Shrink Your Office

7/28/2019 Shrink Your Office

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SHRINK YOUR OFFICE: HOW CHANGING WORKPLACE CULTURE WILL SAVE YOUR BUSINESS MONEY

SHRINK YOUR OFFICEHOW CHANGING WORKPLACE CULTURE WILL SAVE YOUR BUSINESS MONEY


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Introduction

Are you interested in cutting overhead costs by 30%, increasing profitability, and

keeping the best talent? Innovative, successful businesses are doing just that. To

understand how theyre doing it, and why you need to shrink your office, were

going to take a little journey.

The first part of our trip is down memory lane to see where the idea of the

workplace began. Then, its time to look at the workplace of today and a pretty

amazing case study. Finally, well present solutions for the modern and future

workforce. The journey will reveal how changing workplace culture, downsizing

the office, and other non-traditional strategies are really good for the bottom line.

cubicle culture

There is an unwritten rule about time and place in our cubicle defined workplace

culture. With the exception of sales people, who either deliver their numbers or

dont, most people are judged by a mixture of results + time spent in the office.

And, even with sales people, sometimes its more about how many activities

theyre taking part in vs. actual results or outcomes!

Strangely, we only focus on time in such an intense manner at work. If youre out

running errands on Saturday and getting things done, youre not measuring

yourself by the clock. You might be frustrated that a particular task is taking so

long, but you dont look at the yard work and think, Id better make sure Im

cutting the grass from 9-10, putting enough hours into this for the week.



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Why do we look at work this way? Maybe its a relic of the Industrial Age, when if

you werent at your place on the assembly line, then work wasnt getting done.

To try to make sense of this focus on time and physical presence, its helpful to

look at the way the workplace has evolved over the past 100 years.

EVOLUTION OF THE WORKPLACE

Pre-industrial revolutionagrarian cultures, home as the

workplace, craftsmen, scholars, informal and disparate

work spaces

1900Frederick

Taylors principle of

scientific

management

increased the

Manager/worker

divide, managers

control and enforce

everything.

1960sinvention of

cubicle

1980scube farms,

rise of the middle manager

1990svirtual office, telecommuting

Organizations are slowly letting go of their employees and allowing them to

work in a more mobile fashion. However, in the 21st century, were still

undermining the real productivity we couldbe experiencing because were still

mostly bound to a time + place model of work.1



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HOW WE BUILD

Traditionally, office buildings have been designed with the understanding that

every person will need a place of their own, whether that be an office with real

walls or a cube, with chair and desk.

Just picture a scene from Mad Men. Don Draper is sitting at his desk in the

corner office, his secretary just outside his door to answer his phone. The

younger ad execs working in smaller offices, and then the interns, writers, new

kids are sharing a more open office space somewhere in the middle. This was

the classic era of going to the office. And it made sense for the time.

Work was tied to place, because all of the employees needed to access their

information in shared filing cabinets, set up team meetings in the board room,

and meet with clients in person.

HOW WORK HAPPENS

During our on-site workshops with clients, we talk about the pervasive culture of

how work gets done and a key element thats always mentioned is in an office,

between Monday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We may be checking

email and working from

home on top of that, but

we continue to hold to

this model because in theend, its easier for

organizations to manage

time and physical



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presence than it is to really define the work and how its being measured. For

many executives, this 20th century model and the ingrained habits that go with it

still inform our decisions on building and renting office space, and what happens

when your workforce outgrows that space.

STATUS AND APPEARANCES

Physical space and the size of office buildings, decor, furnishings, and amenities

set up a certain status for businesses and their employees.

You can imagine walking onto, lets say for the most extreme example, Googles

campus and getting the full tour: Fitness center, cafe, concierge services, dry

cleaner, day care, etc. This is what we call the burden of amenities.

There is also a knee-jerk reaction for expansion once a company grows. When

office space starts to fill up, the first reaction of most organizations is to start

planning for more space: "Look how fast we're growing. Were going to need

more office space!"

We think theres a better way to grow and save money by focusing on what

matters.



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The modern workforce

HOW THE MODEL IS SHIFTING

The model is shifting away from the traditional workplaceto a mobile, flexible

workforce. Work is decentralizing once again.

The way work gets done looks very different today, whether businesses adopt a

progressive work culture like Results-Only Work Environment, or programs like

telework and flexible scheduling.

There is a growing demand for people to have control over their work schedule

and personal lives, especially among Gen Y workers. At the same time,

companies are looking for creative ways to reduce overhead costs and grow in

environmentally sustainable ways.

EXPECTATIONS OF GENERATION Y WORKERS

The new generation of workers are entering the workforce with entirely new

expectations, demanding liberty to access personal and work-related sites at any

time, from any place. This new connected workforce is already influencing co-

workers and changing the face of modern businesses. How do college students

feel about the workplace, and what are their expectations when entering the

workforce2?

of students think they have a right to work remotely

with a flexible schedule

Students want access to corporate information and

networks from home computers and mobile devices



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7/10 of students believe being in an office regularly is

unnecessary

In 2010, 60% of workers of ALL ages believed it was

unnecessary to be in an office, and in 2011 that number

grew to 69%.

The next generation of workers will not see any sense in being tied to an officeand a rigid, arbitrary schedule.



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CORPORATIONS ARE REDUCING OVERHEAD

There is a body of research that shows evidence of reducing overhead costs

dramatically by giving employees freedom to work from home, or anywhere

outside of the office. One expert in this field, Charlie Grantham of Work Design

Collaborative, says based on his research companies can reduce operating costs

by 40 per cent per person in this way.3

Lets look at a specific example from Suntell, one of our clients who went through

our Results-Only Work Environment on-site training.

Suntell was founded over 15 years ago by a group of commercial bankers

seeking a better way to underwrite and manage a commercial loan portfolio.

They have made a focused commitment to delivering integrated commercial loan

risk management software solutions to the banking industry. Today their vision

has been realized by over 140 financial institutions using Suntell Solutions in the

US.

Following their on-site ROWE training, the office became a tool that can be used

by employees at their own discretion to meet results. Because of this, they were

able to move to a smaller space which resulted in a rent reduction of 30 per cent.

They also moved to a VOIP system to enable employees to work anytime and

anywhere, resulting in a phone expense reduction of 7%.

Since going ROWE, their headcount has reduced by 20%, and at the same time

they have taken on 16% new customers, causing profitability to go updramatically. You can see the full case study here.

http://info.gorowe.com/case-study-software-company-demonstrates-success-with-rowe/http://info.gorowe.com/case-study-software-company-demonstrates-success-with-rowe/http://info.gorowe.com/case-study-software-company-demonstrates-success-with-rowe/http://info.gorowe.com/case-study-software-company-demonstrates-success-with-rowe/


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FOCUSING SOLELY ON RESULTS HAS ALLOWED

US TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY PROCESSES

AND TASKS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION.WE BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL FOSTER OUR

ABILITY TO BE MORE SCALABLE AS WE

EXPERIENCE GROWTH WITHIN OUR CLIENT

BASE.

--Ronnie Wooten, the President/COO of Suntell

SUMMARY

These are just a few examples of ways to save overhead cost when you

implement a modern work culture:

No need for a one-to-one relationship between

dedicated space (office and cubicles) and everyemployee. Office space and furniture can be scaled

back.

On-site amenities can be dropped. Many workers view

autonomy as the ultimate benefit and would rather have

control over their work schedule and personal life to

decide where they exercise, get their coffee, and who

they socialize with throughout the day.

Reduced utility bills - good for the environment and the

bottom line.



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The Third work place for your mobile workforce

If the traditional office is shrinking, what is replacing it? What does it look like

when traditional office rules and politics are thrown out? The answer is a

management strategy that focuses on results, accommodates the new mobile

workforce by treating them like adults, and boosts productivity and job

satisfaction. Its stepping back and redefining how work gets done.

When the workforce is allowed to choose where and when they work to maximize

productivity and to enjoy the autonomy of scheduling life and work in a logical

way, there becomes a need for a third work place. One may work from home,

from the corporate office, but many find a need for a third place such as a cafe or

more professional facility.

In their book Corporate Agility, authors Grantham, Ware, and Williamson

describe formalizing a third work place:

In fact, choice seems to be the watch word for the future of

work. Workers will spend 30 percent of their time in a variety

of third placessmall facilities business people can use for

everything from meetings to copying. 40 percent of their time

will be spent in corporate facilities, and 30 percent in home

offices. The third place model: locally owned but nationally

networked membership based Business Community Centers

(BCC) that will provide workstations, equipment, meeting

space, and office amenities on an as-needed basis. Think of it

as a health club. As a member, you dont own the facility or the

equipment outright; you divide its cost and share its use with



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the other members. In addition to the membership fee, BCC

members would pay for space and services when they

needed to use them."

Grantham, Ware, Williamson, (Authors of the book

Corporate Agility)

These types of third places are being realized today. An even more exciting third

workplace solution is presented by a start up based in the Twin Cities.

CAFE INC.

Cafe Inc. builds on this idea of BCCs. This

kind of facility is completely aligned with the

needs of todays workforce. The most

exciting thing about it is the focus on

productivity and worker satisfaction. In fact,

the founders of Cafe Inc. have come up with

a new term for it: ProworkingThe

business model is built around this concept

of proworking; that mobile workers can

have a place that helps them be the most productive (what is lacking in a coffee

shop) and also meets the need for social experience and people energy (what is

lacking in a home office and traditional business centers like Regus. Its

interesting the term coworkingwas coined by a guy named Brad Neuberg while

working at Regus4. He was very frustrated with the lack of community/people

energy at Regus).



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This type of membership-based work environment provides value for businesses

in a couple of major ways.

Memberships costs a fraction of an average office lease.Superior amenities, modern communication technology,

utilities, and social energy are included.

Sustainable option for commuters. When these

establishments become as common as the corner

Starbucks, as is predicted they will, imagine the savings

for commuters in time and money.

Employee satisfaction. This is huge for all mobileworkers but especially for the younger generation!

Employee satisfaction also benefits the employer

because of better employee retention AND happier

employees are better workers.

Reduced carbon footprint for both the individual and the

company.



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Conclusion:

Shrinking your office and freeing your workforce is a bold move that has been

proven effective for many successful businesses. Companies who plan to lead,

recruit top talent, and increase profitability must understand how work is

changing in the 21st century.

It requires a close examination of historical work environment rules and norms,

our definition of how work gets done, the implications of technology, and the

new mobile workforce expectations.



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About Results-Only Work Environment

Results-Only Work Environment goes beyondtelework.

Its a management strategy where employees are evaluated on performance, not

presence. In a ROWE, people focus on results and only results increasing the

organizations performance while cultivating the right environment for people to

manage all the demands in their lives...including work.

Created by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, these two social visionaries curb-

jumped traditional flexible work options and created the Results-Only Work

Environment from within the bowels of Corporate America. Today, Cali and Jody

are leading a global movement to forever change the way we work and live. Their

vision: to make ROWE the Status Quo.

Learn more at www.gorowe.com or contact us at [email protected].

About Cafe Inc.

The way we work is swiftly "evolving, as nearly 25 million Americans are now partof the mobile workforce. Many mobile workers work from cofee shops and home

oces, but lack a single workspace that satisfies their fundamental needs. Cafe

Inc. ofers new options to meet the needs of both workers and employers by

creating a more desirable and effective workspace.

For more information, contact General Manager Chet Funk,

[email protected].

mailto:[email protected]?subject=http://www.gorowe.com/mailto:[email protected]?subject=response:%20shrink%20your%20officehttp://www.gorowe.com/mailto:[email protected]?subject=response:%20shrink%20your%20officehttp://www.gorowe.com/about/about-cali-jody/mailto:[email protected]?subject=mailto:[email protected]?subject=mailto:[email protected]?subject=response:%20shrink%20your%20officemailto:[email protected]?subject=response:%20shrink%20your%20officehttp://www.gorowe.com/http://www.gorowe.com/http://www.gorowe.com/about/about-cali-jody/http://www.gorowe.com/about/about-cali-jody/


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Sources:

1. Wired Magazine, 2009

2. Cisco survey, 2011

3. workforce.com, 2008

4. deskmag.com, 2012

cover art: Todd Mecklem

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddmecklem/http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddmecklem/http://www.deskmag.com/en/coworking-did-begin-at-regus-but-not-the-way-they-think-362http://www.deskmag.com/en/coworking-did-begin-at-regus-but-not-the-way-they-think-362http://www.deskmag.com/en/coworking-did-begin-at-regus-but-not-the-way-they-think-362http://www.deskmag.com/en/coworking-did-begin-at-regus-but-not-the-way-they-think-362http://www.workforce.com/article/20080703/NEWS01/307039997http://www.workforce.com/article/20080703/NEWS01/307039997http://mashable.com/2011/11/08/work-from-home-2/http://mashable.com/2011/11/08/work-from-home-2/http://www.wired.com/culture/design/magazine/17-04/pl_designhttp://www.wired.com/culture/design/magazine/17-04/pl_design

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