Business News

Fri May 29

Hotdesking might not be ‘dead’ after all

Written by Tess Sanders Lazarus

According to Christian Pistauer, Workplace Strategy director of Meta5 Group in Australia, COVID will dramatically change the commercial real estate sector in Australia for many years to come.

”Business will be reducing their physical footprint and investing in technology solutions to build and maintain culture and enable flexible working practices,” Pistauer said.

The proclaimed ‘death’ of hotdesking or activity-based-working might be premature. Economic pressure, demand for flexibility and digitisation will push things into a different direction. The introduction of activity-based-working combined with work from home policies can reduce real estate requirements by up to 30-50 percent.

Pistauer believes COVID has shown us that we can work from home and we are productive at home. “There will be a shift in the way employees see their workspaces. As many have come to realise, the office does provide a valuable space for collaboration as well as intangibles such as socialising and bond-building. The office will become a hub – a place that employees choose to go to fulfil a certain type of work.”

In real terms: an office with 100 employees has on average 1,200sqm rentable office space; this may reduce to 600-700sqm in the coming years, saving significant costs.

“While the pandemic and the speed of the change have undoubtedly caused a lot of stress and forced difficult decisions, not all the mid to long-term changes are negative,” Pistauer added.

“For most businesses the coming year will not be a process of simply returning to how things were, but will involve selecting the positive aspects of what has been learned in the enforced shift to flexible working.

“The key issue is ‘what this new world of work will look like’ and how can organisations ensure they make the transition successfully.”

Flexible Working will be the future

“We are going to see increased flexibility in the workplace, but not as we have known. It will be smarter and better managed. There will be essentially four layers of flexibility,” Pistauer said.

Flexibility in Place

The idea that an employee must be in a certain location to carry out their role has been shown as out-dated in many industries. Employers will need to implement modern work from home policies and activity based working in their new models of working.

Flexibility in Role

Cost pressures may well force companies into difficult decisions around personnel, as staff costs make up an average of 80 percent of a business’ outgoings.

Being more flexible with the way roles are allocated will be one way to manage this. Job sharing, part time working and employing contractors are likely to become more common in the coming years.

Flexibility in Time

Flexible working models need to include a number of ways for employees to structure their time. This could include a compressed working week, staggered start and finish times, and more flexible hours policies, all of which will help reduce the cost of real estate.

Flexibility in Leave

A good flexible working policy will also make provisions for allowing more unpaid leave to be taken, and will be more lenient with regards holiday transfer and time in lieu.

Increased investment in technology

“There will be a significant push for businesses in almost all industries to move from paper-based storage to cloud-based facilities, thus allowing for location-flexibility. In the office itself, technology will become even more pronounced,” Pistauer added.

“Dedicated video conferencing rooms will be a necessity, as will personalised equipment. IT may well be the one area where spending will increase over the coming years, though this will be seen as an investment.”

Pistauer is of the view that some organisations will manage the transition better than others.

“We have been measuring the success of workplace transformations since 2012. In our experience there is a significant difference in how successfully organisations adapt to the transition to a more modern way of working,” Pistauer said.

“Some take to it instantly, increasing productivity and reducing costs, all the while reporting increased employee satisfaction. Others struggle with the change, and experience the opposite results.

“What makes the difference? From our research we know that there are four key factors to success: get the basics right and ensure processes are smooth, develop a clear flexible working framework, provide a structured change management process with ongoing support; and make sure leadership is engaged in the process and crucially, walks the talk. One of the largest areas of frustration for employees is being moved to a hot desk environment while seeing the manager retain their own office.

“The success of the new look office will depend on the ability of a business to straddle and manage the balance between the old way of working vs the new.”

Meta5 is a tenant advisory and workplace strategy consultancy working across Australia and New Zealand. Meta5 specialises in workplace strategy, and help businesses of all sizes across Australasia and beyond adapt to a more modern way of working.

www.meta5group.com

Wed May 27

Office expert: Don't bring your staff back to work until you have done these things

Written by Tess Sanders Lazarus

With lockdown restrictions gradually being eased across the country, Australian workplaces are looking at the types of changes needed in order to meet new health and wellness requirements post-lockdown.

Office National is Australia’s largest independent supplier of office products. Their CEO Gavin Ward said today, “Australian workplaces have a responsibility to enforce strict social distancing rules after the lockdown and to implement many other changes.”

“We may be going back to work soon, but it won’t be as we know it. Don’t expect for things to go back to normal once lockdown restrictions are eased. You definitely won’t be working the same as you were prior to the pandemic,” Ward said.

“Every employer needs to have a checklist of things they have to do before they open their offices again. The government is already working hard in this area to identify recommended rules for different industries looking to start up again after the lockdown.”

According to Ward, some of the things that offices will have to do include: removing hot desks, isolating people, granting concessions for those who feel even a little sick, stocking up on hygiene products, implementing touchless services, facilities and solutions, and purchasing wooden disposable cutlery.

Removal of hot desks

“Hot desks or NOT desks as they are now being called, have become more and more a part of the ‘modern’ office over the past few years but unfortunately, they just aren’t suited to the social distancing era,” Ward said.

“Workplaces that rely on hot desks may need to convert hot desks into permanent desks and remove every second chair to ensure a one and half metre distance between each employee.

“Many desks are affixed to cabling and can’t be moved hence the need to remove chairs. Hot desks also pose the risk of infection of others. Overall, we are going to see less of them in offices.”

Barriers between desks

“Barriers between desks are now essential in order to maintain effective social distancing,” Ward added.

“We are selling a lot of office screens that can be easily placed between desks. They are commonly known as rapid screens because they can be erected quickly between and around desks. Cubicles and screens will be the new norm – much like a return to the old days 30 years ago when offices were more compartmentalised.”

Sick leave flexibility

“Employers will also need to institute more lenient ‘sick day’ rules that allow employees with even the slightest show of symptoms to take a day off,” Ward said.

Reduction in shared items

Ward predicts a reduction in the use of shared items across the office.

“Many workers in office environments share items such as staplers, sticky tape, folders, cutlery, coffee, tea, milk, reference materials, etc,” Ward added.

“We are going to see more people being asked to use their items only. Office survival packs will be distributed to staff providing them with the basics that they need to use while in the office. This will ensure items are not shared or used by others.

“We are already seeing a surge in the purchase of label makers and labels so that people and workplaces can place labels on certain items to create ownership and avoid unwanted use by others. Labelling everything will be the new norm.”

Increase in hygiene and touchless products

“Stocking up on hygiene products and introducing touchless dispensers such as soap, water and hand sanitiser is something employers need to find room for in the annual budget,” Ward added.

“Work places will need to have touchless dispensers at every corner of the office, near doors and around common areas.”

Green has been

“Sadly, the idea of recycle and reuse has become a scary thought for many,” Ward said.

“For this reason, we are going to see a lot more people using and bringing single use items into the workplace. We are selling a lot of single use wooden cutlery and wooden drink stirrers. These are certainly better for the environment than plastic.”

The responsibility to outline and enforce requirements across workplaces will lie on employers, says Ward.

“Workplace standards start at the top of any organisation. Over the next few weeks, every employer in Australia will have to basically become experts on workplace hygiene. Unfortunately, this is yet another thing to worry about for Australia’s already-struggling small businesses,” Ward said.

“If employees are going to follow the social distancing rules, they’ll need incentives to do so. Employers could come up with reward schemes for people who follow the social distancing rules. For example, employers could get their employees in the ‘cleaning spirit’ by offering rewards for people who have the cleanest desk.”

Ward believes that Australian workplaces will be living with these social distancing and cleaning rules until the end of the year, at least.

“These rules aren’t a short term solution. In order for them to work in preventing a second wave after the lockdown, they’ll need to be in place for a while,” Ward said.

“I suspect that even when January 2021 comes around, Australian workplaces will still be thinking about how they can minimise contact and enforce social distancing. These rules will be with us for a while, so you might as well study up and learn how to enforce them effectively.”

Office National is part of the Office Brands network – the largest network of independent stationery stores in Australia with over 160 stores. Brands include Office National, Office Products Depot, and O-Net.