Future Proofing Your Office
Is your office ready for the future? Is it even suitable for the present? If not, you're not alone. Every week, we speak to companies who know their office doesn’t meet their current needs, let alone their future needs.
It's understandable if you're wary of all the change in working models over the last few years and unsure how it will continue to change. You don't want to risk making a big investment in your workspace, only for it to become obsolete within a couple of years.
The answer lies in future-proofing your workspace. Future-proofing your workspace involves identifying key trends that are here to stay, as well as areas of uncertainty and likely change. This will put your company in the best possible position to adapt to the changing needs of your workforce.
But with so many competing trends, how can you identify the most important and enduring ones? And with so much uncertainty, how can you possibly give yourself enough room to adapt?
At Zentura, we’ve been assisting companies across the UK with their workspace strategy and design for 15 years. In that time, we’ve seen multiple transitions in the role of the office. In this article, we’ll go through some of the most important trends as well as how you can best position yourself for the future of the workplace.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the most important part of creating a future-proof office design. No matter how much preparation and forecasting you do, you will still face a high degree of uncertainty about your workspace needs 5 or 10 years from now. The best way to prepare for this is by creating an adaptable space that can be reconfigured to suit the changing needs of your people.
By using modular and zoning furniture, you can minimise the build-out required in your office design. As a result, it will be much cheaper and easier to reconfigure your office when your needs change. You won't have to strip out and rebuild walls and reconfigure utilities. Instead, you can simply move or change the furniture. To learn more, read How to Enable Customisation In Office Design.
Collaboration
Collaboration is key in today's workplace, and it's only going to become more important in the future. Over the last 3 years, the role of the office has transitioned from a working hub to a collaboration hub. With hybrid working, people can complete focussed tasks from home with fewer distractions. The role of the office has switched to facilitating teamwork.
To maximise collaboration in your future office, you need to provide a variety of collaboration spaces. Collaboration mostly happens informally in small teams, so spaces that encourage this are crucial. You need to provide a variety of different spaces to facilitate the way your people now use the office. Learn more by reading 5 Ways to Improve Collaboration with Office Design.
Technology
Technology is playing an ever-larger role in our lives, and this is no different in the workspace. When implemented well, workspace technology can significantly improve the performance of your people. However, it’s essential that you only implement technology that reflects and enhances the way your people work. Many technologies can detract from performance, so you need to avoid them.
There are two types of technology to consider: user tech (eg laptops) and space technology (eg access control). For user technology, portability is crucial, so that staff can work wherever in your office is best. An effective space technology package can make your space a lot more efficient by reducing the amount of meeting spaces you need through a booking system.
Wellbeing
The wellbeing and job satisfaction of employees have never been more important. To ensure your office serves you well in the future, it's essential that your office design reflects this. Improved worker wellbeing leads to reduced absence and improved productivity. As a result, your people are far better placed to help your company adapt to the challenges of the future.
The best way to improve the wellbeing of your staff in your future office is by maximising the biophilia in your new office design. A recent study found that 78% of employees say access to natural light and views improves their wellbeing, and 70% report improved work performance. For more help future-proofing your office through wellbeing, read 9 ways to improve workplace wellbeing with office design.
Sustainability
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to staff, customers, and investors alike. With this trend only set to continue, it's essential that your office design maximises sustainable design. This goes further than the materials used in your office design, to encompass the carbon footprint of your office in the years to come.
Incorporating sustainable materials, such as recycled plastics is beneficial. Installing more energy-efficient lighting and air conditioning will also improve your carbon footprint. Another important thing you can do to improve the sustainability of your workspace is to plan it into your strategy. By creating a future-proof workspace, you will have to relocate or refurbish your office less often.
Scalability
Many of the previous factors have focussed on the future-readiness of your workspace strategy. However, considering your overall company strategy is also important. If you don’t factor your company’s aggressive growth plans into your workspace strategy, you may outgrow your existing workspace.
You need to ensure your workspace strategy is aligned with your overall company strategy. To do this, speak with your company leadership to get a detailed understanding of their plans for the future. You should also discuss how the workspace strategy can support them. It may be through allowing for growth, moving to a different location, or evolving your brand. By ensuring these two strategies are aligned, you will ensure your workspace strategy does not conflict with the overall strategy.
Making Your Office Design Suitable for Your Future
Future-proofing your office design is essential to maximising your real estate ROI in the years to come. A future-proof workspace incorporates flexibility, prioritises well-being, embraces technology, creates spaces for collaboration, and emphasises sustainability. If you do this, you'll be creating an office that's ready for the future.
To learn more about preparing your office for the years to come, read What is the Future of Your Office? and 5 Factors to future-proof your workspace strategy.
To take the next step in preparing your office for the future, get your copy of the Ultimate Workspace Consultancy Guide. A workspace consultant can offer you an expert white-glove service to make the most of your real estate investment. Download this workspace consultancy guide to learn all you need to know about workspace consultancy and why it matters.
