Tag: Space Planning & Utilization

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Activity-Based Workplace Design: Why One Size Does Not Fit All

What are your goals for implementing activity-based workplace design in your company? If you are like most organizations beginning to move to this new way of working, you are certainly looking to reduce your footprint and your property costs. At the same time, you may also be tasked with delivering “destination” workplaces that enable collaboration and innovation, attract talent, boost productivity and improve employee experience.

When companies begin to move toward agile environments and activity-based workplace design, there is often a misconception that you can simply remove 20 percent of the desks from each department. If your goal was only to reduce costs, that might be an acceptable strategy. But given the need to improve the quality of the workplace and employee experience, you need a better way to create work spaces that meet the needs of your teams.

Activity-based workplace design: using data to drive your transformation

When companies begin to transition to agile and ABW spaces, it’s a big shift for employees and you’ll almost certainly experience resistance to the change. And for good reason: people maybe commuting 45 to 60 minutes (or more) to get to the office, and they are worried about traveling all that way and finding no desks available. That’s why it’s absolutely essential that you get the seat-to-people ratios right, and provide the spaces people need to do their jobs. You can’t do that based on assumptions or guesswork.

Related article: Top 3 Challenges of Moving to an Agile Work Environment

To create an activity-based workplace design that actually works for your business, you need to understand how each specific group is currently using space. That means taking the time to gather actual utilization information (for each individual team) over a period of time, minimally 6 to 8 weeks.

 

The reason for this is simple: different groups in your organization have varying needs for space. For example, an accounting group or a call center might have 90 percent of the staff in the office at any given time. However, a sales team might have only 40 percent of the staff sitting at a desk in the office each day. Your teams also use different types of spaces. The sales group might need small private areas for phone calls, and multiple meeting rooms that accommodate 3-4 people. A software development team might work best in a cluster of open workstations or a team table, with a larger conference room for team meetings.

That’s why your activity-based workplace design must include custom “neighborhoods” designed specifically for the tasks your teams need to accomplish on a day to day basis. One or more teams will be assigned to each neighborhood, and you will develop different seat-to-people ratios for each neighborhood. For example, you might aim for a ratio of 12 people to every 10 seats for the accounting neighborhood, but a ratio of 18 people to every 10 seats for the sales group. Each neighborhood will be designed with the types of spaces needed by the teams using it.

So how do you go about collecting the information about how (and how often) people use space? Read on to learn about two ways to get the data you need to develop an effective activity-based workplace design.

Gathering data the manual way

If you don’t have an automated mechanism in place to track space utilization, it’s possible to do so manually with spreadsheets. For a period of at least 6 weeks, you’ll need to record how many people from each team spend time in the office each day. That information will provide the basis of your seat ratios for each team.

Obviously this effort will require the cooperation of many people, especially in a large corporation, and is time consuming to say the least. For one thing, the number crunching alone will take a while and you’ll need to wait for the results. There’s also another limitation: you’re going to have to do extra work to determine which types of spaces people are using. For example: how much time are sales people spending at their desks making calls, versus in conference rooms collaborating with team members or participating in online presentations with prospects?

To get your activity-based workplace design right, you’ll want more granular intelligence that’s easier to produce and keep up to date. Using workplace technology is a much better solution.

Using workplace technology to gather intelligence

Workplace technology is becoming an essential strategic planning tool for developing and managing activity-based workplace design.

Badge readers, lighting sensors, network sensors and Low Energy Bluetooth gather utilization data automatically, enabling you to see which groups are using which types of space and with what frequency. These technologies are getting both simpler and more sophisticated all the time: some can track a specific person to a specific desk, and you can even get light-powered sensors that work without wires or batteries. However, it’s important to know that each type of technology has its strengths and limitations.

In all likelihood, you’ll want to deploy a combination of utilization tracking technologies to gather all the data you need to make decisions about activity-based workplace design.

Learn more about utilization tracking technology from this informative reference guide: Managing Workplace Utilization.

The next challenge is aggregating data from different sources and producing useful reports. For that, you’ll need workplace management software that acts as a central utilization platform, pulling together utilization data from multiple technologies. Instead of waiting for analysts to crunch numbers, you get real-time reports at your fingertips. You can easily roll up or drill down as needed to see the required level of granularity. And you can even view heatmaps that let you see what’s happening up-to-the-minute in a given area.

Armed with this level of intelligence, you can create the right mix of different space types and the right ratios of seats to people for each neighborhood or business unit. What’s more, you can also track the effectiveness over time so you can make adjustments to your activity-based workplace design as your business changes.

Related article: The New Workplace Space Utilization Metrics You Need to Know About

 

Leveraging data to gain buy-in

As we mentioned previously (and you probably already know!) one of the biggest challenges of transforming your workplace to an activity-based workplace design is convincing the business that your plan will work. Resistance to just about any kind of change is a given, and this change is a big one.

Being able to share accurate and detailed information about how each of your teams is using space is a valuable way to gain their trust. People are understandably concerned about having a space to work, and having the right space to accomplish daily tasks. When you can show them indisputable evidence about how many people are really in the office every day, anxiety about sharing space is reduced. Plus, people tend to come along for the ride when you share how much money the company stands to save (and then reinvest back into the business) with your plan. Not to mention the cool new features of the activity-based workplace design that improve employee experience, boost productivity and attract talent.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll address how to overcome obstacles to implementing activity-based workplace design and agile work environments:

  • Overcoming resistance with change management strategies
  • Gaining leadership buy in
  • Improving agile working benefits by reinvesting cost savings in the workplace

Don’t miss it!

Download a guide to creating an activity based working strategy today.

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Serraview Joins Privacy Shield Certified Companies

Serraview Earns Privacy Shield & TRUSTe Privacy Certifications

Serraview is proud to announce that we have been officially joined the list of Privacy Shield certified companies, after fulfilling the self-certification requirements set by the U.S. Department of Commerce. We have also recently earned the TRUSTe Enterprise Privacy Certification.

“These privacy certifications provide an additional comfort level for our customers,” said Serraview co-founder Ian Morley. “Serraview clients have even more assurance that our company is fully committed to personal privacy and protecting their data.”

What is Privacy Shield?

Privacy Shield is a joint effort between the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which enables the safe transfer of personal data (such as HR and payroll information) from Europe to the United States. The new mechanism complies with more stringent European data protection laws, replacing the Safe Harbor privacy framework that was ruled inadequate in 2015. As global businesses rely on international transfer of personal information for many internal operations, the EU and US worked quickly to develop improved standards.

The new Privacy Shield framework strengthens protection for individuals by increasing obligations for Privacy Shield certified companies in the handling of personal data.

What is required to earn Privacy Shield certification?

Privacy Shield certified companies are required to address the following privacy principles in the handling of both HR and non-HR data.

  • Notice: Publish a privacy policy including the organization’s participation in Privacy Shield as well as details about how data is handled and an individual’s associated rights.
  • Choice: Offer individuals the choice to opt-out of sharing their data in some situations, and explicitly obtain permission to disclose certain sensitive data.
  • Accountability for onward transfer: Follow rules for transferring data to a third-party acting as a controller or an agent.
  • Security: Take measures to protect data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
  • Data integrity and purpose limitation: Limit data to that which is relevant for processing.
  • Access: Provide individuals with access to their personal information and allow them to correct, amend, or delete that information.
  • Recourse, enforcement and liability: Provide independent recourse mechanisms for individuals and follow rules for enforcement of the Privacy Shield principles.

Privacy Shield provides a self-certification process where companies can review their own privacy management practices according to these principles. After gaining approval, a Privacy Shield certified company’s commitment to complying with the Privacy Shield framework is enforceable under U.S. law.

TRUSTe Enterprise Privacy Certification

In addition to completing the self-certification process required by Privacy Shield, Serraview took an additional step and engaged a third-party (TRUSTe) to conduct an independent review of our privacy policy and practices.

TRUSTe Enterprise Standard’s comprehensive assessment analyzed Serraview’s privacy practices against globally recognized privacy frameworks, including FIPPs, OECD, GAPP, state and local frameworks such as CalOPPA, self-regulatory and industry best practices, and more. TRUSTe also looked for privacy risks and provided detailed recommendations. The service also provides ongoing guidance related to privacy policy.

You’ll see our certification evidenced by the “TRUSTe Certified Privacy” badge on our digital privacy policy page.

Unleash your workplace potential. Request a demo today.

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Emerging CRE Tech for Workplace Space Optimization

CRE tech and the digital ecosystem

In a recent report, JLL and Unwork describe the “digital ecosystem” that has emerged in recent years from quantum leaps in computing power, billions of smart devices, pervasive connectivity and seemingly limitless quantities of data. Without question, these technological advances and connectivity will continue to grow exponentially in the years to come, transforming the way businesses work.

That’s why, given the digital ecosystem, workplaces need to provide additional value for organizations that was never anticipated in years past. Pressure to reduce property costs will remain a given, but at the same time CRE organizations must optimize workplaces to enable innovation, attract talent, improve employee wellbeing and workplace experience.

It’s a tall order to say the least. Since technology has been the driver behind these new demands, it’s only natural that organizations are turning to CRE tech to help them re-imagine their workplaces.

Emerging CRE tech is not only changing the way organizations manage space optimization, but also why they are doing it and the wider impact it can have on the business.

Workplace space optimization: it’s not just about cost savings anymore

As technology transforms business operations, what does the modern workplace need to look like? Office spaces are now becoming the venue where people come together (both physically and remotely–again enabled by technology) to collaborate. The old-style cubicle farms with a sea of employees doing their own thing is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Instead, employees along with partners and contingent workers come together to share and combine their talents to create the new products, services and ideas the company needs to remain competitive.

As a result, the goal of space optimization is no longer about cramming as many desks as possible into a space to reduce property costs. As worker mobility increases, as many as 60 percent (or more) of those desks sit empty in the traditional office space. Space optimization, and the CRE tech needed to support it, is now focused on creating dynamic spaces that meet the needs of the modern workforce and match the way they work in the digital ecosystem.

 

CRE tech drives space optimization with utilization data

Here’s one huge change that’s transforming offices: the rise of agile working spaces. These environments do away with assigned desks in favor of more flexible spaces where workers choose to work based on what they need to accomplish (and the people they need to work with) at any given time. These spaces are increasingly popular because they are designed for new ways of working, while also reducing space costs at the same time.

Learn more: Agile Working Benefits Moving Beyond the Dollars

Planning and implementing agile working spaces requires a significant shift in mindset, along with new CRE tech for capturing and analyzing data.

The mindset shift is moving companies away from tracking occupancy (bodies to seats) and traditional metrics (cost per square foot) to measuring utilization, or how space is actually being used. That data is essential for planning a new agile space fit-out, and for understanding the effectiveness of the new space: how well is it meeting the needs of the workforce?

Here are some emerging CRE tech essentials for meeting modern workplace goals in the digital ecosystem.

CRE TECH: Sensor technology

Creating agile environments requires a deep understanding of your workforce, down to the team level, and what they need in the workplace to meet their objectives. Those needs are going to vary greatly, depending on many factors, including:

  • The complexity and diversity of the team’s work
  • Need for the team to respond quickly to changing priorities and initiatives
  • The amount of collaboration needed and desired
  • The makeup of the team: mix of FTE, partners and contingent workers
  • Physical locations of team members

Sensors and other types of utilization tracking Technology allows you to track how different teams use space, not only over a month or even a day, but even throughout the course of the day. That data helps you plan fit-outs with the right mix of spaces for each team, and track the effectiveness over time so you can make adjustments as things change.

There’s a wide variety of technology available to collect this data: desk sensors, lighting sensors, beacons, ID badges and network sensors. Deployment of this technology is getting easier all the time: you can now get light-powered sensors that work without wires or batteries.
Learn more about the available technologies: Managing Workplace Utilization

CRE TECH: Business intelligence platforms

If you’ve looked into utilization tracking technology, you may already realize that you’ll need a mix of different technologies to collect all the different types of data you need to make decisions. Then the challenge becomes aggregating data from different sources into one business intelligence tool that makes sense of all of it.

A best-in-class workplace management system provides that central source of truth for all your CRE data, including utilization data from multiple sources. Here are a few essential features to look:

  • Ability to aggregate a variety of data sources to provide actionable intelligence reports
  • Heatmaps that let you see what’s happening up-to-the-minute in a given area
  • Dashboards showing real-time utilization data
  • Ability to roll up or drill down as needed to see the required level of granularity

CRE TECH: Next generation space management

Now that you’re powered by utilization data and smart tools to help you make space optimization decisions, you need modern space planning tools to act on those decisions.

Here are a few things that set the leaders apart when it comes to CRE tech for modern space management:

1. Support for neighborhoods and unassigned seating

Many older space planning systems (provided by traditional IWMS providers) are designed to support only occupancy or “bodies to seats.” That severely limits you in a modern flexible environment. Instead, look for modern CRE tech with the ability to assign a team to a neighborhood and manage ratios in an agile environment.

2. Native integration with utilization technologies

Your CRE organization needs to be as agile as your environment (and the teams you support). So if you need to go through a lot of manual data manipulation to get answers from your utilization tracking, that’s going to cost you both in time and money. Modern CRE tech tools are built on standard platforms that can integrate seamlessly with the utilization tracking technology you choose.

3. Features for building business relationships & reducing CRE workload

Imagine if you could get your business units to voluntarily update their team information? Impossible? Not at all with modern CRE tech that makes it quick & easy for business units to update their CRE data. Why would they do so? Because in turn, you can give them tools that make their job easier and improve employee experience.

Learn more: The 8 Superpowers You Need for Office Space Management

The best part? You can use those CRE tech tools to build better working relationships, provide better service to your teams, earn the trust of leaders, and win a seat at the strategic planning table.

Download your copy of Workplace Management Software Buyer’s Guide today.

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3 Components of the High Performance Workplace

According to JLL’s Global Corporate Real Estate Survey, more than 75% of companies have high expectations for CRE to improve productivity in the workplace. That number increases to 85% for companies with more than 50,000 employees. As the global economy becomes more competitive, building a high performance workplace is becoming a higher priority.

In an effort to meet those expectations for effective workspace, CRE organizations are moving beyond reducing space and cost, and taking on initiatives to transform the workplace experience. Fueling that shift is mounting evidence that the quality of the workplace impacts a company’s ability to produce and innovate.

The questions many are asking are, what makes a high performance workplace? And how can it better support a productive and innovative workforce?

Performance, innovation and workplace design

Workplace design firm Gensler’s 2016 Workplace Survey of over 4000 workers found that the “top innovators” (as measured by their Innovation Index) have two things in common:

  1. They provide well-designed workplaces with diverse spaces for collaboration and for individual focus. They also had access to amenities such as cafeterias, outdoor spaces, gyms and child care facilities.
  2. Their workplace culture empowers employees to choose where and when to work based on their needs and the work they need to accomplish.

That’s why so many companies are choosing to invest in better quality workspace design, especially activity-based work environments (ABW). This type of high performance workplace design gives employees a major advantage: more choices about where and how they accomplish their work.

That choice drives not only better individual productivity, but also increases in collaboration and creative thinking that lead to innovation.

However, it’s important to realize that building the right environment is only half the job. Transforming a space to a high performance workplace means developing a company culture that truly embraces flexibility.

Recent global research by Vodafone found that 75% of companies worldwide have adopted flexible working policies, with extremely positive results:

  • 61% reported increased profits
  • 83% reported productivity improvements
  • 58% believed the organization’s reputation improved

3 components of the high performance workplace

Leesman is a global independent research firm that helps organizations understand how their employees work and how well their spaces support productivity. Their extensive research has identified 3 key components of the high performance workplace. Understanding these factors can help organizations to develop activity-based workplaces that work better for employees and produce better results for the company.

1. Activity complexity

When designing any workplace, it’s essential to understand the tasks or activities that employees will need to perform there. This is even more critical for activity-based workspaces. The dollars invested in the new fit out will pay off with a high performance workplace only if the mix of spaces meets the needs of workers.

The more variation in the types of activities performed in a workspace, the more benefit workers will get from having spaces specifically designed for the work they need to do. Understanding this can help CRE organizations prioritize areas for moving to activity-based working.

Here’s an example. An accounting department might have little variation in the work they do each day; most of it is individual focused work at a computer. This group may not gain as much from moving to an activity-based workplace. However, a marketing team with more varied daily activities, like team brainstorming sessions, remote conference calls, and individual focused work, will benefit much more.

Before designing a space for ABW, make sure you understand the level of activity complexity within the groups that will be using each neighborhood. What’s the easiest way to accomplish that? Ask them! Develop relationships with your business units that build their trust in you, and provide tools that make it easy for them to provide the data you need to develop a high performance workplace.

Learn more: CRE Team Structure: Why Relationship Management Is Key

2. Variety of settings for work

Once you understand the level of activity complexity for a team, you’re in the best position to support that complexity by providing the right variety of settings for work.

Depending on the needs of the team in each neighborhood, your high performance workplace might need to provide open plan seating for team work, comfortable lounges for brainstorming, a café for encouraging impromptu collaboration, as well as more private and quiet areas for focus work. But getting the balance right is important, especially when the ABW area is also agile, where there is no longer a seat assigned to each person.

How do you get the ratios correct for each neighborhood? By implementing utilization tracking technology along with modern workplace management software that allows you to see who is using each type of space and when. Armed with a precise understanding of how each team uses space, and tools like heatmaps that let you visualize that data, you can create a high performance workplace that enables each team to perform their best work.

Find out more about utilization tracking technology with this guide to: Managing Workplace Utilization.

 

3. Change management through culture

Simply building a new high performance workplace environment is not enough to get people to collaborate more, or change their work habits enough to impact performance. You can’t rely on any workspace design alone to do the job of changing an organization’s culture.

Your company’s policies must fully support flexibility, not as a privilege, but as an expected way of working. Then you must deliver change management before, during and after implementation of the new work environment to shift people’s mindsets and habits.

For example, managers must learn to measure performance by output rather than by hours sitting at a desk. And workers may need to be given clear “permission” to move around during the day and take advantage of spaces designed for their tasks. Only then will the new environment be used as designed, and become the high performance workplace you intended.

Learn more: 8 Tips to Encourage Collaboration in the Agile Workplace

Can traditional IWMS meet the requirements of the modern workplace? Find out today. 

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11 Active Design Ideas to Improve Wellbeing in the Workplace

Would you agree that these are some of the top challenges large corporations face today?

  • Attracting skilled knowledge workers
  • Declining productivity due to workforce health problems
  • The skyrocketing cost of providing healthcare benefits

These challenges are motivating companies to address wellbeing in the workplace with wellness programs and even workplace design.

Recent CBRE research presented at the CoreNet Global Summit revealed that more than half of surveyed companies already provided programs to address workforce health, and 91% expect to increase health and wellness programs in the years to come. Many are turning to active design guidelines to improve health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Active design is a philosophy that was originally developed to improve public health by building city infrastructures to encourage more activity. However, active design is becoming a global movement that is also driving the design of the modern workplace.

Why companies are investing in active design for the workplace

According to research by the non-profit Center for Active Design, American workers spend upwards of 1700 hours at their workplaces each year. Not surprisingly, those spaces can have a tremendous impact on their health. Workers often spend more than half their waking hours sitting in a vehicle during commute time and sitting at a computer the rest of the workday. The lack of movement has resulted in skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. That’s why sitting is being called “the new smoking” by health experts.

Not only does this health crisis reduce workers’ quality of life, but it costs their employers in increased absenteeism and lower productivity, as well as rising heathcare expenses.

 

Active design solutions address these issues by incorporating environmental changes, policies and programs into the workplace that encourage employees to move more throughout the workday.

As an added bonus, these strategies can also help companies with another critical problem: the so-called “war for talent” that has companies vying for highly skilled knowledge workers. The millennial generation in particular are placing a high value on a well-designed workplace in choosing their employer. They expect their workplace to support their lifestyle, and are drawn to companies that demonstrate an interest and commitment to their wellbeing.

If your company is looking for ways to support health and wellbeing in the workplace, here are some proven ideas put forth by the City of New York in their Active Design Guidelines.

 

Active design ideas to get people moving in your workplace

1. Design your space to encourage walking

The idea behind this active design strategy is to give people a reason to walk around your workplace. Shared spaces such as team collaboration lounges, food service locations, and even printer/copier rooms should be placed within a pleasant walking distance of individual workspaces. Typically that means giving them a central location rather than tucking them away in a corner. Removing trash cans from individuals desks also encourages people to walk to place trash in the communal bin.

2. Include strategically-located staircases

Grand, open staircases are the hottest design feature in modern offices today. And that’s not only because it looks cool. Staircases that are highly visible and easily accessible (sometimes centrally located in the main lobby, within the main office space to connect floors, or even near the kitchen) encourage workers to use them instead of elevators. One of the most effective active design strategies is to design spaces so that stairs are the primary means of travel between up to 4 floors.

There’s also another benefit of incorporating everyday stairs into your active design workplace strategy. In an emergency, workers may be safer in environments with integrated stairs since safe exit paths are not tucked away behind closed doors.

3. Include integrated vertical circulation system in high rises

Even in a high-rise building, a combination of staircases and elevators can encourage more movement. One strategy is the use of skip-stop elevators that stop only on designated floor. Workers can be encouraged to use centrally-located staircases within workspaces to get to adjacent floors. Additional accessibility to elevators can be provided for mobility challenged employees.

This active design strategy can also cut elevator maintenance expenses and reduce the wait time for employees when they do need to use the elevator. And it has the added benefit of encouraging collaboration between people on adjacent floors.

4. Provide active furniture

Take a walk around a modern workplace, and you’ll probably see sit-stand workstations, treadmill desks, and possibly even cycling workstations (in all honesty I’ve never seen one, but apparently they are out there!). Workers of all ages are realizing that working does not necessarily require sitting. Phone calls, answering emails, and even other types of focus work can be accomplished while getting exercise at the same time.

While workers may not always want to take the time to do a yoga class or work out at the gym during the workday, these active furniture options let them build a little more activity into their day.

5. Include dedicated & convertible exercise spaces

That being said, many workers can benefit from taking an exercise break at a strategic point in their workday, whether at lunchtime or to combat a mid-afternoon energy slump.

Dedicated exercise spaces, such as yoga rooms, running tracks and even swimming pools, allow them to do so without leaving the office. Don’t forget to provide outdoor space for exercise whenever possible, including bike and pedestrian paths. Some tech companies with large campuses even provide bikes for people to travel between buildings.

More tips to get employees to use your active design features

Have you tried to implement health and wellbeing programs in the past, and then wondered why workers were not taking advantage of them? The “if you build it, they will come” strategy is not enough to change behavior. Take the following strategies into account as you create and implement your active design plan.

6. Understand workplace utilization patterns

Successfully incorporating active design requires a deep understanding of the utilization patterns in your workplace. You can’t place stairs and collaboration spaces in a central, high-traffic location unless you understand how people prefer to use space and can analyze patterns.

Utilization tracking technology, such as occupancy and lighting sensors, card readers and network technology give you the reliable data you need to design your workplace around actual usage by your business teams.

Learn more about how to track space utilization with this informative guide: Managing Workplace Utilization.

7. Location is key

According to the Active Design Guidelines, people are more likely to use staircases located within 25 feet of your entrance and encountered before they get to the elevator. However, locating stairs near the elevator is a good thing: people tired of waiting for the elevator will opt to use the stairs.

The same can be said about locating other active design features like exercise spaces: make them available within principal paths of travel.

8. Make active design features visible and attractive

Using grand, architectural staircases can be preferable to squeezing into a crowded elevator. Use glass enclosures for visibility, as well as appealing colors, materials and finishes that reflect the company’s brand and design aesthetic. Incorporating artwork, greenery and even outdoor views can go a long way to increasing use of a staircase by employees.

The same goes for your outdoor paths and walking spaces: make them beautiful and people will want to spend time using them.

9. Build in collaboration spaces

Make your staircases and active design spaces into hubs for collaboration and social activity. Install comfortable lounges on staircase landings to encourage people to stop for a chat.

10. Promote them!

Help your employees decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Put up strategic signs by the elevators reminding people to use the stairs. According to the Active Design Guidelines, this simple practice can up stair use by up to 50%.

Some tips for signs:

  • Remember to include multi-lingual messages
  • Use large, easy to read fonts
  • Include motivators like the number of calories burned by taking the stairs or time saved waiting for the elevator

11. Remove barriers

Get rid of the barriers that keep people from using your active design spaces. For example:

  • If you must use staircases with doors because they also must serve as fire doors, don’t limit access by requiring an access code or card swipe.
  • Wondering why people aren’t using the treadmill desks or taking yoga? Providing locker rooms with showers can make a world of difference for employees.
  • Encourage people to bike to work and around your campus by providing bike racks, ideally on the ground floor of the building.

Learn more about work space design and wellbeing in the workplace:
Wellness Implications of the Activity Based Workspace
Workforce Health: Is Your Workplace Helping or Hurting?

Download your guide to best practices in the modern workplace today.

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The Psychology Behind Modern Office Design & Workforce Well-Being

People seek out environments (including work situations) that satisfy their basic human needs. That’s a principle behind research conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces at the University of California, Berkeley. So if your organization is committed to attracting and retaining talent, increasing collaboration and growing productivity, it pays to address employees’ psychological needs (as well as physical ones) in the workplace. That’s why companies are implementing modern office design and workplace strategy to improve overall workforce well-being and employee experience.

In this article, we’ll explain 7 psychological drivers (identified by the Healthy Workplaces Model) that influence workplace behavior, and provide examples of ways these needs can be addressed by modern office design and other workplace strategies.

7 Well-being needs to address with modern office design & workplace strategy

The following are 7 psychological needs that drive employee behavior and well-being in the workplace, with examples of how modern office design can meet those needs.

1. PRIVACY

One reason employees are unhappy with the open office plan is lack of privacy. That’s because everyone wants privacy at some point during their workday, whether it’s to make a private phone call or to eliminate distraction and improve concentration. A modern office design that includes activity based work (ABW) spaces can address that need by providing quiet and private spaces for focus work, phone booths for private phone conversations, and small meeting rooms for small-group private talks.

2. FLEXIBILITY

According to recent research by CBRE, one of the things employees want most when it comes to their work environment is choice. That means more than flexible hours and the ability to work from home. It also means choice in their work environment. Surprisingly, it’s not only millennials that want and expect this flexibility: older generations are jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to expectations for modern office design. Activity-based work environments provide the flexibility workers want in choosing the type of space to work in based on what they need to accomplish.

Companies moving to these new strategies should be aware that they must also address the cultural shifts that are needed to support flexibility in the workplace. For example, managers need to clearly give employees permission to move around during the day, as well as model the desired behaviors themselves.

 

3. PREDICTABILITY

In an economic climate where rapidly accelerating change is a given, people need the comfort of being in control of their environment. When you’re implementing a modern office design with agile working for the first time, employees are probably worried about losing the predictability of their familiar desk and cubicle. That’s why it’s important to provide tools like wayfinding systems that give control and predictability back to the workforce. A kiosk or mobile app that helps them easily find the perfect space to work, locate a coworker, or find their way around an unfamiliar campus eases those concerns.

Watch this video to learn more about modern wayfinding tools: How Wayfinding Technology Can Shape Employee Experience.

To provide predictability for employees in an agile environment, you must be sure you create the right people-to-seat ratios and the right mix of spaces. There’s a science to that process as well, and it starts by implementing technology that helps you track how people are using space. Here’s a useful resource to help you sort through the utilization tracking technology options and figure out which ones you need to drive your modern office design: Managing Workplace Utilization.

4. EQUITY

All employees, regardless of their place within the organization, want to be treated equitably. That’s especially true of millennials who may feel stifled by a corporate hierarchy. Traditional workplaces emphasize the differences between workers, with the allocation of square footage and window offices indicating power and status. In a modern office design without assigned seating, status is no longer attached to workspace, which encourages more interaction between people at different levels.

5. COMFORT

Certainly workers expect physical comfort solutions in the modern office design, such as ergonomic furniture, good lighting and a properly functioning HVAC system. But features that improve emotional comfort and wellbeing are the strategies that are really attracting employees and enabling them to be productive and creative. Including green spaces, letting in natural light, and providing inspiring views are office design strategies that are making a big impact.

6. CONNECTION

Connecting with others is a basic human need that is better met with modern office design than with traditional office settings. That’s because modern agile work spaces encourage not only interaction within small teams, but between people who otherwise might never have a chance to connect. When people sit in a different spot each day, or even move around several times a day when working on different types of tasks, they have opportunities to interact, learn from and share with more people.

7. SAFETY

Of course, everyone needs to be physically safe to be productive, but employees need to feel emotionally safe in their work environment as well. Modern office design features that promote strong teams also help employees to develop those feelings of safety. Agile working “neighborhoods” as well as spaces that encourage team interaction help to build strong and cohesive team relationships where workers feel comfortable sharing ideas, expressing opinions and offering feedback.

Why modern office design must address employee well-being

It’s important to understand exactly what companies and their employees stand to gain when workplaces are designed to meet the basic human needs of employees. It turns out, implementing modern office design strategies along with wellbeing initiatives are in everyone’s best interest.

What employees gain:

  • Better health due to modern office design that encourages movement and even promotes better sleep.
  • Lower stress with addition of green spaces, outdoor views, and more flexibility to use space to help accomplish tasks.
  • Increased job satisfaction when they have the ability to choose how, when and where and with whom they work.

What’s in it for corporations:

  • Winning the war for talent. According to CBRE, 71% of workers are willing to give up other benefits to get a well-designed workplace.
  • Increasing collaboration and innovation. Modern office design encourages interaction among and between teams with fewer walls and comfortable collaboration spaces. That interaction helps drive the innovation companies need to remain competitive in the knowledge economy.
  • Encouraging intergenerational mentoring. Cool, modern office design can attract mobile workers back into the office and get them working together. That means talented millennials gain the opportunity to learn from more experienced mentors.
  • Increasing productivity. When workers are physically and mentally healthy, absenteeism is reduced. And, modern office design better supports workers in accomplishing daily tasks, which also improves productivity.
  • Cutting property costs. Modern workplaces using an agile working strategy can accommodate more people with much less space, which can allow companies to reduce portfolio size and reduce CRE expenditure by millions year over year.

Learn more: Can Office Design Drive Workplace Productivity & Innovation?

Download Best Practices for the Modern Workplace today.

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3 Ways an Open Office Plan Works for Corporate Leaders

Just about every large corporation is transitioning from traditional office space to more modern spaces featuring an open office plan with an agile working strategy. That’s because companies are all facing the same issues with office space:

  • An increasingly mobile workforce means as much as 60% of traditional office space sits empty every day. Everyone wants to make better use of all that wasted space.
  • A need to control rising property costs.
  • A desire to increase collaboration among workers to generate ideas and boost innovation.

Moving to a more modern, open office plan can be an important step toward achieving these goals. Open offices with agile working can reduce space requirements and costs, as well as creating an atmosphere where people naturally communicate and share ideas. However, some of the concerns about the open office concept include a lack of privacy and distracted employees.

How do you get the benefits of the open office plan while minimizing the pain points? Read on to learn about best practices that go a long way toward improving employee satisfaction and productivity. Also, we’ll reveal how the open office plan can benefit senior leaders in unexpected ways.

Tips for improving satisfaction & productivity in an open office plan

1. Enhance the open office plan with ABW

For many companies, the answer is adding Activity-Based Working (ABW) features to the open office concept. That means providing spaces designed for a specific activity, such enclosed “phone booths” for private phone calls, comfortable lounges for team brainstorming, and quiet areas for concentration.

These modern spaces combine the best features of the open office plan with task-oriented spaces. The well-designed ABW workspace improves the open office concept since it also provides the equally important spaces for quiet and focus in addition to spaces for collaboration.

When ABW is combined with a non-assigned seating model (also known as agile or flexible working), many of the problems associated with the open office plan are eliminated. That’s because people can choose where to sit based on the work they need to do at any given time.

Learn more: Why ABW Is A Better Alternative to Open Office Design

Even if you’re not quite ready to go full-on with ABW and agile working, you can begin with small steps in the right direction. Adding breakout spaces and quiet areas can improve productivity and employee satisfaction with the open office plan.

 

2. Embrace flexibility

Keeping employees happy and productive in an open office plan may require shifting your corporate culture. Giving people the flexibility to work off-site when needed can mitigate problems with distraction in the open office. However, that shift must be fully supported by corporate leaders.

“The leaders of the organisation must live and breathe flexibility,” according to CRE expert Roland Chua. “Their practice of flexible working arrangements must be highly visible, consistent, and regular. This will drive the culture of flexibility into the organisation and infiltrate into the mindsets of each individual.”

It’s also essential that flexible work policies be fully documented as an expected way of working, rather than a right or a privilege. In this environment, workers feel trusted and appreciated, and much more willing and able to give their very best performance.

Learn more: 5 Ways to Get Management Buy-In for Flexible Working Arrangements

3. Adopt technology that supports your workforce and your future needs

Moving to more modern office spaces and ways of working may seem like a daunting task. As you plan your journey to the workplace of the future, it’s imperative to put technology in place that helps you better understand space requirements and enables you to implement more efficient and productive modern spaces. You also need tools that support employees in these new spaces. Here are the essential components:

Workplace management technology that supports agile working
In the open office plan of the future, you’ll be setting up shared neighborhoods for each team or a group of teams to share. That means you need space management software that doesn’t require you to assign a person to each seat. Instead, you need the ability to assign teams to a neighborhood.

Scenario planning
Today’s business environment is changing faster than ever before, and property teams need to be ready to support those changes. Scenario planning tools allow you to turn on a dime by easily modeling changes, making smart decisions, and quickly implementing new plans.

Utilization technology
To support an agile environment, you need to provide the right mix of different space types in each area, as well as the right ratios of people to seats for each team. That means you must track real-time space utilization using smart building technology like badge readers, occupancy sensors, beacons and more.

 

There is no one technology that will capture all the data you need to get a true picture of space utilization. That’s why most companies choose to implement a combination of smart building technology. To make the best use of that data for driving space decisions, look for a workplace management system that integrates multiple data sources to give you a complete picture of your space usage.

Learn more about utilization technology options with this informative resource: Managing Workplace Utilization.

Wayfinding
In an agile work environment, you don’t want employees having difficulty finding a place to work each day. Wayfinding tools allow workers to quickly find space based on the type of work they need to do, or to choose a space near people they need to work with. They might also choose to work in a particular area of the building due to comfort issues, such as proximity to amenities or a window. With the right tool, they can find the perfect space in seconds, right from their smartphone.

BONUS: The open office plan also benefits senior executives

One question that always comes up with moving to the open office concept and ABW is: where will the senior execs sit? Should they transition to collaborative working along with their teams or must they stay in isolated offices?

Although people accustomed to private offices may resist at first, there are a whole host of valuable benefits to working alongside the team in an open office plan. Here are just a few:

1. Tuning in to people’s concerns

When leaders sit alongside their teams in an open office plan, they hear more of what everyone’s talking about. That includes both the good and the bad, which leaders don’t always get to hear behind closed doors.

2. Becoming more approachable

When executives are tucked away in the corner office, staff often don’t feel comfortable approaching them with questions or ideas. In an open office plan, employees get to interact with leadership on a more personal level. That familiarity and opportunity creates an open atmosphere that can result in more work getting done.

3. Joining the conversation

This is the true value of collaboration: not just listening, but participating in the ad-hoc conversations going on in the open office plan. Senior leaders are not only more aware of what’s going on, they can more readily offer guidance and weigh in when appropriate.

Download a guide to creating an activity based workplace today.

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Key Takeaways from CoreNet Global 2016

The theme of the CoreNet Global 2016 Summit in Philadelphia was focused on some key big picture issues facing corporate real estate: Geopolitics, Economics and the Environment. The overall message was clear: CRE needs to be prepared for a climate of rapidly accelerating change on all fronts.

5 Key Messages from CoreNet Global 2016

Here are some of the most important and actionable takeaways for CRE from CoreNet Philadelphia, specifically related to the global economy, human capital, employee wellness, the modern workplace and the impact of technology.

CoreNet Global takeaway #1: Prepare for an uncertain future with flexibility

At the CoreNet Global Summit, a variety of experts presented different viewpoints and challenged our world view on issues such as geopolitics, the environment, immigration and the global economy. At the conclusion, one point remained clear: the future is uncertain and the only thing we can positively predict is rapidly accelerating change.

Not being ready to meet these changes is a huge risk for companies. Responding too late can impact your company’s ability to remain competitive and profitable. So how can CRE transform their teams and workplaces to be agile enough to meet changing business conditions as they unfold?

One smart strategy is building flexibility into your CRE portfolio with agile working spaces. While companies are moving to this new way of working for its cost benefits and to enable collaboration, agile spaces also provide scalability and allow for fast re-alignment of teams.

Learn more: Agile Working Benefits: Moving Beyond the Dollars

 

CoreNet Global takeaway #2: Mitigate a growing human capital crisis by providing choice

It’s an indisputable fact: companies are having a hard time hiring knowledge workers with the skills they need. The “war for talent” means that attracting and retaining highly skilled workers, especially from the millennial generation, is a top priority that must drive CRE actions.

According to CBRE research presented at the CoreNet Global Summit, that’s because workers place a high value on their work environment. In fact, 71% are willing to give up other benefits (like a shorter commute or joining a company with a valued brand) to work in a well-designed workplace. The difficult part is understanding exactly what actions you need to take to make your workplace more attractive to prospective employees.

According to CBRE and many other experts at the summit, the key is providing choice in the workplace. Both millennials and older generations want options in the types of spaces available to them to accomplish their work.

Learn more: 3 Workplace Strategies for Attracting Top Talent

CoreNet Global takeaway #3: Addressing employee experience is essential

CBRE revealed that half of companies they surveyed already have employee health and wellbeing programs in place, and 91% expect to increase these programs. Other experts presenting at the CoreNet global summit, including Dr. Cristina Banks, Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces, University of California Berkeley, say that’s because workers are seeking out environments where their human needs are met.

This fact makes employee health and wellbeing an important workplace strategy for attracting talent and also growing productivity. Workplaces designed to increase physical health are becoming popular, providing features like attractive staircases and active furniture to increase movement, and healthy food options to increase nutrition.

What may be surprising is that the psychological wellbeing of employees is just as important as their physical health. That’s why companies are providing work spaces designed to increase social interaction and cohesion as well as provide quiet and privacy. Again, it’s having choice that’s key.

CoreNet Global takeaway #4: Workplace design can serve as a business enabler

How can workplace impact business success? According to many presenters at the CoreNet Global summit, that’s the question driving the design of the modern workplace and especially the movement to agile working. One fact has become clear: in the knowledge economy, ideas and innovation are what’s needed to drive businesses forward. And the key to generating better ideas is increasing collaboration in the workplace.

That’s an important reason that companies are transforming their workplaces into environments that provide more opportunities to collaborate. Agile work spaces encourage both ad-hoc and planned collaboration with the neighborhood concept and with meeting spaces designed for the way teams work best.

Another factor that can’t be overlooked is how workplace can increase productivity. There were many ideas presented at the CoreNet Global Summit about impacting employee productivity with workplace design, as well as how to measure that impact. A common thread was providing space options that make it easier for workers to accomplish a variety of tasks. But to ensure the results you want, it’s essential to transform company culture through change management at the same time you’re transforming the workplace.

Learn more: 8 Tips to Encourage Collaboration in the Agile Workplace

CoreNet Global takeaway #5: Innovative technology is driving workplace transformation

Speakers at the CoreNet Global Summit addressed 3 key drivers in the move to Workplace 2020: innovation in workplace design, policy and technology. The fact is, technology is the catalyst that’s enabling companies to transform workplaces from a cost liability to a productivity asset.

The journey begins with technology that helps you understand where you are, where you want to go and how to get there. In the digital workplace, strategic decisions are increasingly being made based on data rather than relying on experience alone. That means you must be continuously monitoring and measuring the relationship between people and space, because that’s the information you need to drive an effective and efficient workplace.

 

High performing workplaces are using third generation workplace management tools integrated with utilization tracking technology to get real time insights and respond quickly to dynamic business needs. As a bonus, the data provided by this technology can also be used to power wayfinding tools that improve employee experience in an agile work environment.

Learn more: Managing Workplace Utilization.

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3 Workplace Strategies for Attracting Top Talent

It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of talent out there. Why? Baby boomers are retiring. Gen Xers, a smaller group to begin with, are also increasingly leaving the corporate workforce in pursuit of opportunities with better work/life balance. And millennials, the largest generation since the boomers, have vastly different expectations than those who came before them.

According to PwC’s Global CEO Survey, attracting top talent from the millennial generation is one of the biggest talent challenges they face today. And it’s crucial to find the answer, since millennials will comprise half the workforce by 2020.

Millennials and the challenge of attracting top talent

The millennial generation has high expectations for their work experience, and many are less than satisfied with where they find themselves.
According to a Deloitte survey of over 7,000 millennial workers, nearly half plan to change jobs within the next two years, and two-thirds hope to do so by 2020.

Those are eye-opening statistics. However, it’s important to realize that this situation poses both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is holding on to the talent you’ve already got. However, the knowledge that so many are actively seeking better positions is also a ripe opportunity for attracting top talent.

Read on to find out the most important factors influencing millennials’ employment choices, and learn strategies to get more top job seekers to choose your company.

3 proven strategies for attracting top talent and keeping it

Here’s something you may already know: it’s not all about the money. Millennials certainly do expect competitive salaries and financial incentives. Yet it’s even more important to them to have personal choice about where and how they work. They also want to work for a company whose values they share.

Attracting top talent from the millennial generation is about building a total employee value proposition that matches their priorities.

 

1. Develop a culture of empowerment

Millennials want to be judged based on the results they produce, instead of the number of hours they spend chained to a desk at the office. They learn best by doing (especially by leveraging technology) and gain inspiration from collaborating with others.

According to a workplace survey published by Harvard Business Review, the millennial generation values choice: “We found that knowledge workers whose companies allow them to help decide when, where, and how they work were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, performed better, and viewed their company as more innovative than competitors that didn’t offer such choices.”

A survey by human resources association WorldatWork also found that having an established workplace flexibility culture has a positive impact on employee engagement, satisfaction and turnover rate.

Given the challenges of attracting top talent today, organizations need to move away from the model of rigid work times and places, empowering employees to work the way that best enables them to accomplish goals.

Related article: 5 Ways to Get Management Buy-In For Flexible Working

2. Create a destination workplace that enables collaboration

Attracting top talent from this generation requires more than flexible hours and the ability to work from home. Employees also want more choices and more opportunities for collaboration within the office as well as out of the office. Rather than working at a fixed location, they want to move around as their job demands.

Workplace design is changing to reflect the choices millennials want, with more companies moving toward Activity Based Working (ABW). These are task-oriented spaces designed for different types of work activities, such as quiet areas for concentration, comfortable lounges for group collaboration, and “phone booths” for private phone conversations. An ABW environment is most effective for attracting top talent when combined with an agile working model. Workers are not assigned a seat but instead choose a space to work each day based on what they need to accomplish.

While millennials don’t want to be chained to a desk, they do highly value face-to-face collaboration. They are accustomed to working in teams, and they view the office as a meeting space. Youngers workers are most likely to be lured into the office because of a desire to work with and learn from others, particularly mentors. According to PwC’s research, “Millennials relish the opportunity to engage, interact and learn from senior management.”

A key to attracting top talent is creating a workplace where both senior leaders and young workers want to be. What’s why so many companies are moving away from traditional offices with cubical farms and leaders hidden away in corner offices. The workplace of the future offers comfortable and engaging collaborative spaces, as well as amenities like gyms and recreational spaces.

Related article: 8 Tips to Encourage Collaboration in the Agile Workplace

These features are not only attracting top talent from the millennial generation, but even drawing more senior workers back into the office. And now that they are no longer hidden behind closed doors, they are more accessible to teach and mentor the younger generation.

 

Australian architecture firm BVN has been involved in numerous workplace projects that have been proven to improve recruitment potential.

“The workplace becomes a direct and tangible reflection of the culture and leadership of organisations,” explained BVN Principal Bill Dowzer. “Clear markers have been transparency, connectivity and a lack of hierarchy in the design of space that have resonated with prospective talent. A major additional factor is the inclusion of wellness as a key aspiration element of a high performance workplace.”

One BVN client, large-scale legal firm Minter Ellison recently reported an 80% increase in acceptances of graduate offers that was in part due to the new workplace design. “The workspace is open and speaks of the opportunities for osmotic learning in a collegiate environment that puts people at the heart of the organisation. It also gave the opportunity to differentiate the culture of the firm from competitors, as a direct illustration of a contemporary forward looking firm,” said Dowzer. (Watch this video to learn more about the project.)

Planning your strategy for moving to an agile, collaborative workspace requires reliable intelligence about how your current space is being used. Learn more about the technologies used to gather and analyze that data with this informative guide: Managing Workplace Utilization.

3. Address workforce health and wellbeing

Work-life balance means more to the millennial generation than being able to choose the hours they work. They are committed to their health and wellbeing, both in and out of the office. Younger workers in particular are drawn to companies that demonstrate the same commitment to employees’ overall well-being.

While providing a gym at the office is a nice perk, progressive companies are doing much more. Supporting workforce health is a smart strategy for attracting top talent of all ages. It’s not just about showing you care about your employees’ heath, but about implementing programs that make a measurable impact. Here are just a few examples.

Enabling activity
Every day more studies are showing the impact of sedentary activities on both employee attitudes and health. Active furniture, such as sit-stand workstations and treadmill desks, allow employees to work out while working, rather than having to build gym time into their schedule.

Office spaces are also being designed specifically to encourage movement. That can mean installing well-placed staircases, and centrally located printers and copiers that encourage getting up and moving around. ABW and agile work environments further support activity as workers move to different spaces throughout the day.

Healthy eating options
It’s no surprise that being trapped in an office with no sustenance but coffee and vending machine fare can negatively impact employees’ health. Providing a variety of healthy food options is not only beneficial to their health and an increasingly popular strategy for attracting top talent. Busy millennials may not have much in the fridge at home, so food is another enticement to get them into the office.

Mood and well-being
Physical health is not the only area of concern when it comes to improving how employees function at work. Mood and mental well-being also have an enormous impact on both satisfaction and productivity. Companies are addressing two workplace factors that significantly impact mood: lighting and noise level.

Experts are increasingly touting good lighting and especially daylight as necessary for optimal productivity. They recommend designing open workspaces where more employees can see the view outside, especially when that view includes green space. These are the types of environments that help with attracting top talent.

Noise can be an even bigger problem that poor lighting. It’s not only distracting, but noise can aggravate mental health conditions. In a well-designed ABW environment, you’ll find quiet areas and group collaboration spaces separated for this reason.

LEED certified buildings
You know LEED certified buildings save money on energy expenses, but how does that help with attracting top talent? First of all, millennials care a great deal about social and environmental responsibility, including reducing pollution. Taking this step shows your commitment to the values they share.

But there is another benefit that can significantly impact employee health and well-being: indoor air quality (IAQ). There is a great body of evidence linking poor IAQ to illness, even systemic problems such as Sick Building Syndrome. Part of LEED certification involves addressing the issues that cause IAQ problems.

Related article: Workforce Health: Is Your Workplace Helping or Hurting?

Millennial job candidates are paying attention to the companies that provide them with the workplace environment they need to be productive. If you’re struggling with attracting top talent from this generation, it pays to create a workplace that aligns with their goals.

Is your company considering expanding into a new city? In an upcoming post, we’ll reveal some up and coming US markets that are ripe for hiring millennial talent. Don’t miss it!

Download creating an activity based working strategy today.