Page 12 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— April 6-April 19, 2016
Office
F
or decades a symbol
of achievement in the
working world has
included securing the coveted
corner office. However, what
leading workplace strategy
experts have now realized is
that the four walls many orga-
nizations use to surround their
employees could actually be sti-
fling innovation, inhibiting col-
laboration and preventing the
sense of community most com-
panies strive to build.
The history of office environ-
ments in America is an interest-
ing story of workplace evolu-
tion. The open office environ-
ment so trendy today was actu-
ally the norm in the 1950s and
1960s, according to Neil Howe
in Forbes, “Open Offices Back in
Vogue – Thanks to the Millen-
nials” (March 31, 2015). It was
the introduction of the cubicle in
1968 that changed everything,
and that movement continued
well into the 1990s with cubicle
sales growing 20-fold between
1977 and 1997 (Howe, Forbes,
March 31, 2015).
While today’s workforce may
be rising up en masse in favor
of tearing down cubicle walls,
CBRE’s Workplace Strategy
experts advocate for balance – a
workplace that builds a sense of
community by understanding
the need for private areas while
also embracing the innovation,
collaboration and efficiency
driven by open, shared space.
According to CBRE’s Americas
Occupier Survey, workplace
strategy is increasingly being
viewed as both a critical employ-
ee attraction
and retention
strategy (57
percent) and
as a means to
control costs.
This month,
CBRE
will
open a new
regional office
in
down-
town Denver,
which will
showcase its
global initia-
tive
called
Workplace360 – our approach to
workplace strategy designed to
promote flexibility, mobility and
productivity. Although we are
not moving far from our current
location in terms of distance, the
new office represents a work
experience that is a far depar-
ture from the prototypical office
environment.
While there are a number of
ways our new space facilitates
and sustains a spirit of com-
munity throughout our organi-
zation, there are three that we
find elicit the most interest from
our clients who are considering
their own workplace strategy
initiatives.
n
Free addressing.
Free
addressing means employees
no longer have assigned desks
or private offices; instead they
are free to choose where they sit
each day, allowing them to cater
their workspace to their sched-
ule and tasks at hand.
The system also is a tool for
space efficiency, as it allows
companies to occupy space in
a way that is
truly equal to
the number
of employ-
ees who are
showing up
any
given
day. Of the
229
corpo-
rate execu-
tives
who
participated
in
CBRE’s
A m e r i c a s
Occupier Sur-
vey, 85 per-
cent cited space efficiency and
restructuring as a top strategy
for reducing occupancy costs.
Free addressing creates “dynam-
ic density,” representing the
highest amount of space being
consistently used in a way that
enables each employee to work
at his or her highest potential.
Our free-address system
is made possible by the use
of enhanced technology that
allows employees to easilymove
within the office, as well as new
audio-visual capabilities, which
facilitate working internally
with co-workers and presenting
externally to clients throughout
the space.
n
Balance of private and col-
laborative spaces.
Historically,
a collaborative space in an office
translates to a traditional, closed-
door meeting room. However,
according to CBRE’s 2015 Space
Utilization research report, the
United States average meeting
room utilization is only 24.5 per-
cent, the lowest of all countries
studied. In the same study, two-
to three-person meetings were
observed to make up 59 percent
of all meetings, however, the
most common meeting room
size was a six-person room.
CBRE’s Workplace Strategy
experts say the best approach
is to provide a range of options
that consider size, layout and
function. In our new downtown
Denver space, employees will be
able to choose from everything,
including small, private huddle
rooms where two to three can
gather around multiple screens
to large, open areas perfect for
a team meeting or brainstorm.
We have even elected to con-
vert all four corners of the office
into collaborative spaces, which
were previously home to private
offices. In this way, the largest
number of people can enjoy the
natural light and stunning Colo-
rado views on a daily basis.
Investing in space choice and
flexibility means two things:
First, employees are empow-
ered to select the space that best
meets their needs; and second,
collaboration is maximized
by making it easier than ever
before to bring people together.
In a recent survey of employ-
ees currently working in CBRE
Workplace360 spaces, 94 percent
indicated they are more easily
able to collaborate in the new
environment.
n
The “Heart.”
The heart is
the central hub of the office, act-
ing as both a meeting place and
also a social place for employees
and guests. It’s an amenity-rich
environment, more reminiscent
of a hotel lobby than a tradi-
tional office reception area. With
comfortable seating, a bar and
coffee area as well as places to
plug in a laptop or engage in
an interactive presentation, the
Heart offers opportunity to cre-
ate a place of energy and excite-
ment within the office.
More than any other aspect
of our new space, the heart is
fundamental to building a sense
of community in our office. It is
within this area where sponta-
neous, cross-business-unit inter-
actions will drive innovation
day in and day out. Research
has shown the more an organi-
zation can bring its individual
professionals together to build
relationships within the team,
the better as a whole the com-
pany will be. According to a
Workforce MOODTracker Fall
2014 report, the more peer rela-
tionships we have at work, the
more engaged and committed
we become to our companies
(“The Effect of Work Relation-
ships on Organizational Culture
and Commitment”).
In the end, a community-
focused, culture-forward work-
ing environment really comes
down to a sense of place – which
is ultimately decided by the peo-
ple who walk in your doors each
day. By committing to an office
that empowers employee choice,
enhances collaboration and pro-
motes employee relationship
building, we are investing in the
asset that has the greatest impact
on propelling our business for-
ward – our employees.
s
Carson Erard
Senior associate,
CBRE Workplace
Strategy, Denver
Pete Schippits
Senior managing
director, CBRE
Colorado, Denver
Boulder
Denver
Northern Colorado Laramie
303.440.0399 303.830.1120 970.352.1700 307.755.1040
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