_Reducing workplace capacity post-pandemic?
The Two Imperatives
As much as the world looks toward normalcy post-pandemic, aspects of business will change, and corporates will be challenged to redefine the role and capacity of the workplace in balancing business continuity resilience and regaining productivity post-pandemic. In due process, corporates will face two imperatives in the form of risk and capacity overlays.
1. Risk Overlay
As the World Health Organisation warn that the coronavirus could become an endemic virus and stay even with a vaccine, many corporates are accentuating business continuity resilience post-pandemic where employee health & safety is driving a new normal in safe distancing and hygiene at the workplace, and in teleworking arrangements.
Other longer term risk mitigating overlays within the workplaces and buildings corporates occupy have started evolving around heightened symptomatic screening, contact tracing, fresh air circulation and purification in air-conditioning systems, cleansing, the use of contactless access control systems and non-porous antimicrobial surfaces for physical touchpoints.
"the workplace remains relevant post-pandemic due to the innate need for people to meet and interact in person."
But while the lock down has accelerated the adoption of teleworking by both corporates and employees, the workplace remains relevant post-pandemic due to the innate need for people to meet and interact in person. With employee mobility being the new normal, corporates are being challenged to redefine the role and capacity of the workplace in regaining productivity in the future of work.
2. Capacity Overlay
As corporates plan to regain productivity, in addition to the disruption of pre-pandemic workplace productivity norms, corporates would experience up to a 50-60% reduction in headcount capacity as they reoccupy their workplaces with safe distancing. However, rather than occupy more space, many corporates are expecting to maintain reduced capacity post-pandemic in a form suitable to their operations as they accentuate business continuity resilience and calibrate between employees working at the workplace, and those teleworking from home and/or satellite locations.
With increased employee mobility, corporates will move towards implementing teleworking technology and workplaces will be geared towards employees returning predominantly for interaction and meetings.
As a result of corporates ensuring employees are safe, engaged and productive wherever they may work from, the future of work would become more employee-centric and flexible than ever before with a choice of fecund working arrangements being a key attribute for attracting and retaining talents.
The Business Case for Reducing Workplace Capacity, Teleworking and Change Management
While the business case for deploying savings from occupying less space towards teleworking technology and gearing up workplaces for interaction and meetings is logical, workplace strategy formulation alone without effective change management is detrimental because employees need to change the way they work.
In conclusion, the workplace will remain relevant post-pandemic but the challenge for corporates in successfully ensuring business continuity resilience and regaining productivity in the long term, lies in the level of acceptance to change by employees.
Please contact the following individuals for more information on:
- Workplace Strategy & Change Management
- Lease Renewal versus Relocation Negotiations
- Fit Out & Move Project Management
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About the Corporate Real Estate Service
For tenants; with business cycles and the corresponding workplace environment becoming more dynamic in an age of digital disruption, we help tenants first understand how best they need to occupy space before going-to-market to conclude a lease renewal or relocation transaction. This may include Core and / or Flexible Space – balancing a multiplex of business and people-centric design solutions that shape workplace performance and ultimately, organisational success. For optimal outcomes, we conduct workplace strategy studies and development, undertake lease transaction, financial analysis and complete the journey by managing space planning, fit-out contracting and works, holistically.
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