Workspace Consultancy
Are you unsure about the future of your real estate strategy? Perhaps you need to decide whether to refurbish or relocate your office, but you're not sure which is right for your company. If so, you might be thinking about appointing a workspace consultant.
But what does a workplace consultant actually do? And do you really need one? In this article, we'll help you answer both of those questions for yourself. By the end, you'll be able to decide if a workspace consultant is right for you or not.
What is Workspace Consultancy?
Workspace consultancy is a process that helps you to understand the role your offices play in your company's future and create a strategic plan to suit that role. The process helps you understand how your workspace is currently performing, what your company needs from your workspace, and how to bridge that gap.
There are several different parts of workspace consultancy. Some, such as occupancy studies, are focussed on collecting and analysing quantitative data. Others, like leadership workshops, collect insight to inform your workspace design. Whatever your package includes, your consultant will collate and present all their data in a report. This will explain their findings and how they impact your project plans. To learn more about what exactly is included in workspace consultancy, read What is Workplace Consultancy?
Why You Might Need Workspace Consultancy
Workspace consultancy can help with various different real estate and HR challenges you may be having. Here are the five most common challenges that workspace consultancy can solve.
No Workspace Strategy
With all the changes experienced in the last few years, many companies don't have a relevant or cohesive long-term workspace strategy. In the next few years, a comprehensive workspace strategy will be essential. It’ll help you maximise the return on your real estate investment, as well as get the best performance out of your people.
If you have an incomplete long-term workspace strategy or even no workspace strategy at all, then a workspace consultant will be essential. They will be able to analyse the way your staff currently work and communicate, as well as study your real estate costs and needs. They can then work with you to create a comprehensive plan covering all aspects of your workspace strategy.
Working Model Challenges
If you’re unsure about your working model, then workspace consultancy may be able to help you make the right decision. It may feel like the office-v-remote-v-hybrid debate is rather tired now, but there are still a lot of conflicting opinions about the best option for the years ahead.
In reality, the best working model for you will depend on your company’s unique circumstances. Your workspace consultant will be able to assess which model is the best for your company and help you get buy-in across the company to implement it. To learn more about which working model is best for your company, download Office v Remote v Hybrid Working: Which is Best?
Productivity Issues
Productivity is a crucial component of a high-performing company. Without motivated staff consistently producing great work, your company cannot achieve its potential. As the environment where your staff spend most or all of their working lives, your office has a big impact on the output of your staff. However, most companies have seen a 3-6% productivity drop since 2020.
A workspace consultant will be able to improve the productivity of your people by helping you create an office that matches the way your people work. They will first assess how your people currently work and what is making them less productive. They can then make data-based recommendations to improve your productivity.
Major Office Move
Office relocations are complex projects. They are a big investment and can take several months (or years). Such a huge change for your staff could significantly change the performance of your staff and company – for better or worse. The stakes are even higher if your office move is a strategic one, such as moving into a new market or merging two companies.
Your workspace consultant will be able to reduce the risk of your office refurbishment by creating a change management plan. A workspace consultant will use their experience to help coach your people through the change and maximise the potential of your new office.
Real Estate ROI
Real estate is the second highest cost most companies face, after staff. Managing the costs of each without hurting the performance of the other is a huge challenge. However, many companies are inefficient in their use of expensive office space. The average organization has 30-50% more real estate than it needs. This means you could be wasting more than 5% of your annual revenue on office space you don’t need!
Your workspace consultant will be able to use occupancy studies and their experience to rationalise your office space. They may help you move into a smaller office, saving costs. Alternatively, they may be able to help you make better use of the space you do have, by creating a workspace that maximises the performance of your people.
Why You Might Not Need Workspace Consultancy
However, workspace consultancy is not right for every company or every situation. It requires time, money, and effort from you and your leadership team to get the best out of workspace consultancy. If your office is less than 10,000 sq/ft, the effort and expense of workspace consultancy probably won't be worth it.
Workspace consultancy may also not be needed if you are already happy with the design of your workspace and the productivity of your people. If you are moving purely because of a lease expiry, a workspace designer will be more appropriate. If your workspace strategy is already complete, then workspace consultancy may be irrelevant. You will already have your working model defined, as well as a high-productivity design blueprint. You can simply work off these to design and build your new workspace.
However, even if you don’t need a specialist workspace consultant, you can still work with your designer to apply the same principles and frameworks.
Getting Started with Workspace Consultancy
Ultimately, whether you need workspace consultancy or not completely depends on your brief. If you are carrying out a workspace project for logistical reasons, then you may not need a workspace consultant. However, if you do not already have a well-defined long-term workspace strategy, then a workspace consultant will prove a good investment.
Working with a workspace consultant will improve the ROI of your project by helping you make better decisions. They will be able to use data and their expertise to make recommendations that will improve your real estate ROI and project success.
To take the next step, get your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Workspace Consultancy. There, you'll find answers to all of your most pressing workspace consultancy questions, from cost to outcomes. By the end of this guide, you'll know how to decide if you need a workspace consultant or not, and if so, where and how to begin.
To learn more about workspace consultancy, read What is Workplace Consultancy and Workspace Consultancy FAQs: Your Questions Answered.
