{"id":367,"date":"2022-12-30T12:35:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T12:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/2022\/12\/30\/speakers-qa-how-do-you-see-flexibility-being-implemented-in-offices-to-maximise-the-use-of-real-estate-and-improve-the-employee-experience\/"},"modified":"2022-12-30T12:35:24","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T12:35:24","slug":"speakers-qa-how-do-you-see-flexibility-being-implemented-in-offices-to-maximise-the-use-of-real-estate-and-improve-the-employee-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/press\/speakers-qa-how-do-you-see-flexibility-being-implemented-in-offices-to-maximise-the-use-of-real-estate-and-improve-the-employee-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers Q&#038;A: How do you see flexibility being implemented in offices to maximise the use of real estate and improve the employee experience?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/blog\" style=\"border-radius:0px\"><strong>Click here to see other Speakers Q&amp;A<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u><strong><u>Paula Rowntree, Head of Workplace Design at Lloyds Banking Group<\/u><\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a personal level I am curious about how we can blend more retail design thinking in our office space; retail is constantly reinventing itself and designs for low cost\/modular\/flexible environments.&nbsp; If I know nothing I know that change is a constant in today\u2019s world so bringing more of this retail way of thinking\/designing is something I am exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u><strong>Scott Rominger, Creative Director at WeWork<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Work trends continue to evolve as businesses put their right foot forward and employees \ufb01gure out what they need and want from the of\ufb01ce going into 2023. As a result, companies must embrace \ufb02exibility on all levels to adapt to new demand, and spaces must be recon\ufb01gurable as this demand evolves. At WeWork, \ufb02exibility is at the core of our business \u2013 particularly in our design approach, where we adapt and enhance our spaces depending on our members\u2019 varying needs. For example, in large of\ufb01ces, we used to provide 10% lounge space and now we are seeing the need for 50-60%collaboration and lounge space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re also seeing increased demand for dedicated, focused areas. What\u2019s become clear is that as the criteria for the modern of\ufb01ce evolves, \ufb02exible design solutions that can be adjusted in a few weeks rather than in a few months will be table stakes\u2019 for any operator as we head into 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u><strong><u>Natasha Hewlett, Senior Project Designer at Peldon Rose<\/u><\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By creating flexible workspaces, employers can cater to a diversity of needs whilst maximising the real estate. We are seeing more multi-purpose spaces being designed, for example social areas that can be adapted into town hall spaces. Two very useable zones utilising the same amount of real estate by considering the flexibility of the furniture, as well as the technology and AV solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ability to \u2018plug and play\u2019-that is to work from chargeable devices comfortably in your desired location &#8211; is so important when creating multi function spaces. If the furniture can flip, fold and move out of the way with ease and AV can be adapted easily then employers can maximise real estate whilst giving their employees the workspaces they need.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u>Steve Brewer, Founding Partner at Burtt-Jones &amp; Brewer<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Multi-tenanted buildings will need to offer more to legacy and prospective tenants, it\u2019s no longer good enough to just offer great showers, upscale changing spaces, plenty of lockers and bicycle parking. With many high rise office buildings occupied by businesses from various sectors, demands are becoming multiple and diverse, extending far beyond what would originally have been considered core business needs. New developments have been adding communal gyms, bike parking, showers etc for years. It is now about experience, not just facility. The demand is for spaces that need to flex more, where an entire area of site, floor or group of floors are assigned as a shared space for tenants to flex and grow. For example, this could be a short or mid term project rooms with dedicated workspaces for tenants looking to incubate new business ideas, or a dedicated, informal environment for external tenants to mix and collaborate with building users, curated with a specific agenda to engage in creative workshops and sessions to directly and indirectly foster innovation. The key being to enhance the experience, not just the facility. These new spaces should be viewed as collateral to the tenant offer, as a void to fill, providing value as a service, not as an overhead and operational cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In terms of how to improve the experience within individual workspaces, employees are being given a new level of personal autonomy. The Covid experience has enabled them to have a voice in the discussion about what the workspace becomes and how it should be shaped, taylorism if you like.&nbsp; Where small enhancements can be made to better an individual\u2019s needs and wellbeing at a fundamental level, such as direct control of lighting, comfort at the desk or work setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u><strong><u>Tina Norden, Partner at Conran &amp; Partners<\/u><\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flexibility in the workplace is very important but also very hard to get right. Whilst most offices are driving towards flexible workspace, most employees actually like having their own desk, with their team and their things around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If flexible desks are key, bringing in personal touches like a trolley for personal items that can be stored and brought along, can help to still create that sense of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flexibility is also important on a closer level, bringing variety into the desk set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The height of the desk and chair, using a chair or not, how the computer is set up and even lighting moods \u2013 allowing the team to customise these will give flexibility and will promote satisfaction and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u><strong><u>Lewis Barker, Director, Workplace Services EMEA at ServiceNow<\/u><\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I see prescribed team days in offices. Certain events can be hosted in physical spaces as default \u2013 a prescribed matrix of what happens in office vs at home vs 3<sup>rd<\/sup> space. Working hours won\u2019t exist \u2013 use the space at all times, if that what works for the individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--2\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/blog\" style=\"border-radius:0px\"><strong>Click here to see other Speakers Q&amp;A<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hear from a number of speakers appearing at Workspace Design Show 2023 in the second part of our new Speakers Q&#038;A series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,22],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press","category-speakers-qa","tag-2023-show"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/megamultisite.divcomstaging.co.uk\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}