Shifting away from the desk
Organisations are looking more towards non-traditional layouts as mobility and cost factors play a greater role
Cost management remains a consistent theme for most organisations. However, there is a growing shift in focus to deliver competitive advantage and support business growth within the confines of an existing cost base.
How real estate can best support staff productivity now demands more sophisticated discussion. A new discipline of consulting, having emerged in other regions over the past 10 to 15 years, has made its way to Asia, delivering a speciality offering focused on the dynamic alignment of an organisation's work patterns with the physical environment, enabling peak performance, response to market changes and cost reduction.
Originally led by companies in the West, thinking around non-traditional workplace strategy principles was first embraced by multinational consulting and technology firms in the 1990s.
When asked about prior experiences with alternative approaches to office design and operations, most managers confirm past experience with some form of non-traditional layout, be it open-plan, bench seating, hot desking, remote working or non-assigned seating designs, from prior out-of-region employment.
The most visible aspect of this change is the ability to work anywhere at any time
In the Asia-Pacific, the demand for workplace strategy services is being led by multinationals - mostly in the financial services and information technology sectors - although many firms that have implemented alternative workplace strategy in their home markets have yet to do so in this region.