Times are changing, and so is the typical workplace and work schedule. For the past couple of decades, the age of working nine to five has dissipated as more employees work remotely and require more flexible work hours to maintain a healthy work-life balance, among other things.
Flex work is one of many major changes that facility managers are facing, but if it is a good fit for an organization and implemented properly can be a costsaving measure. The basic premise for flex work and hoteling is that it is a business solution, not a real estate solution. That is easier said than done, especially with the hike in corporate real estate prices. Followed by compensation, real estate is a company’s biggest expense.1
Defining flex work and hoteling
Flex work allows employees to work from home and/or to work outside of the typical nine-to-five parameters. Hoteling is another recent corporate trend for workplaces at which there are fewer offices or workspaces than staff. With hoteling, employees must reserve unassigned office space for a specified period of time, much like making a hotel reservation.
An effective hoteling program provides seats depending on the number of people in the program and the number of days per week. The more people in the program and the greater the number of days they work remotely, the more flexibility in raising the ratio of people to seats. Small meeting rooms accommodating one to four people are critical to gather thoughts, provide space for uninterrupted work, to have private conversations or meetings with managers, etc. It’s important to figure out what hoteling seats need access to — printers, colleagues, monitors, easy plug-in capabilities, storage, etc.
This flexibility isn’t for all businesses, and there are many aspects to consider such as corporate and employee benefits and challenges, upfront technology costs and more. Questions that need to be asked may include: Is the workplace culture conducive to allowing flexible work alternatives? How well does the organization tolerate change? Is there an infrastructure in place suited to deal with effectively connecting remote workers? The list of considerations is lengthy.
Corporate benefits and challenges
There are many benefits to allowing flex work/hoteling, such as:
- Employee satisfaction
- Increased productivity
- Real estate reduction
- More carbon credits
- Disaster recovery and business continuity
In relation to real estate reduction, current standards for workspace size can range from 150 to 225 square feet per worker when workers take advantage of alternative work strategies.1 However, workers can enjoy a spacious, well-designed environment with fewer than 100 square feet per employee because with alternatives such as hoteling and flex work, people are not all in the same space at the same time. This can result in reduced real estate, which has the potential to curtail operating costs.
In an attempt to mitigate environmental impact, businesses can buy carbon credits to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions. One credit is usually equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide. Basically, the credits put a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air. Typical office operations consume significant resources related to heating, cooling, lighting, power and general infrastructure support. The reduction or avoidance of real estate square footage equates to using less of these resources to support the business operations. Therefore, less square footage equals less resources used, and ultimately, a smaller carbon footprint.
Another benefit to a flexible work environment is that the culture becomes accustomed to video conferencing. While a business does not have to have a flexible program to benefit from the savings of video conferencing, the inherent culture that develops supports the increased use of this meeting method. The more video conferencing, the less people travel, leading to less carbon emissions.
The other element to reducing carbon emissions is the ability for the staff to reduce or eliminate commute time. Companies that support such programs can have a significant impact on the environment.
However, there are also challenges that corporations may face, such as:
- Perceived loss of culture
- Training needed for management and leadership
- Change of policies and procedures
- Investment in technological equipment and software
Potential upfront costs
The financial aspect of flex work and hoteling can be daunting. All team members need to contribute to the development of the cost list. One suggestion is separating one-time costs from annual costs.
Companies need to make multiple decisions about tools, technology, training, furniture, policies and procedures, and much more. Some key items to keep in mind include seamless connectivity via phones and mobile phones, meeting bandwidth requirements for home offices, a list of equipment and software that needs to be purchased and provided, space and equipment at the corporate office, furniture for home offices and training for managers and employees. While short-term costs for IT will increase, typically the reduction in real estate costs will more than cover the upfront costs in the long term.
IT/technology: As a facility professional, you will need to work with the business to determine basic technological needs including but not limited to: laptops, scanners, software, phone solutions, fax machines, printers, copiers and Internet/network connectivity. Some software needs required for constant communications may include a company’s instant messaging system, meeting support, video conferencing, etc. One phone solution may be forwarding all calls to an individual’s corporate number to his/her computer, cell phone or home phone. Although technology can be helpful with instant messaging and video conferencing, occasional staff meetings in the office are important too.
Real estate/facilities: An evaluation of potential cost savings is needed. Although real estate costs should not be the focus of transitioning to flex work and/or hoteling programs, they are still a part of the checklist. Real estate issues may create a need for solutions that create shared hotel spaces and a reservation system for hoteling needs to be put in place. This can be as simple as a making reservations via a shared work calendar or can involve more elaborate systems. The goal of a successful reservation system is to be able to reserve space by the hour.
For example, if a flex worker only comes into the office for meetings, he or she will most likely be spending most of the time in conference rooms and therefore may not need a workstation for the time between meetings. So, why reserve a workstation for this individual for an entire day? Companies can create what are known as “touchdown” stations: small workstations for use between meetings that enable the staff to plug in, make a phone call or prepare for the next meeting.
According to a survey conducted by the International Facility Management Association, out of the 10 identified on-site unassigned workspace categories, touchdown space is the most common at the respondents’ facilities with 57 percent using the space in this manner, followed by huddle rooms (43 percent) and war rooms (43 percent).2 Huddle rooms are smaller rooms generally reserved for smaller, quick meetings. War rooms are larger conference spaces, which can be booked for weeks or months for a specific team project. These all equate to reduced real estate needed.
Employee benefits and challenges
- Flex work/hoteling can provide benefits to employees:
- Flexibility
- Increased productivity
- Reduced commuting time and stress
- Improved work-life balance
- Reduced expenses for clothing, food, parking, etc.
However, employees may also face challenges:
- Isolation
- Fear of being left out
- Concern about not getting good assignments or losing promotion opportunities
- May not have appropriate space or home situation
- Personality may not be suited to working alone
Measuring economic, social and environmental impact
Typically, a pilot should last at least three months, but six months is better for evaluation purposes. It is ideal to recruit pilot volunteers at all levels of employment, but at least through middle management. A goal to shoot for is to have 10 to 15 percent of the targeted number of participants desired. Volunteers will have to respond to many surveys in order for effective evaluation to take place and must be willing to be flexible and patient — things are not going to run smoothly immediately. There is an adjustment period on both sides of the spectrum — for the employee and the business.
When evaluating, measure the benefits in economic terms and the social and environmental impact on the company and its employees via observation, employee surveys and interviews.
Economic evaluation may include:
- Was there a reduction in square footage used for employees, thus reducing the square-foot space per employee?
- Did the pilot help reduce operating expenses associated with real estate portfolio?
- Did the pilot better position the company to quickly embrace staffing changes?
Social evaluation may include:
- Did the pilot encourage social interactions in informal spaces?
- Was the pilot seen as a sign of respect to employees as you catered to their work styles?
- Did it cause workers outside of the physical location to feel more a part of the department (this can be done via video conferencing, an instant messaging system, and other ways to keep all employees connected)?
Environmental evaluation may include:
- Did you save on printing, paper and other resources by supporting digital storage supported by the IT department?
- Were carbon emissions and energy use reduced by promoting videoconferencing versus physical travel?
- Did the pilot extend the life of office furniture and work tools by reducing use?
Flex work and hoteling programs are not for all corporations and it does take a certain work culture to embrace programs like these. Before spending money on shrinking workstations via hoteling and flex work that may or may not succeed, it is worth spending time thinking through the organization’s short- and long-term goals.
REFERENCES
1. “How Emerging Work Strategies are Changing the Workplace,” white paper by Steelcase, June 2009.
2. “Distributed Work Research Report #31,” study by the International Facility Management Association, 2000.
