How To

IMAGINING the

workplace of the futureVENDOR SPECIAL Special Issue

Why do employers want people back in the office? Once they’ve figured that out – with the employee as well as the business top of mind – it’s time to reconfigure the workplace accordingly

With a background in commercial and residential interior design, Jeanine Goddard started out as Showroom and Interior Designer for furniture and storage manufacturer Bisley in 2017, with responsibility for the vendor’s showrooms in major cities like New York, Dublin, Dubai, Paris and Madrid.

In October 2021, she took on the additional – and newly created – role of Creative Director for the company. Her remit is to address the COVID-induced reimagination of the workplace, be that at home or in the office, and the greater awareness of the importance of well-being – physical and emotional – in both settings.

Why, for instance, do people gravitate back to an office environment (if that is even the case)? If they are happy to return – or are required to do so, at least in some capacity – what are the key components for employers to get right; where do they need to put their focus? This is where trends and nice-to-haves meet essential requirements, according to Goddard.

SPACE NEEDS

The amount of space required in the ‘new normal’ workplace and what it looks like depend entirely on its purpose. This may sound like common sense, but often it’s essential to point out the obvious.

A lawyer may want a lot of paper storage space close to specific desks, for instance, while digital nomads are unlikely to even need a dedicated workstation. Those working for tech-focused organisations and start-ups are good examples of the latter. What they do require, however, on top of an obligatory IT infrastructure, are storage facilities and lockers for their motorcycle boots and helmets, their gym bags and so on.

Essentially, anyone who doesn’t have a designated desk in the office should be provided with safe spaces to leave their personal belongings. And the onus is very much on the employer to offer those.

Overall, the square footage of room required may not necessarily go down, but the number of physical desks needed almost certainly will. After all, when it comes to getting your head down and focus, on your own, on specific tasks, most people prefer to do this in their home environment these days, given the option.

CONNECTING IN COMFORT

People crave connection and are looking forward to seeing their colleagues and customers again. But they want to return to a different environment from the one they left two years ago.

Formerly office-based people have spent so much time at home that they now seek the same comforts wherever they are. As such, workplaces have to be adapted – they have to be softer and more welcoming. Different textures and textiles are one way of creating more of a homely feel.

People crave connection and are looking forward to seeing their colleagues and customers again. But they want to return to a different environment from the one they left two years ago

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Special Issue

Endless options: Bisley work environments VENDOR SPECIAL Special Issue VENDOR SPECIAL

Biophilia is a big trend. Plants in the office generate a soothing atmosphere, while the colour green has been proven to be calming to the eyes. Equally, lighting needs to be warm and inviting, not harsh. Finally, if the option exists, give your employees an outdoor space to congregate – it’s a massive thumbs up for staff.

The stark, functional conference room of the past can largely be consigned to history as the concept of the traditional ‘meeting’ has considerably evolved. Is it a one-to-one performance chat you’re after, a group brainstorming session requiring equipment like whiteboards and IT and remote people joining in, or a catch-up moment in a relaxed, home-type setting?

In this context, zoning the workplace correctly is really important. It’s all about effective space planning whereby you create different zones for different activities, such as collaboration, focused work, meetings, etc.

It’s also vital to allow employees to get away from their desks so they can have a break. The breakroom area may have completely changed with the absence of so many staff, but employees who return to the office still need a place where they can ‘take five’.

Then there are the so-called water cooler moments – often frowned upon by employers pre-pandemic and viewed as wasting valuable ‘work’ time. However, informal interaction with colleagues and the spontaneous sharing of ideas are what many employees have been missing the most. And employers now realise there’s a business benefit too.

These conversations, incidentally, should not be confined to a specific area, but be facilitated throughout the workplace. Dotting high tables around the office so that people have somewhere to rest their laptop or coffee mug while chatting, for instance, is a nice way to keep them talking.

Similarly, installing benches in corridors or outside meeting rooms gives colleagues somewhere to chat before and after meetings – while waiting for the next one to start or finish.

THE RIGHT TECH ENVIRONMENT

As mentioned before, investment in appropriate technology equipment, software and overall IT infrastructure is absolutely vital as the current norm of hybrid working will almost certainly not go away.

Yes, some people may be in the office, but it’s unlikely all of them will be at any one time, making the right set-up even more important. Staff joining in via Zoom or Teams need to have the correct equipment and be comfortable and so do those in the actual office.

THE WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE

As a general conclusion, the office-based workplace will feel more like home. This is not only important when trying to entice staff back, but also in terms of future recruitment. It’s what particularly younger generations will demand, otherwise they won’t be tempted to join.

Offices could almost turn into service providers, similar to a hotel, whereby employers offer the possibility for people to meet and to really foster relationships and collaboration. Because these will be the main functions of an office in the future.

Giving people the choice to work where they want will be paramount. It requires flexibility and an enormous amount of trust and confidence in your staff’s abilities by employers. This often doesn’t come naturally to some leadership personalities. The emphasis should be on output, not on clock-watching and monitoring.

BISLEY FAST FACTS

Founded: 1931

Manufacturing:

Newport, Wales (UK) CEO: Richard Costin Chairman: Tony Brown (son of Bisley founder Freddy Brown) Staff: 500+ Distribution: 70% B2B, 25% online reseller channel and 5% B2C Revenues: £80 million ($108 million)

Sales coverage:

50 countries

When Jeanine Goddard was named Creative Director of Bisley last October, the manufacturer also announced a new creative product department in an effort to address evolving working patterns. OPI’s Heike Dieckmann quizzed Goddard about the progress made and the way forward.

OPI: What has been the response from the reseller community to Bisley’s investment in a more diverse working environment – and the product range this requires?

Jeanine Goddard: It’s actually still very early days, as so many end consumers haven’t finalised their revised office concepts. Some haven’t even started yet, because employees continue to be based at home and there’s still a state of limbo as to what they need to do with their office spaces.

OPI: So you’re very much at the beginning of the curve still.

JG: Definitely. We can envisage what the workplace will look like, but we will only fully understand the reality when employers react to the new requirements.

We are currently seeing a lot of employers conducting surveys, asking staff for their opinions and preferences about their return to the workplace, be that part-time, full-time or perhaps even not at all.

In the US, for instance, only 20% of people are in the office at the moment. It means employers haven’t spent much time thinking about new layouts because they haven’t had to.

As a manufacturer, naturally we are further up the curve, because we need to proactively anticipate and plan for what is going to happen, rather than having to react to it quickly. It’s about developing products which are suitable for the market today, but also in the future.

The brief for our team is to develop ranges that will address the demands of a post-Covid world of work, which include softer materials and lines, using sustainable components, creating flexibility for users, and integrating new technologies.

The process consists of several stages. It starts with ideas that are assessed with the help of a lot of research. We then devise a business plan which, if successful, sets in motion all the manufacturing capabilities and processes.

OPI: Are there big discrepancies in the markets you operate in, in terms of working environments, which means post-COVID needs will likely vary a lot too?

JG: Absolutely. In Germany, for example, the open plan offices that are quite standard in the UK – certainly in London – are much rarer. This alters the requirements for refits.

It’s not just regional, however, but also dependent on type of companies and the industries they work in. Here too, it’s still very much a working-out-what-to-do process. This is where manufacturers and dealers can be helpful, as they already know what needs to change to create a practical, warm and welcoming office environment.

Some workplaces will benefit from having fewer desks for focus-type work and more open, collaborative spaces to share ideas and be creative. Others may choose to move to a smaller office altogether, as fewer people are around at the same time. Workspaces need to evolve, but how this is executed will vary.

OPI: The work-from-home (WFH) component is clearly here to stay, in a much expanded capacity compared to pre-COVID. I believe you’re addressing this with a brand new range called Belong.

JG: That’s correct, although I would add that Belong was developed with both WFH and hybrid work in mind, meaning also office-based workplaces.

It’s a collection available in a selection of colours and finishes, all with various

Jeanine Goddard

configuration options to fit any space or style at home or in the office. The premise is that it offers compact solutions for small spaces. This is often the case in the home, but will likely also be a key feature in many offices going forward. We refer to it as a sanctuary work environment.

OPI: How do you go to market?

JG: It’s pretty wide and varied. Project work is our mainstay, which is primarily done via the reseller community. These can be specialist furniture suppliers, interior design companies or manufacturers wishing to use our products as they complement their own ranges. We also work with the wholesalers and retailers, the latter both on the high street and online.

We invested in our own Bisley Shop when the pandemic first hit. It attracts the home end user who typically just orders a few items as opposed to the big office refits that go through the B2B channel.

OPI: Finally and looking ahead, what are Bisley’s future plans?

JG: Bisley’s CEO Richard Costin has great ambitions for the company. He is fiercely proud of the fact we are an independently owned business with high values and deep traditions. Our main goal is to continue to support the resellers that really promote our brand although we do appreciate that, at times, other products may suit demands better.

Our product development roadmap is at the very heart of our strategy, as are various CSR and sustainability initiatives that, we believe, are also hugely important to our customers. We are about to launch a number of new services which showcase our design flexibility and manufacturing capabilities. In addition, we will introduce more products in the coming months, both for the office and the home.