What are we hiring the office to do? That’s a question asked by the CEO of a large investor in commercial office spaces. That’s also a question that CEOs of businesses large and small are asking right about now.
Proponents of going back to pre-pandemic conditions are arguing that we are hiring the office to facilitate collaboration and creativity mostly. The office is also good for training and mentoring younger employees. At its best, the office is a place for concentration, for convenience, for community and for control.
But going back to the office has now been deferred until 2022 for most companies. That means we will have gone almost two years without the normal office environment and proved we can run our companies virtually.
Those in favor of staying with the virtual model argue that employees like the virtual model, there is a huge cost savings in terms of rent and other facilities costs (assuming the office space is abandoned) and there is a huge time savings from skipping the commute.
So, what are people doing? I’ve seen at least five approaches:
#1 Back to the Office—This is going back to a pre-pandemic situation. Covid mandates or testing is usually part of the plan. This approach seems an exception for now.
#2 Hoteling—This is a hybrid form, with employees working from home over half the time and going into the office one or two days or partial days a week. A dedicated office space can’t be justified for someone in the office only a few hours a week, so remodeling is turning the private offices into shared workspaces, that are used by employees when they are in the office. This is another exception for now.
#3 Abandon the Office—Clients who have had their office lease renewal come up during the pandemic are often taking the opportunity to not renew. The cost savings are huge. Some of those savings will be plowed back into event space for teambuilding, training and the like. Some are joining clubs like the WAC or the Bellevue Club to use the event spaces and have access to exercise facilities. For those who have had their lease renewal come up, this is a pretty mainstream approach.
#4 Back to the Office in 2022—This is the most common approach I’ve seen. It’s the status quo with the intention of returning to the office in 2022. Really, it is the defer the decision approach and it seems be the most common.
#5 Case-by-case—In this approach, employers are trying to accommodate employees on a case-by-case basis. This is pretty popular, but it really hasn’t been tested thoroughly in terms of new hires, on-boarding, training and other challenges. It will be hard to scale in terms of HR issues and fairness. But with skilled labor scarce, this approach is popular.
What to do if you haven’t decided yet or you’ve deferred the decision until 2022? Here’s my suggestions. First, start with your customers and work back through the value chain. How important is your office to your customers?
Next, start with your employees and work back to what is important to them. With the skilled labor shortage, retaining employees is more important than ever.
Finally, try to make your New Normal better than the Old Normal. Don’t just go back to old habits. Take this opportunity to accelerate your business ten years, make use of technology, and make your business better.
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