Leadership Series

The workspace industry is being challenged by a new generation of talent with dynamic choices who are all set to join the workforce that’s currently led by a relatively older generation. Amid a diversity of the demographically vibrant team, organizations are looking to offer office spaces that cater to the needs of each generation’s workplace needs. How can organizations make this shift and evolve their workspaces over time to stay relevant, efficient, and competitive to hire and retain the best talents in the market?

The definition of an office is forever evolving with the pandemic changing the idea of a traditional workplace. Organisations and employees alike had to adapt quickly and with vaccinations rollouts and gradual easing of restrictions, they have begun to reconsider the concept as well as purpose of an office space. It has become important to reshape workplaces for the modern workforce and the post pandemic offices of tomorrow will have to be redesigned in such a way that it meets the changing needs and expectations of employers and employees, both.

The years 2020 and 2021 have forever changed the way organisations function around the world and with emerging trends and new learnings, the CRE industry had to quickly re-strategize and adapt accordingly. And while the ever changing normal has drastically impacted the CRE sector in 2020, better days are expected, going forward as the industry reimagines its strategies to overcome the difficulties brought about by the pandemic for a sustained recovery and to gain momentum in the coming years.

Large corporates with massive real estate portfolios were forced to reassess their work models due to the evolving conditions in 2020. There is an ongoing debate on the efficacy of work models that will pave the way for the future of workspaces – Conventional, Remote or Hybrid, as we already begin to see workforce flocking back to offices with the second wave showing signs of waning.

As we navigate our way through the second wave of the pandemic, the CRE landscape continues to shift for all stakeholders in this ecosystem. While Q2 of 2020 witnessed green shoots of recovery for CRE, Corporate occupiers remain uncertain about long-term workspace plans in 2021 and 2022 and are re-evaluating their office space needs. What does this mean for CRE in the near to long-term and how are developers staying resilient in 2021?

Since April last year, companies globally have been able to sustain operations and maintain growth due to adaptable & agile workforce. The workforce has quickly shifted gears as necessitated by the evolving situations and demonstrated flexibility and resiliency throughout the multiple phases of WFH, back to office and hybrid models in the past 1 year. This distributed, fluid workforce has altered the purpose of office from being a place where work gets done to an employee-centric place where teams collaborate to drive transformations.

2021 has brought with it a more definitive understanding of the new ways in which organizations and the workforce will thrive in near to long term future. Distributed workforce model has emerged as the best middle ground between Work from Home and Work from HQ. And while many businesses had created new processes and procedures to adapt to a remote workforce last year, distributed workforce is now a new proposition that companies need to readjust to in order to productively work apart together.

2020 set definitive trends in a lot of ways, with the paradigm shift in work styles leading the conversation. Remote working while oft mentioned was never as widely experienced and accepted. 2021 has ushered in the new normal with a significant percentage of Corporate India heading back to office. The workplace return strategy is built on the pillars of flexibility, convenience, and an uncompromising focus on employee safety & well-being. From distributed workforce to hybrid work models, India Inc plans to move ahead with their best foot forward.

The CRE industry globally is at the cusp of a design & technology driven revolution. In the face of current challenges, a design and technology augmentation seem to be an apt solution to stay relevant, sustainable, agile and in sync with the demands of the new reality. The accelerated change driven by design & tech innovations will ultimately create the workplace of future which will be resilient, flexible, collaborative, intuitive and seamless.

With 7 months into the pandemic, India is grappling with the economic & social impact on the lives of millions of Indians. Driven by the multiple lockdowns and continuous rise in the number of Covid positive cases, the economic fallout for the country has been massive and unprecedented. India must now rise from this disaster. While, most organizations are facing massive challenges in regaining economic momentum, Indian Commercial Real Estate is adopting innovative strategies and new business models to navigate the current storms and leading the way to a sharp economic recovery.

Remote Working’ – 2 words that have led to a paradigm shift in the way we work, collaborate, and connect. An already existing workstyle that gained prominence and quick adoption in the last 6 months due to a pandemic that made working in physical offices in close proximity of each other, unsafe. Remote Working shifted from being an option to an absolute necessity almost overnight. Companies already exposed to remote working were slightly better equipped to deal with the challenges, however, most organizations were unprepared to provide infrastructural or tech support to their teams.

The advent of the shared economy model disrupted the way people commuted, travelled, worked & lived. It enabled a self-sufficient ecosystem pulling in consumers and investors alike. How can an economy built on shared resources survive in the times of Corona? Is the gig economy model still relevant & sustainable or does the new world order signal the return of older, traditional norms? How is this impacting investor sentiment in 2020 and beyond?

2020 has been the year of survival. Businesses are striving hard to continue being relevant, profitable, and sustainable. While the entire business ecosystem and its mechanism is changing due to Covid – 19, organisations are unlearning the traditional ways of doing business and learning the new ways to function in this evolving landscape. Awfis through this webinar intends to bring to the fore the different perspectives on the new work trends and how organisations are realigning design and technology to create future workplaces.