How to design the future of the workplace

Due to COVID-19, businesses had to shift to large-scale remote working over a short span of time. This drastic workplace change has ignited a debate around the purpose of offices. As companies adapt to changing work circumstances, business leaders gain a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvent the workplace.

Designing the future of the workplace is based on the critical pillars of improving productivity and meeting the changing needs of individuals. Concurrently, the end goals should be work satisfaction and increased efficiency.

Here are some essential steps to success in improving the performance of an organization by reimaging the future of the workplace:

Align workplace design to the mission, strategy, and purpose of the organization

Organizations must consider their mission, strategy, and purpose to rethink future workplaces. Depending on the organization's needs, it may need workplace systems to push collaboration and engagement among employees to achieve specific objectives.

It can be in R&D, manufacturing, marketing, or any other function that may need co-location for certain activities. As a result, it is best to align workplace design with the organization's mission, strategy, and purpose.

For instance, GSK's mission is to help people do more, feel better, and live longer. In alignment with its mission, the organization reconfigured its R&D operations with smart lab equipment, enabling it to tie its efforts to a broader purpose and vision.

Establish an ecosystem that complements your future workplace strategy

It is now an established reality that employees can work from any place, including the office, home, or any other location, provided they have the proper support. As a result, organizations must establish virtual and physical ecosystems that help their people achieve high productivity and efficiency.

Several organizations have moved from permanent offices to co-working spaces. This aspect is being marketed to attract top talent as part of the employee value proposition.

For instance, Novartis has moved its Canadian headquarters to WeWork, which goes well with its 'Choice with Responsibility' policy. It helped the company to improve the employee experience, and the action was marketed to attract top talent to the organization. 

Focus on customer-centric design in workplaces

Organizations must build workplace design with the customer in mind. It can mean flexible arrangements and short-time leases for the organization with the expectation that it will be able to operate close to its partners, customers, and workforce.

Such an ecosystem may help an organization work on customer issues more efficiently and develop productive solutions.

For instance, a life science innovation hub brings together start-ups working in the digital health space and mid-cap biotechs to share lab space, equipment, studios, and collision rooms. Such an ecosystem has helped to advance the research pipeline and bring innovative products faster. 

Timely assessment and adaptation to changing realities

Organizations are expected to adapt to the changing realities quickly rather than waiting for months to implement the change. Technologies like advanced analytics, spatial utilization techniques, and employee experience applications help organizations respond quickly to productivity changes, employee connection, workflow, and engagement.

In addition, these solutions can help identify the ideal office spaces and hybrid mix required for an organization to grow sustainably.

For instance, companies like J&J, Merck, and Pfizer rely on activity-based design, occupancy strategies, advanced analytics, and data science to make various business decisions.

Business leaders across industries have the opportunity to push the boundaries of workplace design and systems. With better alignment to the organization's purpose, business leaders can express strategy and design spaces with customer centricity in mind using analytics for better results.

The significant aspect here is understanding that the secret sauce of success includes ensuring that the workplace is designed according to changing requirements to work more efficiently for the business and its employees.

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