Workplace Trends by Paul Beeston RLB Partner Birmingham

1588144087019.jpeg

Just over a year ago, I wrote an article called ‘Working from Home and Workplace Trends in a Post Covid Era’ following on from our Birmingham office advising a key client about their relocation to one of the largest ever city lettings in the Midlands.

If there is one thing the last 18 months has highlighted, it is how agile we can be when it comes to our working space. As we move towards an unlocking of the restrictions of the last few months’ lockdown, I thought it would be good to revisit how things have changed in the world of the workplace and particularly within the Midlands.

Trend #1:  a desire for personal interaction and collaboration

In my review of workplace trends I acknowledged that initial moves to agile working tended to be pursuing savings in property costs and that undoubtedly the last year of virtual meetings and video conferencing would have led to a craving for the interaction of people. This feels more pertinent than ever before with the desire for personal interaction and collaboration through face to face workshops now high on many people’s working agenda. 

Research from the Birmingham Economic Review 2020 showed that the second city has a notably younger population (37.5% aged under 25) than the rest of the UK. Working on the assumption that some of these under 25 pre-COVID were office based and have been working at home, possibly at their kitchen table or in their bedrooms, the desire to go back to the office could be driven not just for the social interaction but also the lack of work induced facilities at home for many.

Over the past 10 years we have worked with large corporate clients across all three Snowhill buildings in Birmingham.  Over this time we have seen the shift away from traditional desking towards a higher proportion of alternative work settings.  These are prompting agility in and out of the workplace and more collaborative working practices which maximise the productivity of the space occupied.  

Working collaboratively of course has been able to happen virtually but for most, it is no replacement for face-to-face collaboration. The 700,000 sq ft of fit out that we have undertaken in the Snowhill development has allowed us to truly understand the best cost to value relationships of different design features across all types of sectors including finance, law and technology.  In addition, we have been able to generate average cost savings of 10% through commercial negotiation, design rationalisation and collaborative better buying.

Trend #2: using design to express culture, brand and the very DNA of an organisation.

Previously, I discussed how the design and culture of a physical office was used to express a brand and culture and engage clients in their office environments and how to a varying degree this DNA had been translated into a post COVID-19 era of virtual organisations.  With return to corporate workplaces likely to be more flexible and possibly not full time for many, how organisations retain this expression of culture and brand with a fragmented workforce is to be seen. Rather than a ‘one size fits all approach’ companies will need to adopt culture and brand ethos across different working mediums be that virtual, physical or a mix of both.

Trend #3: keep it flexible – the ‘curated’ workplace

Ultimate flexibility and evolution of the space continues to be the key trend we are seeing across all our commercial space. We have seen how businesses need to change quickly - certainly, in the last year working practices have evolved with some workplaces have changed from offices to production facilities for Key Worker PPE, others that have remained open having to facilitate essential functions for socially distancing teams.  The speed, extent and significance of change just got dialled up to maximum.

Again agility is the key to this and design space such as that in the Snowhill development that provides the flexibility to adapt workspace from desk areas to break out spaces to quiet zones without major infrastructure change are reflective of this new agile workspace.

Trend #4: ethical design

My original article explored the adoption of Social Value and sustainability.  I identified the symbiotic nature of successful offices and the indigenous community.  There is no doubt this will continue with  the pandemic  rebalancing corporate entities to be more engaged and tuned into Social Value and an ethical design and operation of property to continue with initiatives such as BREEAM, SKA and WELL taking centre stage. 

The last 18 months have given us all a sense of our own fragility and our place in our local communities; be they home or work.  Not only are offices now designed with every sense of health and wellbeing in mind, but the co-working revolution has seen businesses engage with their local communities to create shared spaces and opportunities for likeminded businesses to collaborate. 

In Conclusion

With the initial excitement and unfamiliarity of working from home having now dissipated and the COVID-19 vaccine roll out in full swing, a new level of ‘normality’ is beginning to take shape. Organisations are looking at what their office property requirements now consist of from both an organisational and individual end-user perspective. Tenants, developers and investors are beginning to put the foundations back in place to bring the corporate workforce back to the office but with a more considered, agile approach. This in turn will continue to drive workplace design trends in a post COVID era to become more concentrated, more productive, successful, ethical and culturally reflective office environments.