By Indhira Desangles
Currently, companies have the opportunity to rethink and redesign their office leasing process.
Specifically regarding workspaces, we can analyze areas for improvement and develop updated office models that meet current needs. These include:
• Promoting your company's culture.
• Promoting the well-being of your employees.
• Boost the attraction and retention of valuable talent.
• Adaptability, that is, being flexible to future changes in order to operate in the best way.
Because of these factors, and more, the investment you make in a corporate space can be optimized and, with it, generate economic and operational benefits for your company.
For all these reasons, I recommend that every 6 months you consider the following practices:
1) Analyze and plan the "new rules of the game":
Periodically ask yourself if you have the opportunity to create or modernize your open-plan areas, hybrid meetings (in-person + virtual), and flexible or non-assigned workstations; this, dear readers, is no longer optional, it's a must. Hot desking is here to stay, which is simply an office organization system that involves many employees using a single workstation at different times.
The first step is to consider the possibility of resizing your space. However, remember to take into account factors such as your company's operating model, the desired workforce density, and short-, medium-, and long-term growth projections, among other things, to achieve a more efficient design.
Offices should adapt to the needs of the company and the user, not the other way around. Therefore, it's essential to ensure that the planning of workspaces follows a well-studied and structured strategy.
2) Consider frequently analyzing the spaces:
Ask yourself if you're using spaces the same way as before the pandemic. If the answer is yes, consider a functional redesign that eliminates any "wasteful space" and optimizes its use. For example, adapt areas of the dining room or cafeteria to function as informal meeting spaces when not in use for meals. This is just one example to help you prevent spaces (especially common areas) from being underutilized and get the most out of them.
3) Make financial analysis your Holy Grail:
Analyze the expenses involved in the execution of corporate real estate strategies, including maintenance, parking spaces, among others.
The idea here is to focus on necessary expenses and become more profitable. I recommend identifying the elements that are truly productive for your business.
Finally, I hope that with these recommendations you can optimize your corporate real estate strategy and, I dare say, that the result will be an increase in business competitiveness and consequently an increase in your profitability.
