I expect there are going to be a few people that disagree with this title. Flexibility and collaboration and productivity have been buzzwords for corporate real estate designs for a decade now. They’ve become so ingrained in our thinking that we forget that these are means to an end, not the end itself.
A workplace designed for maximum flexibility will leave behind employees that need fixed space. Standards built to maximize flexibility may also harm some lines of business that rely on certainty and consistency.
A workplace designed to maximize collaboration will often lead to a hectic and high energy feeling. This is not conducive to people who work heads down for 80+% of the day and only collaborate for part of it. As a concept, it works. As a design theme, it’s very limiting.
Productivity is an animal unto itself because no one knows how to manage it within a real estate context. Anyone who says they do is likely selling you snake oil. I have yet to hear an articulate description of how to measure it, let alone an actual process.
Workplace design must follow the activities of the employees in that workplace. People are not machines. A design must account for today, tomorrow and the days after. However, it must also account for the perceptions and needs of people working there today, tomorrow and the days after. The change curve people experience when they are put into something new is real and must be managed.
Real estate is the ultimate cross-functional activity. Everything we do impacts others for years once we complete a project. Every design, every dollar, every tool, every seat has a day one and on-going legacy that must be considered. Don’t half-ass the process.