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At _space we have recently developed our headquarters building Spaceworks into a business hub with flexible working space. This move has made us review how people work now and how they are likely to work in the future.
Today I have been at a Mitel conference where they set out their strategy to address Workplace 3.0 and how their technology will adapt. I have had a fascinating day not least because the event has been hosted in a very nice Mayfair Hotel.
Mitel are clearly focussing on solutions for communications and business which are flexible and will adapt to the changing workplace
As I have become more involved and interested in this
process a few things have become apparent.
Businesses are currently looking at their workforces and how they are
going to deliver services in the future.
There are a couple of issues driving change.
In the past there
has been lots of discussion about flexible working and home-working. I believe that Workplace 3.0 will be subtly
different with flexible working being more than someone working in their study
at home. Flexible working will include
people working on the move, in a coffee shop or taking desk space in offices on
a membership basis.
Such changes are driven by the environment created by the
recession. In the good times businesses
expanded and could not see any alternative to growth. Companies committed to long binding leases which have subsequently turned out to be a
noose around many companies necks. Many
organisations have ended up going out of business due to the commitments they
have made in relation to office space.
In the future businesses will be less keen to sign long term leases and
are far more likely to commit to flexible arrangements which will suit the
changing nature of their organisation.
At Spaceworks we have responded to this and have
developed a wide range of spaces on flexible terms to suit what business
needs. We have seen the need for desk
only space through to more permanent offices.
The IT infrastructure which is imperative to allow businesses to grow
and adapt quickly.
As well as building related issues there are also
cultural issues with business at present.
The baby boomers and generation X have a far more stringent approach to
work. Their approach is generally 9-5
with a focussed work ethic.
What we are seeing now with generation Y is a flexible
workforce who are keen to have more options within their terms and
conditions. For example within our own
organisation we are now seeing fathers wanting to work shorter weeks to share
childcare with their partners.
In the future we will see an increasing amount of
flexibility required for the generation Y workforce and millennium generation
who will require a less rigid approach to employment.
The cultural changes and financial constraints of
property driven by leases will undoubtedly drive new ways of working.
In the years ahead we will see the office environment
providing a varied provision supported by a robust IT infrastructure. I anticipate that the use of private and
public clouds will continue to develop with data and applications driven by off
site hosted servers.
The devices used on a day to day basis will be varied and
personal. Organisations will have to be
flexible with the selection of devices used by their people. Some may prefer smartphones others may like
their Apple iPad whist others may still use the office based PC.
In the future these decisions will be personal rather
than corporate. The organisations
responsibility will be to ensure safe and consistent access.
The developing culture within society along with the global economic climate will undoubtedly impact on how we conduct business in the future as we move towards Workplace 3.0 and the human cloud.
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