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11 Mar 2022
Wondering where to stay? Take advantage of our special room rates for the 2022 BCO Conference in Manchester
8 Mar 2022
IWD 2022 | Introducing some of the terrific women who will be speaking at this year’s BCO Conference in June
Joanne Roney OBE
Joanne has been the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council since April 2017. Over the past 4 years she has dealt with several unprecedented events including the Manchester Arena Bomb. Joanne is driving the Council through the fundamental changes to Health and Social Care. She is lead Chief Executive for economy across Greater Manchester.
Before moving to Manchester, Joanne was previously Chief Executive of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council, where she held the top post from 2008.
Joanne’s career started in local government as an apprentice with Birmingham City Council when she was 16. She has a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives such as the Hepworth Gallery Wakefield and Parkhill Housing in Sheffield. She has extensive experience in housing and local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne is a Fellow of CIH and a regular contributor to Inside Housing.
Joanne is president of SOLACE
Joanne was awarded the OBE for services to local government in 2009.
In September 2021 Joanne was named the Local Authority Chief Executive of the Year at the annual MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards.
Rebecca Heron, Head of Development and Strategy, Manchester City Council
Becca Heron is the Strategic Director of Growth and Development at Manchester City Council. Formerly Director of Economy and Skills at Wigan Council, Becca’s career has included a number of different public sector roles, including previous positions within both Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
During her time with the GMCA, Becca led on a series of high-profile and complex initiatives, including the development of 2014 Devolution Agreement. At Wigan, she took on the economic development and regeneration brief, playing a pivotal role in bringing key sites forward for development and kickstarting the redevelopment of Wigan town centre.
As Strategic Director of Growth and Development at Manchester City Council, Becca has a key role in the delivery of the ambitions set out in the Our Manchester strategy, leading the city’s recovery following the pandemic, building on the successes of the last two decades to drive inclusive growth that will ensure the city continues to be one of the most exciting destinations in Europe to live, work and play.
Rt Hon. Ruth Davidson MSP
Ruth Davidson is a journalist, broadcaster, author and politician. She served for eight years as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, during which time she transformed the party’s prospects, leading to its greatest electoral results in 35 years. She also played a prominent role in both the Scottish independence and EU referendum campaigns, arguing her case in stadium television debates at the Glasgow Hydro and Wembley Arena. As the first openly gay leader of a major political party in the UK, and the first party leader to give birth while in office, Ruth has broken barriers throughout her time in public life.
A regular contributor to debates on gender, inclusion and equality, Ruth talks about authentic leadership from a first-hand perspective. A former BBC journalist and Territorial Army soldier, Ruth understands how important individual expression, trust and developing leadership skills can be within large organisations.
Her close professional relationship with successive Prime Ministers, and membership of UK Cabinet, gives her a unique insight into the current political environment north and south of the border.
Ruth’s book, Yes She Can – Why Women Own the Future, is a positive appraisal of gender advancement across the globe; how far women have come to achieving equality and, crucially, how much road there is still to travel. It draws on direct testimony from world-beating women as diverse as Christine Lagarde, Dame Katherine Grainger and Melinda Gates, who Ruth interviewed in a fascinating series of conversations while researching her work.
Despite operating exclusively in the Scottish Parliament, Ruth has successfully built a UK-wide platform. A gifted political communicator with a modern, realworld touch, she is as at home on Have I got News for You, The One Show, Celebrity Chase and The Great British Bake Off: Stand Up To Cancer as she is on Newsnight, Question Time and Andrew Marr. In 2018, she was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year, alongside international figures from sport, media, and politics including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prince Harry.
Ruth’s professional career prior to politics was in broadcast journalism, variously operating as a presenter, producer and documentary maker. Since leaving the party leadership, Ruth has returned to journalism, regularly providing political commentary for the Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard as well as developing broadcast projects for both television and radio. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner Jen, son Finn, and cocker spaniel, Wilson.
Bronwen Maddox
Bronwen is Director of the Institute for Government, the think tank that aims to improve the effectiveness of government. She previously served as Editor and CEO of the influential current affairs magazine, Prospect – which both explains City thinking to policy makers and helps the financial community navigate the geo-political landscape.
Bronwen started out as an investment analyst in the City and on Wall Street, and a director of Kleinwort Benson's media team. She moved into journalism to head up the Financial Times investigation into Maxwell, before joining The Times as Washington Bureau Chief, US Editor, and finally Foreign Editor. She remains a regular newspaper contributor.
With access to key figures across business, politics and leadership, Bronwen has built a reputation for informed, original insights. She has interviewed almost everyone from Henry Kissinger to Vladimir Putin.
In presentations she sets out the big challenges besetting the West, which she argues are overturning a pattern that's been settled since the end of World War II. As one example, the ageing population means that society can no longer afford the present pensions and benefits system; but is democracy capable of delivering the changes necessary, or will the scale of transformation needed make governments too unpopular to be elected?
Born in the US, Bronwen is author of the acclaimedI n Defence of America. She is perfectly positioned to analyse the global impact of events on Capitol Hill.
Despina Katsikakis, Global Head of Workplace, Cushman & Wakefield
For over 35 years Katsikakis has led innovation, research and implementation of transformative workplace environments for global corporates and exemplary real estate developments for investors worldwide.
In her role at Cushman & Wakefield, she provides input across the firm’s global business on the rapidly-changing context of work and its impact on employee engagement, productivity and wellbeing and the future role of the workplace.
With these factors increasingly determining the leasing decisions of leading corporations, Katsikakis’ unrivalled insight on the future of work benefits occupier clients – as well as building landlords and investors – through repositioning commercial real estate to drive top line performance.
Despina is the BCO junior vice president and she serves on the advisory board of Delos™, the pioneers of Wellness Real Estate™ and founders of the WELL Building Standard.
She regularly lectures around the world, writes and contributes to media, research and publications on the future of the workplace.
Learn more about the annual conference taking place in Manchester and book your tickets here via the BCO website.
4 Mar 2022
An introduction to the 2022 BCO NextGen London committee
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| Follow the 2022 BCO NextGen London Committee on LinkedIn. Andy Campbell, Multiplex (Chair) Hannah Buxton, RX London (Vice-Chair) Christopher Blust, AKT II Matthew Redgrove, Turner + Townsend Isabella Clark, AECOM Beth Starling, Will+Partners Oliver Hall, Make Architects Matthew Sumpter, Ridge & Partners Andrew Howe, Heyne Tillett Steel Elizabeth Ward, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP Angela Joseph, alinea consulting Hannah Alden, British Land Kane Lewis, Derwent London Jo Al-Hillawi, CO-RE Alex Novelli, Cushman & Wakefield Louis Arron, U+I Emily Pallot, Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt Holly Breathnach, Great Portland Estates Chloe Prince, Catella Apam Ltd Tom Bremner, Cushman & Wakefield Learn more about the BCO NextGen here. |
1 Mar 2022
“More than just an office”: Human Experience and the Workplace of the Future
The human experience is the holistic experience
a person has within a building or space, both virtually and physically. A
positive human experience will encourage people to thrive in their workplace.
This can have a knock-on effect on the health and well-being of employees,
actively encouraging happiness in the workplace, thereby enhancing productivity,
and increasing staff attraction and retention.
Through design, we should look to develop
strategies which aid in creating valuable connections between people, their
purpose and brand. In a post-covid world, we should aspire to utilise
occupier-centric thinking to reconnect people, strengthen their sense of
collaboration, brand identity and team culture collectively, and create the
opportunity for a positive human experience within the workplace.
Focus Area 01: Design
Structure
The workplace of the future should be more than just
an office in the traditional sense. It should be meticulously considered,
particularly at ground level, and in relation to the amenity spaces provided to
occupiers. This could include facilities such as showers, adequate and secure
bike storage, and locker spaces, all of which are important for supporting a
sense of self ownership within the workplace. This in particular applies to more
flexible environments, where many companies are moving away from 1-1 desking,
towards shared-desking or more flexible hybrid arrangements.
Ground level spaces are key for attracting prospective
occupiers to buildings. We should consider what innovative experiences these
spaces can provide, which other buildings cannot. This thinking will be key in
attracting and retaining businesses/tenants, and for connecting brand culture,
community, and identity.
Workplaces of the future should maximise the
potential for positive social engagement. This means considering how office structures
can contribute to the wider community. We should foster synergy between the
workplace and its surroundings, to create spaces which reflect the community
existing within. We should also be looking at constructing mixed-use
developments which encompass retail spaces, multi-purpose facilities,
healthcare provision and activity/fitness spaces, thus creating workplaces
which are also destinations within the city.
Focus Area 02: Occupier-Centric
A positive human experience relies on occupier-centric
thinking which should be reflected throughout the design stages, during pre-occupation
and post-occupation. Effective engagement is integral to understanding brand
identity and the community and culture of a team or business, now even more important
to facilitate in a post-pandemic context. Questions we should be asking when
designing a workplace include: how are the present spaces and systems working?
In what areas are they succeeding, and in what areas are there space for
improvements?
Pre-occupation engagement is fundamental in the
transformation of the existing business model. Design projects become a
catalyst for this change, and so it is critical to understand the client’s vision
and purpose and be able to translate this into an exciting and inviting
workplace design where the positive human experience becomes a driver for
motivating staff to return to the office. This means anticipating when occupier
engagement should expand and facilitating the creation of soft landings to ease
people into the future office. The language we use (particularly during
fit-out) should be about the occupier and how they will experience the
workplace, rather than centering around the building and property itself.
Focus Area 03: Leadership to create “Team-ship”
New thought leadership drives “team-ship” in the
workplace. This focus centers on community, culture, brand, and identity on an
internal level. A developed discussion around the experience of corporates over
the past two years will be key to understanding how the human experience has
been impacted in this area, and for establishing the strategies which are being
implemented to re-engage these key areas of a team in the workplace. It is
highly likely that many corporates will have experienced the disengagement of
departments and teams over the past two years, and so it is important to design
spaces which support the revitalisation of team-ship and enhance connectivity.
We should encourage and maintain strong team culture and brand identity in an
increasingly hybrid world.
We are seeing variations upon trends emerging
across multiple projects: the accelerated use of technology to connect those
working remotely and in the office; increased break out and social space;
greater demand for spaces which provide collaborative opportunities; more
amenity space; and finally, a home-like feel. The workplace of the future is
already being informed by the lessons learnt and the emergence of new thought
leadership styles.
Focus Area 04: Technology & AI
Technology and AI are extremely influential in
determining whether the human experience within a space is positive. For
example, laptop enabled workspaces encourage flexibility by design. Installing
systems which feature integrated technology and support hybrid working
strategies (maintaining team culture and brand identity whilst working
remotely) signals a step towards future-proofing the workplace. We should also
be looking towards constructing smart buildings, featuring environmental
sensors which measure and record air quality, lighting, and noise levels and
which are adaptable, to support user comfort. The BCO’s Use
of Wearables in the Office report goes further and highlights how this
data could be paired with data from individuals’ wearable devices to identify
optimal physical environments for the individual or collective within the work
space. The installation of occupancy sensors which connect to booking systems
through building and staff apps can be highly beneficial, with the aim of
promoting high impact behaviour patterns for the general wellbeing of
occupiers. Furthermore, occupiers should be provided with a thorough guide to
using the building/workplace in such a way that will maximise their individual
human experience within the space. Evidently, well-equipped AV and physical
technology in the modern workplace is essential.
Focus Area 05: Health and Well-being
Supporting health and well-being is pivotal to
designing a future-thinking and positive human experience within the workplace.
This focus area could be expanded through design concepts and strategies. Establishing
which are the most important to a business and which have the most beneficial impacts
on the workplace experience will be key. For example, the Park Concept
encourages the integration of biophilia and biomimicry, the availability of
views, and outdoor spaces in the workplace. Activity Spaces encompass
the availability of fitness facilities and gyms, supported by ancillary spaces
which encourage building users to get active. The availability of doctors and
dentists is also a possibility, and there is the question of whether we should
be looking to integrate Healthcare Facilities into the design of the
future mixed-use developments to support workplace occupiers. The integration
of Mindfulness spaces would offer users a place to destress, rest, or to
conduct private prayer. Lastly, the idea of creating spaces which are Versatile
and Multipurpose echoes the aforementioned potential availability of
fitness spaces but could also be further expanded on, to include social events,
arts spaces, and community forums. Workplaces of the future should be
vibrant, engaging, productive, and magnetising destinations in the city.
We would like to thank WILL+Partners and the BCO
Research Committee for their continued support and research findings.
Follow BCO NextGen's Beth Starling, Interior Designer, WILL+Partners on LinkedIn.
4 Feb 2022
Time to plan | Manchester 2022
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