David Cocchiara is the Chief Executive Officer of OfficeSpace Software, the creator of better workplaces.
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After 18 months, companies are bringing employees back into the office and laying the foundation for “the future of hybrid work.”
The return to the workplace has garnered countless headlines and endless “hypotheses” in recent months, but it is clear organizations will not execute any one approach. In weighing feedback from hundreds of companies, two clear considerations drive their actions as they usher in the new post-pandemic world: their real estate portfolio and employees’ control of where they work.
Their real estate portfolio is driven by strategy, growth or financial considerations, while employee control of the work location is driven by talent needs and whether special equipment is needed for success.
Many companies and their employees were forced to embrace hybrid work amid the pandemic. With a taste of it, many will not completely abandon the concept. Ultimately, companies are proceeding along four different paths to implement a dynamic and hybrid workplace: traditionalists, architects, nomads and pioneers.
The pioneers and traditionalists are on opposite ends of the spectrum, with the latter looking to return to pre-pandemic operations and the former looking to drastically transform their approach. The architects and nomads fall somewhere in between, making less dramatic changes.
One approach is not necessarily better than the others; all will play a crucial role in developing “the future of hybrid work.” Both organizations and employees must find the best path based on their needs and circumstances.
Traditionalists: Returning To Their Pre-Pandemic Office
Despite the deluge of assertions about companies moving to primarily or solely remote workforces, some organizations want their post-pandemic world to look similar to the pre-pandemic one.
That’s not to say these companies, which might include law firms and financial institutions, will eliminate all remote working. While these organizations may have more flexible and remote work offerings than before the pandemic, they are looking to plan more efficiently, manage costs and take control over operations.
Traditionalists are typically driven by the culture. Traditionalist companies likely operate in industries that have a long tradition of in-office work and a reliance on an apprenticeship model.
Architects: Moving Toward A Smaller Physical Footprint
These companies, which might include consulting firms and start-ups, favor a more significant share of remote and flex work with the end goal of reducing the footprint they need to use.
They often need to “fit” employees in a predetermined footprint. For example, every employee might come into the office once a week. So architects design flexible programs that fit their office and highlight the added benefit of employee flexibility in this approach. Similar to Traditionalists, they want to plan more efficiently and safely reopen while controlling costs.
Nomads: Giving Employees More Flexibility
Nomads are giving employees more flexibility in their schedules to provide more employee satisfaction while maintaining some in-office work. Many big tech companies follow this model — commonly by having three days in the office and two days of remote work.
Organizations taking the Nomad approach want solutions to help them sustain employee satisfaction and engagement. They will adapt space in the service of supporting their employees. They are looking to maximize feedback loops to encourage collaboration and engagement.
Pioneers: Ushering In A Cutting-Edge Space
The companies that are perhaps garnering the most headlines are the ones that give their employees wide latitude on where and how they work. At the extreme end of the category are the companies that are drastically downsizing or eliminating their office spaces.
These pioneer organizations are those that employ “knowledge workers,” such as marketing agencies. They will likely keep their office spaces but transform them into “collaboration studios,” conference centers or other less traditional settings, but their newly defined spaces will focus on infrequent in-person meetings.
Similar to Nomads, Pioneers are looking to sustain employee satisfaction and engagement, but they go a step further: As part of their push to encourage collaboration, they want to cater to employees who rarely come into the office.
The Latest Push To Create The Dynamic Office
Even before the pandemic, workplaces were becoming more dynamic. Companies have long sought new and innovative ways to help employees engage safely in the workplace while remaining productive.
As the world moves forward, companies must harness data and insights to understand their organizations — from employees’ productivity levels to their satisfaction and engagement to real estate costs. This data will be critical in a few years when it's time to revisit the work environment and redefine how it should look.
In the meantime, the definitions of “hybrid” and “dynamic” — and organizations’ relationships with these concepts — will be tested. They will further evolve over time.
Companies need new ways to create a better place for everyone based on their culture, operations and comfort level. Companies must evaluate the use case for why their employees need the space and how best to use it.
The traditional office has been — and remains — at the core of collaboration, productivity and continuous development. Many companies do not have the answers at the moment to how they will bring their employees back. Real estate managers don’t know how much space their organizations need. Office managers don’t know how their teams will use what they have. Human resources managers are balancing business needs with the war for talent. Space plays a growing role in this battle.
Similarly, individual team members may not know what they want. Many people think they want to work remotely, but once they make a move, they worry about missing the in-office experience, the collaboration and the opportunity to socialize with peers.
As the landscape changes, a company’s vision may shift. What works today may not meet tomorrow’s needs. It doesn’t have to, but it requires acknowledging that change is inevitable and a drive to improve and find a better path forward.
Which path do you plan to take?
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