Back in May 2020, Edge, like other experts within the field, was forced to adapt its Workplace Methodology advice for its clients - and quickly. We created ‘Nimble’ – a process that connects business operations, space planning, people policies, wellbeing, environmental design and communications into a single masterplan that is unique for each organisation. In November of the same year, Edge issued our first white paper on ‘Nimble’ - summarising that the hybrid working model was now firmly here to stay and as a business ‘you needed to be prepared’.

18 months on, were we right? Well, yes.

Establishing a robust hybrid working strategy is still critical and the debate on what it should be, has now reached boardrooms around the globe. The media is constantly bombarding us with statistics which continue to show tension between what the workforce wants and what the business leaders think is best. (See our recommended reading at the end of this article).

And we can see from statistics, adoption of a hybrid working pattern is increasing in popularity…

But there’s something we missed…

The shift, and missing piece of the jigsaw, is understanding and designing for the ‘why’ behind the office, rather than the ‘what’.

The Shift

A business needs to look at the collective benefit behind why a visit to the office is important. We have been working closely with our clients to develop their workspaces to be more focused around moments of human connection, of shared values and behaviours. Rather than having to tell your workforce to visit your office, why not get to a point where they want to be there!

Whether we as individuals or ambassadors for our organisations recognise it or not, every action, interaction and experience is a touchpoint of our company’s brand, and as such we should take time to craft those experiences to support the collective purpose or belief. This includes realising the importance of how space makes us feel and behave, not just how it facilitates work.

Human connection and brand excellence

Our award-winning work at The Barn in Market Harborough for lifestyle brand Joules, is a case in point. The origins of the scheme were around consolidation of offices into one site, where closer adjacencies between teams and getting together for creative work, would improve working efficiencies and lower overheads.

Our collective experience over the past two years has meant this getting together is now more poignant than ever – in equal measures for the employer, the employee and the business itself.

The future of the office and workplace is as ‘A Centre of Brand Excellence’. To hone the skills of our workforce and to showcase best in class behaviour.

The office should be a realisation of your brand purpose and brand values, turning them into a physical, tangible, immersive experience. If executed correctly, we are talking way beyond internal communications and ‘dressing’ of a space to create the place that facilitates and supports the strategic and operational objectives of your organisation.

Becoming a must visit place in the working week

We must listen to our employees' voices, understand their wants and needs and find ways of exceeding expectations. We must create a feedback loop, maintaining dialogue to ensure we keep relevance – we should remain in BETA. For most, the office still has a role, but its purpose in the future is much more than simply rows and rows of desks.

One way of determining the basics of your hybrid strategy was simply articulated in Adam Grant’s Worklife Podcast in conversation with Nick Bloom, with an analogy of solo versus team sports - (1)

‘If your workplace is full of people playing an individual sport like gymnastics, you can be remote first. Think call centre reps and accountants, for example. Let everyone divide and conquer their own beam, vault, and floor routines whenever they want, and the whole will be roughly the sum of the parts.

If your projects are more like a relay race, though, you need more time together. Like on an assembly line at a carpentry shop, or in a media company where drafts are handed off from a writer to an editor to a designer. The person passing the baton needs to be in sync with the person receiving it.

Where you need the most time together is when you’re playing a true team sport, like soccer. Think of a research & design lab or a consulting team. When excellence depends on repeatedly passing the ball back and forth, you really want to spend several days a week together.’

What works for each business is, and should always be, tailored to need. But for all, we need to ask the question that has been front of mind for the past 2 years… WHY GO BACK TO THE OFFICE?

Adding value

We are now seeing that creating distinctive offerings for the marketplace are critical for success. Landlords are using measures such as the Net Promotor Score to evaluate and plan for workplace environments and are looking outside the sector to understand what will attract and persuade potential tenants.

In our next article, we’ll discuss how we have been working with organisations such as Great Portland Estates (GPE) to unlock the potential of their portfolio’s fully fitted, fully managed office spaces to create curated spaces that provide the right environment and experience for each specific location.

Contributors – Michael Fern, Racheal Cadey, Jocelyn Senior, Anna Motture & Isabelle Dauchez

Recommend Reading and References

FT - 'Office return stalls as UK staff cling to flexible working' (22 April '22)

ONS - Is hybrid working here to stay? (23 May '22)

The Guardian - 'Thousands of UK workers begin world’s biggest trial of four-day week' (6 Jun '22)

CIPD - People Management 'Quarter of workers are now hybrid, official figures show' (23 May '22)

Forbes – 'Future Forum Pulse Survey' (2 Feb ‘22)

(1) TED - 'The Do’s And Don'ts Of Returning To The Office' (7 June '22)