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SEPTEMBER 2017 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 19
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Moving Forward
Workplace Priorities
1. Make room for larger back-office staff. Overall, hiring in
the finance sector has been below national averages, at
1.9 percent compared to nationwide 2.4 percent since Feb-
ruary 2015. Financial institutions are seeing less profit for
work done by front office staff, such as research analysts,
investment bankers, and traders. They’re putting more
money into hiring back office staff that support cyberse-
curity, legal and compliance work.
Financial institutions are competing directly with tech-
nology companies by choosing nontraditional office lo-
cations in urban centers where millennials, in particular,
like to live and work.
2. Design for a young, tech-savvy workforce. “IT is taking the
lead on how are we going to change our design going for-
ward because they hire the most millennials,” says Riccio
of Blackstone. He shares the example that traditionally
cautious and restrictive IT departments at financial insti-
tutions are allowing for more bring-your-own-device op-
tions for employees. Riccio says this shift impacts design.
As part of their effort to gather intellectual firepower,
many large financial institutions acquire small compa-
nies. They must accommodate these new, startup-minded
workers or lose them. This mixing of cultures creates un-
usual design challenges.
The fact that many younger workers came of age during
the financial crises complicates recruitment and reten-
tion for banks even more. Fortunately, opportunities to
make big, intellectual contributions and overcome chal-
lenges by digitizing financial transactions have proven an
effective recruiting tool for the finance industry.
3. Improve efficiency of in-person transactions. Tellers still
serve many customers’ needs, despite increasing use of
online banking options. Considering this continued de-
pendence on personal attention, financial institutions are
trying to create a great in-person experience as efficiently
as possible.
“We’re seeing a hub and spoke model at the branch lev-
el. Where perhaps 10 years ago banks and credit unions
would have built 7,000- or 8,000-square-foot sites. Now,
a bank or credit union may have a flagship strategically
placed within in a community where it offers a full range
of services, then micro-branches in busy areas like strip
centers, with adjacent parking,” says Ritner of Newground.
More customers can reach their bank, ideally, and com-
plete their transactions without needing much space or
time with tellers.
4. Minimize real estate costs. The increased cost of real es-
tate in the world’s financial centers has led to the average
space per worker in finance shrinking by 25 percent from
178 sf to 129 sf globally over the last 10 years. By develop-
ing strict security measures for employees regarding data
transfer and information storage, organizations are able to
create more collaborative spaces, allow corporate employ-
ees to work from home and, thereby, reduce the footprint
per employee in their corporate spaces.
To learn more about this topic or other research resourc-
es Knoll can provide, visit \