Our panel (L/R) included Bob Fox, WDM publisher; Meredith Zenkel, VP Marketing and Communications, Poppin; Kimberly O’Dowd, Sr. Project Manager Blitz architecture + design; Steve Carroll, VP of People & Talent, Booster Fuels; Katie Rodrigues, VP of Workplace Strategy, JLL
At WDM we work hard to provide interesting content that speaks to what our readers are working on and want to know about the larger world of workplace planning and design. What we really love is to meet our readers and offer opportunities to learn something new, mingle with each other and share insights and observations with thought leaders in the industry. Recently, in partnership with innovative furniture manufacturer, Poppin we were able to host a dynamic panel discussion on the Future of the Workplace. Representing a diverse cross section of workplace professionals, a lively discussion ensued. Here are some of the key take aways from that event.
Bob Fox: Let’s set the context for our conversation – what is going to be different over the next five to ten years?
Katie Rodrigues: What is changing rapidly is how work is done. For example, the work process is more agile and demanding more interdisciplinary interaction. Teams are distributed and have to manage across geographies and time zones. We need to respond to how people are working with current tools and technology. It is all about flexibility. We are looking at increasing use of automation and AI, this is disrupting certain types of work and changing technology and real estate as we use more data and automation in planning and designing space.
Steve Carroll: On the human/HR side we have reached a point where we need to create physical space that is welcoming and encouraging more collaborative work processes. We are getting rid of enclosed offices and have more shared spaces. We have gone from the more traditional closed space to the chaos of totally open space. We are looking now for places that are more productive from a human standpoint. The future is all about getting talent and figuring out where to have workplaces that can draw that talent, not just in Silicon Valley or New York. We need to encourage more distributed work forces and have places for people to live and work in more affordable cities.
AI/Data will be more important, machines can do a lot, but it is the human connections that matter more. Data is power, we can rely on data, but we also need human interaction. The future workplace may not be designed in a traditional fashion, but we need to create collaborative environments that can incorporate the right technology to do our work.
Kimberly O’Dowd: People can work from anywhere; companies are supporting more distributed teams and remote workers from multiple locations. Creating the spaces where that work can be supported requires us to think about real estate in other ways, not just about putting “butts in seats”. Workplace is now about supporting multiple types of interactions, to get work done regardless of physical location. I agree that finding ways to collaborate across locations as companies look to locate in more affordable locations is going to be an important consideration going forward.
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Meredith Zenkel: From the perspective of a furniture company, we try to be thinking ahead on what kind of products will support the workplace in the future. We sell all kinds of solutions, especially for more open office solutions. While AI driven data can predict what activities are doing and what kind of groups need certain furniture solutions, we want to create furniture that works for many levels of flexibility. We need to think about how much time is spent doing definable tasks and figure out what furniture solutions will support that flexible work mode. People “want it all” – virtual work, face to face collaboration, work at home!