Angie Earlywine, Senior Workplace Strategist for HOK Advance Strategies, Rich Smith, Director Science + Technology-Higher Education, and Tura Patterson, HOK Director of Project Development, made a presentation at the University of Minnesota entitled, “Crossing Over: Space Utilization Best Practices Enhance Space Planning in Higher Education Institutions” on October 15, 2010. The presentation explored similarities between the corporate sector and institutions of higher learning to promote understanding of trends in officing and workplace strategies.
Universities are focused on optimizing utilization and doing more with less, just as in corporate organizations.  There are common demands for:

Demand for agile, efficient processes
Flexibility
Strategic investment in technology
Highly functional, comfortable, and welcoming  places for learning
An emphasis on collaboration and innovation
A need to contain costs while improving performance
New focus on sustainable design solutions and operations
Leverage learning environment to attract & retain talent

In summary, the model for aligning space, technology, and space use strategies with university goals would also hold true in the corporate environment.  View this presentation that includes results of the IFMA Distributed Work Survey and HOK case studies of Butler University College of Education Building, Maryville University School of Health Professions and the University of Southern Indiana College of Business & School of Engineering.
Interested in learning more?  Contact angie.earlywine@hok.com  or rich.smith@hok.com.

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The IFMA has released a new research report, “Space and Project Management Benchmarks,” which provides data on current costs and best practices associated with office space, churn, furniture acquisition and project management. One key finding from this study shows that vacancy rates in office buildings have increased while occupancy rates have fallen slightly — resulting in a gain in office space availability.
HOK was a sponsor of the research report. Advance Strategies’ workplace strategist, Angie Earlywine, worked IFMA to develop the benchmark survey.  The survey was then distributed to IFMA’s membership  for completion. One of the key findings of the survey indicates that the trend in office space over the past two decades has been towards smaller individual workstations. Factors such as layoffs and stagnant hiring, mobile work options and the growth of collaborative space seem to mask this trend, elevating the total amount of space per person available throughout the office. Other factors such as changes in culture driven by a younger workforce, an increase in the number of companies offering distributed workspace strategies, and new technology such as flat screens that require less desk space, further reinforce this trend.
However, extra space around the office doesn’t necessarily mean additional workspace for workers. Where is the extra space going? According to the report, conference rooms, storage space, amenities such as fitness and day care facilities, and empty, unused workstations are the most common end result.
“Over the past decade, senior level managers have given up a lot of space, mostly to accommodate additional [...]

This presentation provides three key perspectives on the workplace of the future: 

Individuals — how can we get the most out of people?
Community — why do people come to the office?
World — can we leave the world a better place?  How can the workpalce contribute?

Addressing four generations in the workplace — no problem when you keep top of mind that SPACE should be tailored to the way it needs to get used; TECHNOLOGY and ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES go hand-in-hand with space in defining the right physical, social and virtual environments that people need.
View the presentation developed by Steve Hargis and Elaine Kabala.

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“BREAK” AREAS SHIFT TO “WORK” AREAS. Employees seek a café experience in their break area, a place to be seen by their peers, collaborate and enjoy the opportunity to catch up on the latest world news on CNN.
VIRTUAL MEETINGS ARE HERE TO STAY. Companies are installing technology amenities such as Cisco’s TelePresense technology that according to Cisco, incorporates high-quality, life-like video in a specially tuned environment. Virtual meeting rooms lessen the need for in-person meetings, reduce the environmental impact from air travel and eliminate travel costs all while helping to improve
work/life balance for employees to travel less. A true win-win scenario.
BRAINSTORM SPACES ARE KEY. Employees benefit from low tech brainstorm spaces for meetings that are focused on developing new ideas, testing concepts and team-based problem solving for complex issues.
THE BIG THREE. For companies that sustain a critical population mass it may make sense to provide full service daycare, a cafeteria and a fitness center on-site.
MEET ME ON THE GREEN. Employees seek outdoor spaces to retreat for team meetings and conference calls. 
SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. Employees also enjoy small luxuries such as an ATM on-site, mail drop off, a sundries convenience shop and dry cleaning service options.

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