The Purposeful Intent “Walk this Way” event in New York City brought together leaders in corporate real estate across industries to discuss the future of work. The event featured roundtable discussions and special guests such as DMC and Innovation and Creativity Consultant Duncan Wardle.
What can we learn from performers and magic makers designing Disney experience about the future of work? Well, a lot as it turns out. As the value of human experiences skyrockets, CRE leaders look to tear down the traditional office walls and draw workers back to the office for the experience.
The event curated valuable conversations with workplace & corporate real estate leaders while galvanizing attendees to continue their innovation efforts and become change agents in their communities and workplaces.
While there are a number of priorities space planners are tackling, here are the main takeaways from the event according to leaders in the industry.
OUT WITH HIGH-TOUCH, IN WITH HIGH-TECH FOR CRE
What was once a world of clicker-studies and spreadsheets is now–like many other things–tech-enabled. Sprawling CRE portfolios were managed through manual processes, requiring time and labor from resource-strapped teams. But even before the pandemic’s disruption, the emergence of prop-tech companies has started to alleviate manual workflows, freeing CRE leaders and their teams up to drive more creative, impactful decisions.
Many corporate real estate leaders are using technology to foster cross-functional collaboration which is essential for a distributed workforce. To do this, they need the full force of their team’s capabilities. Technology allows them to share reporting, validate decisions, and project impact.
WORKPLACE PROFESSIONALS CURATING EXPERIENCES
You can’t talk about the future of work without acknowledging the employee experience. Companies both big and small will continue to navigate this changing landscape for some time. During the conference, three distinct camps emerged with some brands seeing office attendance as an essential part of their corporate DNA and other brands seeing the need to earn employee attendance with increased office benefits. A third group is suffering pandemic paralysis, rolling (and rolling back) shybrid policies.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN REQUIRES PURPOSE
One way executives are making the office experience worth the commute is by redesigning spaces to become more efficient and collaborative. But while office redesigns tend to delight and dazzle employees upon roll-out, best-in-class corporate campuses follow a tried and true formula for success. Here are the top three things all successful redesigns require:
- Support from company executives
- Business goals that tie directly to redesign decisions
- The ability to deliver space utilization metrics and analytics
Lambent was a proud sponsor of this month’s Purposeful Intent event which gave leaders across the industry a seat at the table to foster meaningful conversations to improve the future of work.
In order to curate the best workplace environment and experience, facilities leaders need data. Data enables them to predict future utilization patterns to accommodate a workforce that will not return to a 5-day office presence. Powerful AI software like Lambent Spaces has helped major employers encourage workers to return to the office in a safe manner.
To learn more about how Lambent helps facilities management teams, schedule time with one of our experts today.
