Work is no longer a place you go, but something you do. Wherever you are. How will this impact the future? In this blog, we'll discuss the top six trends and predictions for the future of work and meeting management. We'll also highlight how we think technology will impact the operating model of the workplace, based on what we've learned so far as we lived through a global pandemic that radically changed work as we know it.
The pandemic took the world by surprise, forcing countries, markets and industries to quickly adjust to its impact. Everyone was sent home. Today, however, statistics, reports and analysis clearly show that most people have returned to the office, with the number of bookings for meetings and desks reaching the same peak as before Covid-19. In all industries, companies are now learning to cope with the coronavirus and finding creative ways to deal with its impact.
The pandemic has shown employers and employees that work can no longer be done in a central location, at a specific desk, or on a two-hour commute - work can be done anywhere. Companies have learned that whatever they do, they must first think of remote work or work from home. This results in a future of meeting management where office space is less focused on accommodating the entire company and more focused on providing a hub for collaboration. So we anticipate that the design of the future workplace will focus more on people, and people will be at the center of it.
At the same time, new demands on workplace management technology are constantly emerging, and a host of other upheavals are impacting the way we imagine the workplace. From the ongoing changes brought about by the pandemic, the shift in the enterprise real estate model to Space as a Service, the impact of automation and AI, and other changes to the status quo. As a result, many are wondering what the future holds for employment and working life. For example, a McKinsey Global Institute report estimates that automation alone will eliminate 73 million jobs by 2030.
While it's hard to predict the near or distant future of meeting management, we believe that the office and the workplace have already fundamentally changed and will continue to change. Right now, the workplace is dominated by a spirit of reconnection that will impact and drive innovation. But what will the future look like when the dust and the "new normal" have settled and new measures and standards for Covid-19 control are established and successful? And what have we learned at Covid-19 that we can use to create an even better workplace? Only time will tell, but we predict that the following trends will in some ways set the standard for the workplace of the future.
The six most important trends of the future of work
1.Working from home means reducing real estate needs and investing heavily in the workplace experience
The pandemic has shown employers that work no longer needs to take place in a central location, as it can be done wherever a WI-FI connection is available. The future of meeting management is therefore not in the office, but in people. So the desk at home or remotely is becoming a second office - both offices are equally important.
In fact, many companies are following the trend of working from home and downsizing their real estate holdings. According to Computerworld, 138.4 million square feet (MSF) of office space has been eliminated in the U.S. since March 2020. For example, we are seeing companies like Facebook and Yelp emptying their office space and reducing the cost of empty rooms and desks by focusing less on housing the entire company and more on creating a focal point for the "we work" feeling rather than mandated attendance.
In the future, companies will want to provide an even better workplace experience when employees come into the office to foster team spirit, belonging and culture. We believe that the office will become the hub for collaboration, innovation and social engagement, and that this trend will lead to heavy investment in better hospitality and a higher level of service in general when employees are in the office. At Advellence, we're also finding that there's a need to add that extra touch to the office meeting experience, as we're seeing requests for meeting services boom post-pandemic.
The office experience will also be important for new employees. On the one hand, it will be easier for employers to attract new employees if they think about "working from home" because it will allow them to remove barriers to hiring, since hiring will no longer be limited to regional talent pools or to people willing to work entirely remotely. On the other hand, the more companies follow this trend, the more intense the competition for skilled workers will become.
As we continue to move into a world of uncertainty in meeting management, new capabilities that address workplace experience will also become more common. Leaders from HR, IT and facilities will work more closely together as they hold the key to improving the workplace. These three groups will all be working toward the same goal of creating a successful workplace experience that connects the right people, technology and places to support their employees.
2. the open plan office is dead. It's time to redesign the office and equip it with the right digital tools and technologies.
In a recent study conducted by Microsoft, employees were asked how often they would like to work from home and how often they would like to work in the office once a full return to face-to-face work becomes possible. They were also asked why. High on the list of reasons for working from the office were collaboration with colleagues (70 percent) and social interaction (61 percent). The preferred reasons to work from home were to eliminate the commute (61 percent) and to better balance work and family (59 percent). These numbers show the hybrid paradox in action: we missed each other and what we can accomplish together when we're together in person. At the same time, we want the benefits of working from home for our well-being.
For example, many learned during the Covid 19 study that working from home is not always fulfilling, satisfying, or enough to engage and stay connected, or to share and access tacit information at work. So employees are still at work (and not always working from home), and a strong professional and social environment keeps people happy to stay at work. As a result, many employees enjoy coming to work every day because knowledge is created and shared in the workplace.
Covid-19, however, has changed the way workers work in the office. Many have learned that the open-plan office can be too stressful and that it's hard to stay focused. Especially when everyone is on a team or Zoom call at the same time. So these companies are adapting the design and layout of the workplace to meet new needs. More space for concentration and focus. More, but smaller meeting rooms or phone booths for video conferencing. Concentration and quiet areas are designed like a library. More space between individual desks, also to maintain social distance. The open-plan office and large conference rooms will be redesigned into smaller centers or communities, and the large conference rooms will be converted into soundproof telephone booths.
We see companies continuing to invest heavily in better AV equipment to meet the demands for better virtual meetings. As employees work from multiple locations, employers and organizations will increasingly adopt digital tools that work both on-site and remotely. Implementing digital solutions, practices and processes is critical as a large portion of the workforce is made up of digital natives. Therefore, digital tools are key to their productivity and easy for everyone if companies want to encourage a work-from-home approach. In addition, employers who bring new employees into their organization can quickly and efficiently integrate them into the existing technology, culture, and communication tools if they've thought deeply about their toolbox. Companies that do this well will have happier and better connected employees, leading to better business results.
3. hot desking is no longer so popular. Companies are switching to desk hoteling.
When working from home, people no longer need a workplace they call home - their fixed desk. Instead, they need to book a desk when they are at their workplace. This allows for space optimization and more flexibility. Hot desking and activity-based work have been around for a decade. But a new concept, desk hoteling, is now trending in meeting management. And why?
Hoteling (rather than hot desking) involves booking a room in advance and checking in with a concierge, much like a real hotel. Even in a room full of empty desks and unoccupied workstations, a person must check in with the booking center to gain access to their space. This can be a person or it can be self-directed software. The important thing is that the process is the same for everyone and that there is a standardized record of desk assignment.
Let's create a scenario: Jim wants a workspace with a view on Friday. There are two coworking spaces within walking distance of his apartment, both with great views. Jim checks Friday availability for both and sees that workspace A is booked, while workspace B has a free workspace from 8 am to 2 pm.
In this scenario, there's no frantic search for a seat with a view or finding out at the last minute that there's no more room. Jim knows exactly what he's getting and for how long. All he has to do is check in at his desk and start working. The booking process is straightforward and chaos-free.
The advantages of office hoteling lie in the combination of order and freedom. Just as you can choose the right room in a hotel on specific dates, office hoteling works the same way. There is freedom of choice dictated by standardization.
4. without data, you are just another man with an opinion: workplace analytics are critical to understanding what is going on, where and when
The workplace is transforming from a place of work to a center of collaboration and innovation. This means that it is no longer about cost and utilization, but about how effectively a workplace supports the work of its employees and how this impacts the overall business goals.
Ultimately, that's all that matters for a good workplace and meeting management strategy. To achieve this, employers need to measure employees' use of space to obtain data on the availability and use of office and meeting rooms.
This knowledge can help optimize available space throughout the organization. Information about why people come to the office and whether they feel supported also makes it easier to understand needs and make decisions based on this data. Therefore, employee surveys and policies can be redesigned to identify and guide employee behavior and continuously adjust based on that behavior.
5. a new model has emerged: Space as a Service
Typically, companies build new or updated spaces for their employees as a capital investment. True, they are meant to serve the purpose in the long run. However, the reality is that the space stagnates as organizations evolve. Then, a decade or more later, funds are again used to completely redesign the space. The result is that the space no longer serves the organization effectively. It's time to break with the norm, implement strategies and design spaces that live and breathe in harmony with the organization - spaces that are upgradable and adaptable to meet the ever-changing organization.
This business model is also known as SPace-as-a-Service (SPaaS) and is defined as the shift in the real estate model from owning assets to monetizing access and services that include physical space. But SPaaS is about more than real estate. It is a model that enables a shift in management's thinking about how real estate is designed and used, to one that proactively improves productivity and experience across an organization's real estate portfolio. Essentially, SPaaS is the catalyst that lowers costs and reduces resources while optimizing meeting management and utilization.
This makes SPaaS a paradigm shift in the way the commercial real estate industry delivers products and services to tenants, as their role has changed from rent collectors to service providers. So how can the real estate industry achieve greater profitability by providing more service, experience and access, rather than focusing on a product packaged for ownership? The answer is by changing the service model to focus on more personalized, flexible and technology-centric solutions. SPaaS often involves technology upheaval in an existing market. Technology paves the way for fundamental changes in how businesses operate, how people live and where they do so. Key examples include Amazon in the bookstore/retail space, Airbnb in the hotel space, and WeWork in the temporary/flexible office space.
The increasing pace of business, driven by constant technological advances and amplified by Wall Street expectations, is having a dramatic impact on the workplace. Technology includes smaller and more powerful personal devices, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, sensors, smart buildings and artificial intelligence. The cost center capital model, where a workplace is changed once a decade based on market benchmarking, past experience, typical rules related to ratios and relationships, organizational programming, and design formulations, is outdated. Companies that want to succeed in this environment must consider both internal cultural issues and factors external to the company, such as the company's real estate strategy, labor markets, and people's preferences, even before employees realize they need these changes. As an organization's mindset and strategies change to incorporate spatial solutions into an SPaaS model, it will support continued evolution and progress. We foresee a future where more and more organizations will bring about a transformation of the enterprise real estate environment due to changes based on Covid-19 insights and the emergence of SPaaS.
6. the digital transformation continues. The IT organization and IT strategy will be the key to success.
Digitization is mainstream now, but digital transformation of all areas will continue; it can be found in every company and in every sector. There is no longer a business strategy or a technology strategy. There is now only one strategy - driven by technology. This is the true IT strategy of the future.
To innovate with the business and drive overall business success, IT will evolve its operating model and change the way it delivers technology services, responds to issues and manages expectations while providing rapid value, security and scalability to the business, whether employees are in the office or working from home.
To meet the ongoing digital transformation, organizations must break down silos between functions and people and create new standards for collaboration, trust and experimentation, while dynamically assembling improved technical capabilities. In this way, enterprises gain a flexible, scalable, connected and distinctly human IT function.
In a hyper-connected world, the future of IT plays a critical role in realizing the promise of the connected enterprise. Today, many IT functions are ready to take the leap, but they may lack the holistic business approach to achieve this goal. This will change in the future when buying power is increasingly controlled by the business and less by the IT department.
To ride the future wave of digital transformation, the (IT) strategy of the future must therefore:
- Cloud first, people first, holistic, human-centered approach to solving all workforce challenges
- Focus on usability and ease of use of everything. Everything is a mass product, so the differentiator and the key is the experience
- Based on integrations and ecosystems: The modern organization wants integrations. The days of the lone wolf are over. Long live the integrated platform and ecosystem
- Focus on trust, certainty and security. Compliance and governance are overriding
- Focuses on what a platform can do, but uses "best-of-breed" solutions to solve specific challenges. Desires proven return on investment and value creation. Day by day
Wants consumption-based subscription models; wants to pay only for what is used
- Knows that technology is the driving force and prerequisite for attracting top talent
What then is the ideal working style? How can you succeed with meeting management in a future full of change? You simply have to accept that there is no one-size-fits-all answer, as Microsoft has confirmed in one of the largest research studies on the subject: "What is the ideal work style"? Microsoft's findings on this topic confirm that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Everyone has a different style and different needs. Companies that succeed will find ways to accommodate different work styles so that everyone can do their best work.
We believe that you have to build a culture of trust and flexibility and embrace uncertainty to be successful. When work is not a place you go, but something you do, concepts like "workplace" and "working hours" simply disappear because they are no longer relevant. So how can you succeed? Trust is the key.
The best thing to do is simply to be aware, stay reflective, dare to test and iterate, fail fast, and accept that we live in a challenging and complex world. In an ever-changing world, the only constant is change. In the world of the workplace, this has never been more true.
