- Employee productivity seen as almost three times as important as reducing cost
- Employee engagement metrics are seen as more important than cost metrics
- The use of non-owned space is on the rise and now part of the strategy
- Over three quarters believe that employees should be treated like guests or customers with services that enable them to be more productive
- Boards split into three groups from early adopters to laggards when it comes to workplace thinking
London, July 30th, 2015 – New research from the Property Directors Forum confirms that the historical focus on cost – and in particular cost reduction – has been replaced by priorities that are all people oriented. The number one priority is now greater employee productivity for 40% of property directors. The number two priority (28%) is attracting and retaining the best talent.
As a result of this new focus on people, ‘soft metrics’ such as employee engagement, satisfaction and retention are now preferred by 61% of property directors for measuring the performance of workplace strategies. Traditional space and furniture or business agility metrics take the last two places in the ranking.
While productivity is a high priority, ‘wellness’ is not
82% of property directors believe an effective workplace strategy needs to cater for the different needs of each generation of employee. However, despite the priority given to attracting the best talent and achieving improved productivity, employee wellness is still not being given much importance in the workplace (5%). This suggest that organisations may need expert help in developing a joined-up approach to creating a people-centred workplace strategy.
Use of non-owned space up dramatically and now part of the strategy
Half of property directors (50%) reported an increase in the use of non-owned space like coffee shops or short-term meeting rooms. In fact, the future for the likes of Starbucks looks rosy as 86% of property directors think that the use of non-owned space should be planned for in advance when drawing up a workplace strategy.
In addition, members expressed the need for workplace strategies to have a more holistic approach that goes beyond the confines of the owned building to include the quality of the local facilities in the public realm. It is thought that the quality of both office (82%) and non-owned (68%) space are very important to the ability to attract and retain the best staff. 69% of members agree that the right mix of open space, enclosed/quiet space, collaboration/concentration space and social space is needed to create a truly successful working environment.
Early adopters will attract the best people
The research shows that Boards are split into three ‘generations: early adopters who see workplace strategy as vital to success (27%); the ‘majority’ who think it is important but haven’t actioned it yet (45%) and, the ‘laggards’ for whom workplace isn’t on the agenda at all (23%).
The research followed a Forum event on June 18th and includes contributions from some of the UK’s most significant occupiers with combined revenues of over £600bn.
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About Property Directors Forum
The Property Directors Forum (PDF) is an exclusive, invitation-only community that was created to provide Occupier Property Directors with a stronger VOICE in the market. The Forum now has over 120 active members of its LinkedIn Group and over 230 who have attended events. Forum members manage over 60,000 properties, employ more than 2million people in the UK and have a combined revenue total of over £600bn per annum. http://www.propertydirectorsforum.com/
