Refocused

Across the board, people missed the camaraderie of the office and its physical attributes, from an ergonomic workstation to the buzz of a busy lunchroom.

The workforce of the future is eager to realize the best of all possible work environments: an office that meets their needs for face-to-face interaction and complex problem solving; home for providing flexibility around when work is done; and other remote locations, from coworking sites to coffee shops, to offer a differentiated experience that fulfills the needs of employees in some new and fresh way.

Despite having more competition than ever, the office is still a draw for employees, with 75 percent reporting they want the ability to be in the office, according to JLL research. The office emerged from the pandemic not as a holdover from another era but as a valuable asset that enables a wide array of personal interactions, career development, social and professional networking and collaboration, along with the necessary space for heads-down concentration.

The challenge before today’s real estate and organizational leaders is to connect all of the elements of this complex world of work. Many of the technology solutions that helped companies manage through the pandemic will continue to facilitate a seamless experience in the hybrid world, from the basics of strong Wi-Fi and upgraded AV systems to cloud storage and collaboration technologies that bring far-flung teammates together with only a few keystrokes. But on their own, these technologies cannot provide the detailed data to help business leaders make informed decisions about what their teams need to thrive.

A new generation of technologies is emerging that will power the expansion of hybrid work—and make office buildings more efficient and valuable in the process. Much like the pandemic accelerated the adoption of new business strategies, the incoming era of distributed work will demand greater adoption of emerging tech, from single sign-on apps to sensors embedded within the workplace itself and many points in between.

It is time for technology to facilitate and measure the office’s return as a high-performing asset, from the basics of utilization to assessing the very health and wellbeing of the building environment and its impact on employees. To create an agile, adaptive and cost-effective workplace that meets employees’ needs, real estate and facility management leaders need always-on, real-time data and insights to make sure their real estate strategy is meeting the emerging future.

As the world begins to imagine life on the other side of the pandemic, the entire real estate ecosystem is faced with new questions about creating value and becoming more resilient. All parties, from investors and brokers to occupier C-suites and individual employees, will be best served when the workplace is equally cost-effective and future-fit, outfitted with the technology to power an expansive network of workspaces—with employee productivity, health and wellbeing at the forefront.

A golden age for workers

Despite the attention paid to rapid adoption of hybrid work strategies throughout COVID-19, employees have been leading the charge for more flexible work environments for years. Demand is so strong that four out of every five employees said that, given two similar job offers, they would turn down the one that did not offer flexible working, according to the 2019 IWG Global Workspace Survey.

For decades, companies have looked at flexible workplace arrangements as a way to broaden their talent pool and attract the best and brightest to their teams. But some of the earliest remote work programs fell flat when company culture wasn’t well defined and workers who were primarily on site took priority over those in remote locations.

In the new world of hybrid work, all available workplaces must exist on equal footing, meeting the same employee expectations across every location where work happens. This frictionless experience begins with FMs who can operationalize hybrid workplace strategies, spelling out clear expectations and policies. But it also includes a marketplace approach to resources, from procuring home office furniture to setting a reminder for a daily wellness break.

Increasingly, leading companies are adopting apps and centralized platforms to maintain a bird’s eye view of how employees are working—and shaping the workplace around emerging trends.

Like logging on to a world-class retail website, the workplace app serves as a one-stop shop for accessing vendors, tools and products that power worker experience and productivity. Connecting the digital and physical workplace in one system can help employees navigate their new hybrid reality, from finding the shortest path to an open meeting room to ordering supplies for their home office. Increasingly, employees will get the best of their workplace right on their phone, including employee engagement offerings that were previously enjoyed only within the confines of the office.

Livestreaming services and interactive platforms can work through the app to recreate the workplace atmosphere, which is especially important for those employees who live too far away to consider dropping in for a Friday happy hour or Monday morning all-hands meeting. In conjunction with FMs, occupiers can deliver live-streamed social gatherings, trivia, training, webinars and more in a fully digital format that brings the office into the digital realm.

These technologies will continue to evolve as virtual programming becomes increasingly sophisticated and content is tailored to meet specific locations, building communities, companies and even individual preferences. Already, greater adoption of augmented reality (AR), which can put remote workers on equal footing with in-person cohorts via right-sized screens, is starting to emerge as the divide between physical and digital realms is eroded.

AR can be utilized as a key marketing and brand value tactic, leveraging space that is unseen by the naked eye, as a digital billboard or communication. Think: the IKEA app that allows customers to view furniture in their homes digitally prior to making a purchase, but with any sort of marketing piece that tenants may want to convey to their workers. That said, exploring AR and other technologies are coming full-circle for the landlord, tenant and worker.

This one-stop system provides a host of information to real estate leaders, as well, from FMs to building investors, which can power a new era of decision making to reduce costs and optimize assets.

Balancing optimization & experience

The office’s draw continues to be its ability to bring people together, to connect and collaborate and experience a differentiated corporate culture. Viewed in that light, the widespread use of assigned seating and department zones does not make a lot of sense. In the new hybrid world of work, this tried-and-true approach can impede broader business goals.

In pre-pandemic times, the average office was only 60 percent utilized, according to JLL research. With the number of remote workdays increasing going forward, relying on assigned seats and fixed zones will create extreme inefficiencies. While in the past employees have been wary of giving up their personal space, they are now more inclined to adopt hot-desking or share individual space—provided the proper cleaning protocols are in place.

New technologies are emerging to make physical space more dynamic, supporting next-level utilization, maximizing space and social connections to fuel work across functions, teams and departments. With a combination of data collection, artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time workplace modeling, the built environment can enable new methods to bring people together.

This next generation of occupancy planning begins with the workplace app, which is also used as a workspace booking system where employees can reserve a desk, a conference room or whatever space suits their needs. Forward-looking companies are combining efficient space utilization with activity-based design, providing different kinds of workspaces for different kinds of work to drive productivity, engagement and efficient use of space. Rather than a single desk, workers can experience a variety of stations throughout the day, with a simple tap on their phone to reserve their spot.

The individual data these employees generate as they move from location to location is collected and uploaded to an AI-augmented engine that will predict occupancy demands in the short term—a competency that was not previously available to real estate and corporate leaders. Combined with dynamic zones or areas that can be turned on and off as needed based on utilization, buildings can evolve to support the broader organization, with the real estate footprint expanding and contracting as the need arises, without interrupting workflow and employee productivity.

With less time and money spent on raw space and static workstations, organizations can turn their attention to creating a workplace experience that is safe, productive and seamless, that satisfies people’s personal and professional needs. With smart sensors embedded within the workplace and the entirety of the building, workplace technologies can let buildings “know” when someone is present and will even evolve to know exactly who that person is, what lighting conditions they prefer, what temperature keeps them engaged—even how they take their coffee.

To reach that level of personalization will require greater collaboration among building owners, investors, FMs, developers and the people who ultimately occupy the space—a conversation that is already starting in many buildings around the world as all parties try to figure out who owns the blurring line between physical and digital spaces.

Technology for health & well-being

Technology tools to address COVID-19 safety and general wellness are readily available today, from pre-entry symptom screening to on-site temperature checks and socially distanced seating arrangements. But the technology for health goes much deeper, considering air quality, water quality and even mental health assessments.

In this new complicated world where health, safety, engagement and productivity are spread among countless workstations and brought together in complex ways, companies need to take a closer look at the workforce’s needs and where there are gaps in their current offering. An expert assessment, considering all of these variables and many more, may be necessary to identify the solutions to support the workforce, wherever they work.

At a minimum, the flow of people in and out of buildings must be managed, with buildings and occupiers alike embracing data-enabled information gathered through workplace apps. Touchless technology coupled with a growing database of user information can call for an elevator while the employee is still entering the lobby and shepherd them to their floor without ever having to come into contact with a shared surface.

Health and wellness efforts are also extended beyond the office. Whether workers have a code for a free, healthy meal delivered to their door or they can dial up an exercise class on their work app, they want their wellbeing to be at the forefront of their work experience, a desire that does not diminish with adoption of hybrid strategies. Providing technology-powered solutions can deepen employee engagement and showcase the organization’s commitment to wellbeing. These efforts also drive value to the building owner’s bottom line.

Already, properties that boast upgraded HVAC and digital systems, WELL and LEED certifications and outdoor space are drawing more tenants than less health-conscious buildings. There is a growing understanding that the value of buildings can only be truly unlocked when the health and wellbeing of the people inside it are considered in every facet of building design and operation.

Unleashing the power of data

While the focus now is on incorporating new technology into the workplace, wherever it extends, the best businesses are people centric. Collaboration, innovation and engagement need to join any conversation around space optimization and employee productivity, especially as organizations move out of the crisis phase of the pandemic and into the new hybrid reality of work.

While powering next-generation technology platforms that encompass all cycles of FM and real estate ownership, it is important to aggregate data to support people, rather than merely capturing moment-in-time progress reports. Leading edge companies will use AI to generate real insights and actions to drive not just their workplace, but their workforce, and the very nature of work itself.