During the past several decades, forward-thinking real estate, human resources and IT professionals have explored innovative workplace concepts. These concepts, commonly bundled under the term Workplace Strategy, tap into organizational and employee needs, and create an environment that supports and enables employees, improves space utilization and efficiency, and reflects the organization’s brand values. Key to the ultimate success of the knowledge worker, Workplace Strategy is emerging as a global imperative for optimal employee productivity, satisfaction and retention. Moreover, it is essential to overall portfolio and expense management.
Rather than a tool to change the way people work, Workplace Strategy is a means for realigning an often outmoded environment to match current real-life work practices. It delivers a work environment that supports the flexible, mobile and collaborative way people work today and, more importantly, how people envision working in the future. It is the key to the ultimate success of the knowledge worker. In that sense, it constitutes far more than an alternative to the traditional office. Indeed, it is emerging as a global imperative for increasing employee productivity, satisfaction and retention while improving expense and portfolio management.
| Well-designed solutions should enable the knowledge worker to elevate individual performance and job satisfaction while allowing the company to achieve overarching objectives which often include reduces costs and improved productivity. |
To create a customized solution, each organization must consider its own unique needs and challenges. Current Workplace Strategy programs often seek to increase the quantity and quality of collaborative work settings and provide ‘on-demand’ space such as reserved desks and touchdown spaces that are used on a first-come, first-served basis. A major component of Workplace Strategy involves physical space and its location. It also includes technology tools and human resources policies and programs, such as telecommuting and flextime, to better support how people actually work today.
The corporate real estate (CRE) professional plays a pivotal role in preparing the organization to develop, implement and support these changes to the work environment. The process of planning and implementation requires an analytic framework for defining best practices as well as an understanding of workplace issues, market and economic drivers, infrastructure, and cultural forces that propel or inhibit adoption in specific regions of the world.
Irreversible Impetus
Within the next two years, nearly every major company in the world will have adopted some form of Workplace Strategy. This is largely due to powerful forces such as technology. Technological advances have broken down the once-rigid boundaries of the conventional workplace and the traditional workday. Today, the technological impetus for Workplace Strategy is universal and irreversible, and programs continue to gain traction globally.
There is also a continuing shift toward collaborative work. The typical knowledge worker’s output is increasingly dependent upon group activities and input. Gartner Dataquest suggests that individual work has decreased from approximately 40 percent of all work accomplished in 2000 to 30 percent today, and will decrease further to 20 percent by 2010. Because technology enables individual work to be completed from anywhere, the office is becoming a hub to accommodate this increasing collaboration.
Significant Value of Workplace Strategy
| Seventy percent of CRE executives say attracting and retaining workers has very high importance to their companies. |
Adoption of Workplace Strategy is embraced because of its compelling value proposition. Workplace Strategy brings value in a host of ways to different stakeholders as it corresponds to underlying behavioral, financial and competitive forces. Well-designed solutions should enable the knowledge worker to elevate individual performance and job satisfaction while allowing the company to achieve overarching objectives which often include reduced costs and improved productivity. Measurable and predictable value is created in terms of an organization’s people, profits and processes, as demonstrated in the case studies highlighted herein.
While these and other beneficial outcomes can be expected from a well-designed program, the question remains: How do you design yours?
Positioning for Success
We can now identify and classify the characteristics of successful Workplace Strategy programs. These characteristics can be used as benchmarks for measuring the effectiveness of a company’s Workplace Strategy. In designing and evaluating programs worldwide, Jones Lang LaSalle has categorized the components of success within four core enabling functions: value proposition, human capital, real estate and facilities, and technology.
Value Proposition
- Alignment with business drivers—Setting the foundations of the strategy so that business objectives are clearly communicated and documented
- Awarenesss—Assuring the community of stakeholders understands the value, and that appropriate messages are developed for each stakeholder
- Metricss—Developing clearly defined metrics that are understood, monitored and managed
Human Capital
- Participations—Determining the number of participants involved in a Workplace Strategy program (of those with eligible job functions)
- Communication programs—Communicating the strategy throughout the organization and facilitating the change management process
- Training and policiess—Providing upfront training on tools and etiquette to ensure program success
- Employee engagements—Enhancing employee productivity, satisfaction and loyalty
Real Estate and Facilities
- Utilizations—Number of sites participating in the Workplace Strategy program across the global portfolio
- Workplace quality standardss—Consistent standards informed by and aligned to the overarching program strategy
- Workplace servicess—Dedicated staff and resources supporting the Workplace Strategy program
Technology
- Infrastructures—Maintaining networks and equipment to support work functions
- Software — Providing a suite of products that enable autonomy, flexibility and collaboration
- Mobility toolkits—Fitting the employee with a customized toolkit to enable work
Each of these components is critical to building a successful Workplace Strategy program. We will explore best-in-class examples of each component in the case study section of this paper.
Mapping Global Momentum
Readiness to implement Workplace Strategy programs varies by region according to available infrastructures, economic and property market drivers, culture and home working feasibility.
Early Adopters
The United States and Canada have led in early adoption. The availability of low-cost technologies is accelerating Workplace Strategy rollouts. This second wave of implementation is making Workplace Strategy programs a mainstream offering across numerous employee typologies.
| Design components can be scaled from status quo to best-in-class, according to a company’s resident strengths and culture. |
In fact, those companies that embrace Workplace Strategy in the United States often influence their counterparts in other countries. For example, in some Latin America countries, multinational companies with headquarters in the United States have led early adoption efforts.
The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of open-plan work environments and higher space densities. In addition, remote working has become more prevalent in recent years due to increased broadband access in homes.
Rising Implementation
Australian organizations have adopted Workplace Strategy programs because of their sophisticated infrastructure and cultural acceptance of non-traditional approaches to the workplace. There are also implementations of desk-sharing and structured work-from-home programs within certain employer groups, and part-time telecommuting is on the rise. Among European countries, desk-sharing and teleworking are commonly accepted in Sweden and the Netherlands.
In Asia Pacific locations such as Singapore, unassigned, on-demand space is common for staff engaged in regular business travel. In addition, when the main occupant of a hard-walled office is away, it is often open for use by other employees for meetings or individual work requiring deep concentration. In Asia, many companies have aggressive growth plans in place. Key drivers for considering Workplace Strategy include gaining additional flexibility, speed and future cost avoidance.
Initial Stages of Adoption
In the European Union, Workplace Strategy programs present a cultural challenge in Italy, Germany and France, where hierarchy and tradition can preclude innovation with the work environment. Also, laws in some countries such as Germany articulate certain office standards, which can limit implementation of Workplace Strategy concepts.
Most of Latin America does not yet have the cost-effective technology infrastructure to support efficient connectivity outside the office environment. DSL, cable modem and broadband connectivity is limited and costly. Culturally, telecommuting is not yet accepted. However, as infrastructure expands and technology proliferates, attitudes toward Workplace Strategy are expected to improve dramatically.
Interest in Workplace Strategy is increasing in Asian locations, such as Singapore, China, Taiwan and Japan. However, even in these countries, existing cultural and infrastructure hurdles must be addressed. For example, home working is limited due to small home sizes and extended families living together. In addition, adequate technology is not yet available in many locations to make remote working feasible. In locations such as Hong Kong, adoption has not been as rapid because many employee positions focus on the Hong Kong markets and economy. Therefore, mobility is not valued. Also, commute times tend to be short, thus eliminating an impetus for remote working.
| As we continue to focus on the enablers and address the barriers of Workplace Strategy in various regions, global adoption will continue to gain momentum. |
Cultural issues also influence the adoption rate of Workplace Strategies in Asia. In Japan, floor plans reflect company hierarchy, and it is important to be seen in the office. However, some companies in Japan with highly mobile work forces are already beginning to embrace concepts such as desk sharing. And more significant changes may be on the horizon as younger generations preside.
Although the speed of adoption varies by city and country, it is clear that Workplace Strategy will continue to play an increasingly important role. With ongoing developments, such as improving technology infrastructures and decreasing emphasis on hierarchies, adoption of Workplace Strategy is inevitable.
Conclusion
Workplace Strategy offers proven benefits to both companies and their individual employees. Many companies around the globe, including those highlighted in this article, are continuously reviewing, expanding and improving their programs. In assessing your own organization against the four functional areas (value proposition, human capital, real estate and facilities, and technology) you may identify the strengths and weaknesses of your existing program in order to tailor your efforts accordingly.
As we continue to focus on the enablers and address the barriers of Workplace Strategy in various regions, global adoption will continue to gain momentum. And as new breakthroughs in technology occur, Workplace Strategy will continue to evolve.
About the Authors
Debra Moritz is a managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle’s Strategic Consulting practice.
Sarah Evans is an Associate Director with Jones Lang LaSalle, advising corporate occupiers on real estate strategies involving workplace, mergers and acquisitions, cost reduction, and relocation.
