Smart offices:
The key to the future
“Are smart offices the solution to employee wellbeing, talent supply, and increased profitability?”
Kairos Future recently held an important future dialogue with three expert panelists around the theme “Smart offices – the key to the future”, the event was sponsored by ROL Intelligent Office.
January 19, 2023 – Stockholm, Sweden
The future dialogue was hybrid, held both physically at Kairos Future’s office with an audience and through webcast. The event was opened by Rod Walker, CEO at ROL Group, moderated by Erik Herngren from Kairos Future. The panelists Amanda Falck from the Swedish Association of HRM, Ulrica Magnusson from Colliers and Anna Nilsson from Arbio, all contributed with expert insights.
The future-related questions that moderator Erik Herngren put on the table were primarily; “Will we need offices at all?”, “If yes, what will these new smart offices look like?”, “what functions will they have?”, “Will the office become an iPhone on wheels?”, “How, what and why should data be measured in offices in the future?”, “How do we deal with the phenomenon of “Quiet Quitting” where employees only work the minimum? ”, “How should the office contribute to my and my organization’s goals going forward”?
Smart offices can solve talent supply
Amanda Falck, from the Swedish Association of HRM, stated that we need to rethink the function of the office for the employees and adapt it to what the company will look like in the future. First then, the staff will become engaged, see it as a good and important resource, and not as a must. We are completely dependent upon technology, it develops quickly, the issues we deal with are increasingly complex, so the offices need to be smarter and adapted accordingly. As most organizations face a shortage of talent and competence, it is crucial to listen to the staff to boost thought productivity, since it is more profitable and a better solution than hiring new people.
Smart offices can become the real leaders of change and promote happiness
Ulrica Magnusson, from Colliers highlighted the “hotelification” of offices, where the individual needs of employees will become increasingly important for them to perform at their best and have high levels of productivity and happiness. It will be important to measure and understand which office spaces work best and why, and to have flexible offices that can easily adapt to different functions with the right furniture and technology. A well-designed office can bring about coordination effects and potentially become the driving force behind real change.
A smart office can increase the profitability of the staff and the office space
Anna Nilsson from Arbio emphasized that an office cost is an investment in the employees, it is not just a premises cost, and therefore we need to involve the employees early on in the functions and use of the premises. We need smart data in the offices. But first, we need to define why, how it will be used, how the data is collected, how to compare the data and with what integrity. Perhaps new KPIs that are office-based are needed. How do we measure the value that an employee creates in the office? And how much is due to the office and how much is due to the individual?
The 10 year vision
In 10 years, the experts predict that we will work more in different types of rooms, and that we will need to focus more on what we want to achieve rather than the process. Individual needs must be supported to a greater extent, and we will most likely be working in small hub offices closer to home rather than large corporate offices far away.
About ROL Intelligent Office
Our software platform re-defines how the workplace is managed, delivering a range of integrated services designed to greatly improve the employee experience, while providing deeper insights for data-supported, organizational decision making.
Watch the entire webinar below.
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Get to know the experts
Kairos Future
Erik Herngren – Senior partner & Strategic Advisor
Kairos Future is an international consulting and research company that assists companies and organizations to understand and shape their futures. Our vision is a world where everybody puts future first.
Colliers
Ulrica Magnusson – Head of Workplace Advisory & Project Management
Colliers Workplace Advisory team has extensive knowledge and expertise in helping companies transform to meet the future through dynamic and holistic workplace strategies.
the Swedish Association of HRM
Amanda falck – Head of Engagement & Community
The Swedish Association of HRM is a non-profit association founded in 1921 by Kerstin Hesselgren, a brave and warm pioneer who was passionate about a fair working environment with a focus on people. Today, one hundred years later, the association is driven by the same purpose.
Arbio
Anna Nilsson – Chief of Business Support
As a service company, Arbio provides services to member companies in the form of advice, negotiating support, training, monitoring of the environment, networking, assistance with government contacts, and other services related to industry issues.
