Waste of Space

We were speaking to a Facilities Director of a large telecoms business recently about unused space.

He said, “Our office is a ghost town on a Friday. We are paying for empty desk space? It’s so inefficient……….money down the drain. While I want to encourage smart working how can we balance this with an empty office on a Friday?”

But he also told us that the business struggled with finding meeting rooms on other days of the week – especially Wednesday and that the L&D team were often forced to run workshops off site. The company is moving toward for virtual collaboration through Microsoft Teams but, bizarrly….and refreshingly for a telecoms operator, theirs is a workplace culture that enjoys face to face interaction.  We suggested that the L&D team could trial fixing more workshops for a Friday when there is plenty of space.

The Facilities Director called yesterday to say it was working well!  Smart Thinking?

Meanwhile, one Fifth of business people report that reducing the cost of leasehold property is the main driver for considering smart-working, according to a survey by Regus.  That must mean other four fifths of businesses intend to continue to waste money on the out-dated 9 to 5, Monday to Friday office fix. What a waste of space.

You’re far too smart to be stuck in the rut of the 9-5, Monday to Friday Fix, aren’t you?  You want to attract a wider talent pool of people and retain your best employees. According to Powwownow, around three quarters of UK employees claim that flexible working benefits would make a job more appealing, and in fact nearly a third would prefer flexible working to a pay rise

Which of the vast range of smart working options will suit your business? How can you make better use of space?

Work happens in Brains – not offices. Book on to our Smart Leadership Programme in Birmingham on 17th May HERE