By James Ainsworth.
I need not repeat the story of 2020; we have all lived our
own version of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges have been unique to us
all by virtue of our circumstances; however we were all unified by the
Government’s stay-at-home orders, and may continue to be for some time yet as
we flit in and out of local and national lockdowns. With the roll-out of the
vaccines well underway and thanks to the herculean effort by the network of NHS
and volunteers, there is at least light at the end of the tunnel.
For the vast majority of us, the pandemic has meant that
working from home has become the new normal, and there will be people who have
not set foot in their offices since mid-March 2020. But does this mean the
death of the office as some commentators have suggested? Not by any stretch;
moreover, this is an opportunity for owners and occupiers alike to make some
bold moves in delivering the workplace for the new normal that focuses on
service, connection and wellbeing.
We have all heard of some very reactionary responses, made
very publicly, that businesses no longer need offices to the extent that they
did previously, and that some would be closed on a longer term basis, maybe
even permanently; but perhaps this misses the point of the office completely. Undoubtedly,
the office, seen solely as a place to travel to in order to merely sit at a
desk and undertake a job will have to evolve for those that have not already
started this workplace journey. Home working may well now become the workplace
of choice for the concentrated lone working environment, and those with a
segregated home work space may well thrive on this by managing to avoid the
‘live at work syndrome’ experienced by those working at the kitchen table, or
in their shared house bedroom. However we are intrinsically social animals, and
thrive on human connection; it motivates, it inspires, it gives purpose. Ergo
the office has a purpose, it is the best medium for the work based human
connection and it can help to instill corporate values. We are hearing
increasingly of home working fatigue and of genuine excitement at the prospect
of getting back to the office to engage in person and experience those “bump
into” interactions which do not exist in a virtual or remote working
environment.
So what is the role of the office post-COVID then, if not to
provide a physical space to work. Well clearly it still has to fulfil this
purpose and there will be a proportion of the workforce who are more
comfortable physically and mentally in working from the office, maybe full
time. The savvy CRE manager will have to consider the needs of the full
spectrum of their businesses workforce, not just their senior level cohort, as
well as other post-covid evolution such as a reduction in business travel.
However there is likely to be a shift to a much more hybrid model where work is
split more between home and office, with task appropriate work undertaken in
the relevant setting, and the location of working influenced by the shape of
the day in terms of meetings and required interactions.
Regardless of the evolution of collaborative working
technologies, virtual meeting platforms, and second life workplaces, (which are
all important developments in themselves) which have facilitated our home
working hiatus, the office is and should remain the workspace of choice for
connection and group working. We must ensure that workplace evolution not only
facilitates this, but encourages it. The hybrid model, with increased remote
working (based on 2019 standards), may mean that some businesses are able to
relinquish office space, but I suggest that this will most likely apply to
those businesses that needed to move along a journey of workplace utilisation
improvement regardless of the circumstances. For others, the opportunity will be
in maximising the use and design of existing space in support of the connection
and experience of employees and clients, but also not to forget the needs of
those that require concentrated working space in the office.
The business hotel has been a concept championed by many of
the larger corporates for some time, recognising the importance of hospitality
and service, not only for clients and visitors, but also for the staff using
the space every day. This is going to be the key to the new office experience,
and ultimately what will draw people back into the office. The office will be
as much a place to work as it will be a place to meet and share experiences
with colleagues, clients and contacts. It will be a space to make use of
innovative and next level technology and tools, or wellbeing & healthcare
resources and experiential environments that cannot be replicated virtually, or
in our homes. People may even return to the office to experience high quality
food and beverage offerings, both within the office environment and by
returning to favourite local high street offerings that have been sorely missed
following repeated trips to our uninspiring or empty kitchen fridges. We also
shouldn’t overlook the importance to the local economy of the footfall generated
by the office and need to bring the buzz back to our towns and cities.
The challenge now for owners, through the management of
multi-let buildings, or occupiers who manage high quality workspaces, will be
to embrace this change and not be content to reopen currently mothballed space,
expecting it to be used in the same way as in 2019. This may only be a smaller
step change for some of the more forward-thinking owners and occupiers, but may
be a real leap for those that have not moved with the pace of change in the
past 5 - 7 years of workplace evolution. COVID-19 has undoubtedly advanced the
workplace by a factor of X (depending on how far along the journey you were in
March 2020), it is now our duty to embrace this.
Property and building managers need to look to embrace
service and technology to support their occupiers, and to deliver a level of
service to occupiers that will complement and enhance the experience that their
staff and visitors receive. The focus of much of the research commissioned by the
BCO Occupier Group over the last 5 years is thrown into sharp focus and in
particular the 2019 paper titled The
Customer Experience Revolution highlights the need for fresh thinking and
innovation within the industry not only to provide a higher level of service
within the property management industry, but also in order to attract the right
talent to continue an upward trend in Customer Experience.
The space as a service concept has been embraced by the
disrupters such as WeWork, TOG and Spaces, with experience and service at the
heart of what they do, particularly by creating a sense of community. While
their delivery model doesn’t suit everybody and I do not believe that they are
the death knell of traditional leasing that was once anticipated, we do have to
take learnings from their customer experience model. This is the major
attraction to their space and something that service providers and occupiers
alike must look to embrace in order to provide the environment and services
required to provide an innovative and vibrant workplace through the 2020s. Some
great work is being done, as highlighted by the case studies within the 2017
paper Office Service Standards and
Customer Experience also commissioned by the BCO Occupier Group, and there
are undoubtedly further examples of the continued evolution of CX within the
industry.
Post-Covid, experience will be key, and a picture of
excellence in any office or workplace setting will very much focus on
innovation in both hard and soft services that create an experience to return
for. This is not the death of the office, it is the re-birth.
As I pick up the mantle as Chair of the BCO Occupier Group,
I look forward to championing the position of the occupier in the post-covid
recovery and working hand in hand with owner and manager groups within the
industry to ensure that we see a successful recovery and growth of the sector,
with an emphasis on delivery of great service and continuous innovation.
Follow James Ainsworth on LinkedIn here.
#BCOvoices is a new series of blogs by the BCO. We’ll look at the impact of Covid-19 on the commercial property industry, along with broader topics. If you would be interested in contributing, please contact chane.scallan@bco.org.uk.
