the appropriate technology supported by a management culture and new workplace protocols to keep your long-term business objectives from getting sidelined.
As a team of leading interior architects and workplace strategists, Hendy has compiled a list of key considerations to help you best prepare your workspace to support the blended workforce.
Consider the Employee.
While many people have been successful working from home, business leaders will need to evaluate which work style – onsite or remote – best meet an employee’s long-term needs and suit their position in the company. “Ownership of space” often represents title or status for people. Key questions to consider when making this decision include: Are they prepared? Do they have the right equipment and technology? Does their role require regular onsite presence, and do they have the desire to continue working remotely? It’s also important to build in the flexibility to pivot should a change in staff affect onsite space needs.
Leadership Style.
Managing a virtual team requires that leadership develop new skill sets. While it may feel like we’ve been working from home for ages, we are still in the “honeymoon” phase. Remote working in the wake of a crisis has challenged many employees to rise to the occasion, and most of us are still on our best behavior. What remains to be seen is how our collective conduct will shift over the coming months, and how well leadership will react if out-of-sight turns into out-of-mind. That said, business should be strategically planning long-term operational solutions to effectively manage a distributed team. That includes providing leaders with the tools, training and resources needed to do so.
Technology for the Virtual Environment.
As employees rapidly deployed to their work-from-home environments, many scrambled and improvised to make it work. The end result may have included a patchwork of technologies, including residential bandwidth and use of personal devices and outdated laptops. With remote work here to stay, take this opportunity to assess your organization’s long-term strategy for storage, access and security of your data. Remember, we’re in a new business era and work isn’t necessarily tied to place, but rather to access, process and communication.
Maintaining Company Culture.
We all have a basic human need for social interaction and connection. From an employee standpoint, this connectivity
is often tied to their company’s vision, purpose and culture. In recent years, businesses have been prioritizing building a
strong corporate culture through traditions that drive employee engagement, satisfaction and retention. From all-hands
meetings to corn hole tournaments and potluck lunches, these efforts have largely been location dependent. With today’s new
blend of onsite and remote workers, leaders will need to find new culture-driving solutions to maintain this momentum. This
may even require a more systemic approach with support from Human Resources.
The New Generation Space.
As we enter a new era of business with the blended workforce, the workplace will need a reboot. Offices will serve a new purpose: to be the heart of an organization; a hub for leadership, collaboration, learning and cultural engagement. With this, it’s important to remember that even predominantly “remote” employees will need to be onsite from time-to-time for meetings, brainstorms, trainings, etc. Spaces that support remote employees when they’re in the office need to be easy to find and use to ensure a positive employee experience. Utilizing tools such as Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) and data analytics can assist in this transition as they help provide actionable information for an organization to make better decisions about how to adjust their environments in the future.
For questions about the new blended workforce and how to prepare your business and office space for this transition, connect with Hendy.