Tag Archives: Interior Office Construction

Hubs: The Solution to Your Future Office Strategy

In the aftermath of the pandemic, many companies are rethinking the size, function and location of their office space. When redesigning your office space, it’s not just about creating a practical and attractive space that reflects your brand – it’s also about strategically positioning your office for the current and future work environment.

For the commercial office construction specialists at BE Builds, this means focusing your future office strategy on something we call “Hubs.” This strategic trend is suited to companies of all sizes who have realized that maybe everyone doesn’t have to be in the office at all times, and that with some creative scheduling, office spaces can be re-tasked and reinvented, giving your business the ability to fit into smaller spaces with smaller co-resident teams.

Here’s some insight into how BE Builds is working with companies all over the New York area to help them understand how hubs will fit into their future office strategy.

The Hub Office Design Evolution

The hub-and-spoke office design is nothing new – in fact, organizations have been using it for decades, creating central headquarters for corporate tasks that are surrounded by multiple satellite offices that are region or task-specific. However, this design concept has evolved further to meet the needs of a post-COVID work environment, balancing the benefits of remote working with the undeniable need for office space. Here’s how things have changed:

  • Size – Enterprises have realized that having a massive central hub isn’t always necessary, and that downsizing to a tailored and functional design has considerable organizational benefits, including significant cost savings in terms of rent, energy use and other operational costs.
  • Function – The function of the hub has changed too, becoming a stronger support system and environment for flexible workers. This functionality should obviously be customized to specific business and industry requirements. This Means creating more collaborative spaces for corporate employees to utilize when they need to come into the office, allocating more space for hotdesking or touchdown stations, so that employees can shift in and out of the hub as needed, or creating multi-use and team spaces where people can focus on tasks away from the distractions of home.
  • Location – As hub size and functionality have evolved, so have opportunities to move to new hub locations. Enterprises have started realizing key opportunities for restructuring by moving hubs to new locations, from reduced operational and rental costs to situating hubs closer to key logistic, production or talent-rich areas.

Industry innovators are already jumping on board to take advantage of the newly evolved hub-and-spoke office design strategy, including Facebook1, which is offering employees the option to work wherever they want while balancing this freedom with multiple open satellite offices where employees can work if they choose, hold meetings, get facetime or simply network.

Amazon is also taking the plunge2, investing $1.4 billion into creating remote working hubs to allow employees to collaborate as well as work remotely as needed. This system is a dramatic shift from their previous drive to get employees to move closer to headquarters, and it’s anticipated that up to 50% of their staff could fall into these more remote hub-and-spoke systems over the next few years.

Creating More Productive Spaces Where Employees Want to Work

With remote working on the rise, enterprises are understandably concerned about the impact of virtual workplaces on employee productivity and engagement, as well as the ability to create a cohesive and energetic workplace culture. Interestingly, so are employees!

In fact, as many as 3 in 4 U.S. office workers3 report that they want to return to the office for 2-3 days per week, while around 25% of those surveyed want to return full-time. According to a report by Gensler4, just 12% of office workers were happy to make their remote working situation permanent. Clearly, the dream of working from home did not deliver what people expected.

The reasons for employees wanting to return to the office also play a vital role in the delivery of an effective and strategic office space, with employees citing offices as essential for scheduled meetings with colleagues, socializing and bonding with team members, having that all-important one-on-one face time and to become a part of the workplace culture.

The evolved hub-and-spoke design that commercial office construction services can create and deliver, serves these exact purposes. Creating spaces that balance the benefits of flexible working and remote working technology with the very real need for productive, engaged and effective workspaces.

Let’s Set Up Your Future Office Strategy for Success

BE Builds is an established leader in innovative commercial office construction services, working to position your business effectively in a changing environment. We know your business is unique, so we don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach – instead, we create and deliver custom office build-outs or designs if you need them, that work for your business, industry and budget. To find out more about our interior office construction and design services, contact us today or visit our website at: https://bebuilds.com/services/office-buildout-installation/

 

Sources:

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/21/21266570/facebook-remote-work-from-home-mark-zuckerberg-twitter-covid-19-coronavirus

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/08/19/amazon-plans-to-grow-office-space-in-six-cities.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/3-in-4-workers-want-to-return-to-an-office-in-the-future.html

https://www.gensler.com/us-wfh-survey-2020-wfh-reinforces-the-benefits-of-the-office

“Right Sizing” Your Office in a Post-COVID World

“As a manager of a technology team, I never supported the notion of working remotely.”

That, according to Richard Casamento, former global program manager for the Intel Corporation. “I assumed people were about half as productive when they weren’t here.”

Mr. Casamento isn’t alone in his sentiments. Prior to COVID, it was a challenge to get senior managers to embrace the idea that employees could be as, or more productive from home.

But as COVID has taught us, workplaces are constantly evolving spaces. Their design and build is influenced by the changing needs of businesses, productivity trends and yes, occasionally far reaching pandemic type events from the outside world. In 2021, Successful office designs will reflect the new awareness in the industry, that virtual work is possible and can be managed effectively. Every company will agonize over the balance between remote employee productivity, the desire to save money on office space, and the intangible lifestyle, creativity and productivity improvements that are possible when people are interacting face to face in a positive environment.

In the rethink of company environments post 2020, the focus must become the creation of productivity powerhouses rather than just a space to rest your computer. So, how will office design change in a post-COVID world? What will these spaces look like and how will they be used? Here are some insights into the different trends shaping the design and implementation of the post-COVID office from the experts at BE Builds.

Why We Still Need Offices

For many employees, working remotely from home comes with it’s own, significant challenges. There’s no space for a proper workstation or desk, there’s less time and energy to focus on work because the hustle and bustle of family life is going on around you (especially if you have kids!), and chores can become a troublesome distraction from work tasks. Ironically, working from home can make it even more difficult to create that all-important work-life balance that we’re all after, as there is no escape from your environment, no change of scenery, and more limited interaction with coworkers. Studies have shown that prolonged working from home is directly linked to depression in many people1

Even the most advanced teaming technology we have is simply not powerful enough to substitute for physical, face-to-face interaction. That’s where the magic happens – it’s the catalyst for innovation, creativity and engaged problem-solving. It’s how real relationships between employees are built and how people go from being coworkers to genuine friends. And of course it remains the place where company resources and equipment are most easily available. For most industries, the company workplace needs to remain the primary focus of efforts to enhance employee productivity.

But we should not unlearn what COVID-19 has taught us. Our approach to office design and construction has to change, balancing the need for the energy and innovation of a shared space with the need for effective hygiene protocols and a more flexible working environment.

What to Consider When Choosing or Designing a Post-COVID Office Space

  • Design flexibility – Due to the ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19, office design needs to be safe, but flexible too. Businesses want a space they can use for collaborative meetings and other essentials that can’t be achieved successfully while working remotely without safety concerns. The space needs to be able to reflect this, offering the ability to easily switch around furniture and structures to create workspaces that are socially distant and hygienic, or to create collaborative spaces that are fun and conducive to worker discussion.
  • Custom solutions for your sector – The team at BE sees many different types of industries trying to reinvent their spaces for the new normal but priorities are highly dependent on what kind of business you’re in. Large healthcare clients are focused on changes to the layout and construction of their furniture. Copper clad materials, hygienic surfaces and of course barriers are changing the requirements for new build-outs. Others are adopting more subtle changes in layout and design that incorporate best practices for workplace efficiency and safety. BE partners closely with every company to balance their goals carefully while helping them choose from almost infinite options for exciting design within their budget.
  • Hygiene and safety – Regardless of whether your business is a traditional office space, a warehouse, a law firm, a clinic or anything else, the health and wellness of staff while on-site is critical. This should be supported in every phase of your office design, from selecting the right size office to ensuring peak wellness can be achieved by installing acrylic barriers on workstations, air purification systems, body temperature scanners and more.

Looking for Office Construction Services in NJ? Let’s Get to Work

Redesigning your office space for a post-COVID world is complex, but can be rewarding and cost effective when you have a good partner. At BE Builds, we’re dedicated to delivering exceptional office fit-outs on time and on budget. Whatever your office design challenges are, we’ll handle it all. Visit us at https://bebuilds.com/ for more information.

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/why-working-from-home-might-make-you-depressed-during-and-even-after-covid-19/