Landlords need to help create offices of the future, says Colliers
Today’s workplace trends such as informal meeting rooms and creative workspaces are here to stay, according to Colliers International.
And, increasingly, landlords will need to come on board to help ensure that workplaces remain in step with the expectations of tenants and their employees and increase productivity levels.
“It’s no longer just up to the tenant to provide the right setting for their people, it’s up to landlords to partner with experts to assist in providing future-fit workplaces for their incoming tenants,” Colliers International director of office leasing Simon Hunt said.
“The future of the workplace isn’t a fad or trend topic, it’s something we will continue to see grow in importance for generations to come.
“In order to prepare, we must all ensure our workplaces are future-ready and aligned to the wants and needs of our people and businesses.”
Colliers cites figures from independent workplace review company Leesman to show workplaces still have a long way to go in providing office fit-outs that foster productivity.
According to Leesman fourth-quarter 2015 statistics, 55 per cent of people agree that the design of their workplace enables them to work productively, meaning 45 per cent of employees could be more productive with changes to the workplace.
Colliers’ Peter Black and Simon Hunt talk through the importance of changing workplace trends.
Using the Leesman Index, Colliers has found that, internationally, the most common deficiencies identified in the workplace relate to having the ability to have a telephone conversation, informal and unplanned meetings, creative workspaces and private conversations.
Colliers’ own offices in Sydney at Grosevnor Place on George Street, where the company moved last year, incorporate a variety of workplace settings, lockers, and storage and presentation facilities
Colliers’ office has been designed to be easily transformed for activity-based working, with some divisions having transitioned to non-assigned seating despite the majority of employees still having an allocated desk.
“We decided to roll out the Leesman survey in our Sydney office and found that 84 per cent of people agree that the workplace we created for them allows for increased productivity,” said Peter Black, Colliers International national director of workplace strategy and design.
There was no “one size fits all” approach to workplace design – and tenants and landlords needed to have ongoing discussions with one another and with employees.
“For tenants, it is a process of assessing your people and their needs – where your people live, how they currently work within your office and how they would prefer to work,” Mr Black said.
