Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management

Believe It: Co-Working Space Startup WeWork Is Now Worth $5B | WIRED

WeWork, the New York City-based startup that rents out office space to entrepreneurs across the country, has just raised a $355 million round of funding, a deal that values the company at a whopping $5 billion

Source: www.wired.com

Co-working spaces are becoming more and more popular worldwide and it is not difficult to see why.  With the global workforce becoming increasingly mobile and flexible there are fewer limits on where and when work can be conducted.  Co-working spaces can serve as a home-base for employees that travel often, and can free workers in a home-office environment from distraction and isolation.

This particular article concludes with some questions about the future of co-working, pointing to the current favorable market conditions for entrepreneurs.  It may be worth noting that in the event of a downturn in the economy, co-working spaces still stand a chance to thrive.  In this scenario, an organization conducting a re-evaluation of their corporate real estate needs may recognize the cost effectiveness of allowing their employees to work remotely, specifically at a “third place,” like a co-working venue.  By our estimate, companies can save upwards of one million dollars a year simply by eliminating the space needed to house 100 dedicated workstations for employees.

It is important for an organization to establish policies based on best practices for employees utilizing co-working spaces.  For instance, a public setting may not be an ideal place to conduct business that involves sensitive information that could be seen or overheard by someone outside the company.  Training your workforce on how to best navigate the waters of maintaining privacy and staying in line with information security standards are a big part of ensuring success in a more public work environment, such as a co-working location.  If your organization would like to learn more about how to combat the risks involved with an increasingly mobile workforce, contact Stegmeier Consulting Group.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

Students design workstations that accommodate groups and individuals

New school and office workspace designs created by a group of Penn State engineering students are intended to allow users to share space and materials while maintaining their own work areas—a dual purpose the researchers say has been neglected.

Source: phys.org

Stegmeier Consulting Group applauds Penn State University and their engineering students for their hard work and years of study on continuous improvement of shared workspace environments. 

In 2002, the General Services Administration (GSA) began the Workplace 2020 initiative which was a project that sought to research what workplaces of the future may look like.  It was back then when the administration noticed the workplace becoming “increasingly more team-based and collaborative.”  Two of the “Hallmarks of the Productive Workplace” they identified were spacial equity and comfort: two areas this Penn State research program has worked hard to master since 2010!


Continuing to push the frontier on how organizations can work more efficiently and collaborate better is a passion we share as well.  We have worked with several clients across many industries who have successfully transitioned their employees away from confining and isolated work areas to open, more team-oriented settings.


Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change


Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Strategy

Office Design: The Right Environment for the Right Space

Poorly designed office spaces have been proven to not only have a negative impact on an employees’ mood, but productivity and wellbeing. Extensive international research from Ipsos and the Workspace Futures Team of Steelcase shows 85% of people are dissatisfied with their work environment and can’t concentrate; of those, 95% said working privately was important to them.

However some businesses have incorporated fun in their office design without compromising productivity.

Source: interfacedesignwithpurpose.com.au

Proof that a workplace does not need to be a dry, bland environment, this article highlights some very interesting workspaces designed to make employees feel comfortable and stimulated!  When companies create work environments that their people enjoy, productivity increases, morale improves, and internal relationships strengthen.  We’re not suggesting every office needs a ping-pong table, but we do feel it is important organizations reinforce their culture through the design of their physical space!

If your company is considering a drastic, or even a minor, change to the work environment, let the experienced consultants at Stegmeier Consulting Group help make your transition smooth by preparing your workforce for new ways of working.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Strategy

Millennials are more like Boomers than you think, in workplace preference

Millennial-oriented workspaces – those wide-open, funky zones designed to foster “collaboration” – have become such a part of the tech office landscape that the hip HBO series “Silicon Valley” has made a running gag out of them.

But a new CBRE study of more than 5,500 office workers shows that Millennial employees don’t actually work that much differently than their more seasoned colleagues. Indeed, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials all gravitate toward similar working environments.

Source: www.bizjournals.com

Implementing a workplace change strategy does not have to mean a complete elimination of privacy in the office.  Instead, a well-designed organizational layout should provide employees and managers alike easy access to a variety of work settings including areas for individual work to take place as well asspaces for collaboration.  Even workplaces that have shifted to a more open space environment where everyone is easily visible and accessible can implement policies such as visual cues to indicate when someone is not currently available.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management, Workplace Strategy

Why companies are doing away with assigned desks

It sounds like a gag straight out of a Dilbert cartoon. But for a growing number of companies, taking away assigned desks and turning employees into office nomads has its advantages.

At Citi, executives saw office work space going unused because employees were home sick, out on vacation or on flexible schedules. So the company filled an entire floor of a building in Long Island City with conference rooms, meeting areas and desks — but no assigned desks. In fact, there are only 150 spaces for 200 people, according to Harvard Business Review. Employees put their personal belongings in lockers and simply find a space where they want to work.

Source: www.cbsnews.com

The trend of companies seeking a more mobile and “agile” workforce continues to grow as this article documents.  Presently, most work environments are set up to maximize productivity.  What a redesigned and more team-focused environment does however is inspire collaboration and innovation.  The goal?  Maximize productivity AND innovation simultaneously.  At Stegmeier Consulting Group, we work with organizations in various fields and of all sizes to help with transitions to new office layouts and new ways of thinking about workplace efficiency.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management, Workplace Strategy

5 Ways to Increase Your Workplace Innovation

How can you spur innovation? Recently, I attended an internal workshop on strategy and growth, and my workgroup was asked to tackle this very question. We quickly came to the conclusion that innovation and learning are closely aligned; that is, creating the condition for innovation requires creating a “learning culture,” or a culture in which new ideas and fresh thinking are welcome.

Source: www.kineo.com

At Stegmeier Consulting Group, we believe that innovation can come from anywhere at anytime within an organization.  Innovation should not just be a responsibility left up to the marketing department or the research and development teams.  This article brings to light 5 great suggestions on how to foster a more innovative culture.  Here at SCG, we’d like to propose a 6th suggestion: Consider a workplace redesign that allows for more collaboration and efficiency.  The changes can range from simply providing employees more space to hold small meetings, to considering a telework program that will allow employees more flexibility and more of the most precious resource of all: time. 

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Flexibility

Flexible Working: Why Do We Treat It As a Women-Only Issue?

It’s been two months since all UK employees gained the right to request flexible working. We talk to Tracey Eker, the founder of Flexiworkforce.com, the only job board in the UK that caters to candidates wishing to find full- and part-time flexible work, about what we need to do to turn Britain into a world which values productivity over presence.

What do we mean when we talk about flexible working?

Many people still equate the term “flexible working” with part-time work, but this idea is reductive, and in many cases, simply incorrect. People often confuse the two because traditionally, most jobs advertised have exclusively been for full-time or part-time positions. However, there is now a far greater variety of ways to work flexibly.

Source: www.theguardian.com

SCG Tip of the Day: Op-ed pieces and interviews like this one can be a great source for new ideas, but they often do not have statistical sources listed. Never base your case for workplace flexibility on statistics from unknown sources! Be sure to fact-check before presenting to colleagues. Chances are, they will want to know the source as well. 

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change


Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management, Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Strategy

Winston-Salem’s Flywheel coworking space opens – Greensboro – Triad Business Journal

An event space housed in a basketball court, complimentary snacks and beverages, billiards and darts may seem more at home in a fraternity house than an office. But those amenities fit right in at coworking space Flywheel, which opened this week at the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter.

Flywheel is located in 11,585 square feet of the research park’s 525@vine building. Its flexible, collaborative working space offers a “casual and contemporary” environment for entrepreneurs, independent professionals and innovators to work “on the fly.”

Source: www.bizjournals.com

There is a common misconception that the demand for coworking space only lies in the largest cities (think NYC, LA, Chicago). We’re seeing that this is not the case.

Winston-Salem is a great example of a smaller city embracing new ways of working. The city population is a little over 236,000 and it already has two coworking office locations, including the one in this article. These working offices are both around 10,000 square feet and open 7 days a week.

Would you consider working in a coworking office? Why or why not? 

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Telework

7 Tips for Improving Your Remote Meetings

The way teams work and collaborate is changing. Consulting, remote workforces and outsourcing are all on the rise. Even if you operate a team that is technically based in the same physical office, it’s becoming more and more common that your clients prefer to communicate in a virtual manner instead of in person due to time constraints.

One of the biggest issues that has surfaced around remote work is how to handle meetings. How do you communicate effectively when the meeting is with teams that are several hundreds or thousands of miles away instead of face-to-face in a conference room? How do you ensure that your employees are a part of the meeting, instead of just following directions?

Source: www.businessinsider.com

The transition to meeting remotely can be difficult for some employees. These are some basic tips that can help make the most of remote meetings. Remote working solutions are not one-size-fits-all. It’s important to test different approaches and see what is the best fit for your team. 

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Flexibility

Flexwork for the Wrong Reasons Can Be Damaging

Many employers say they offer telecommuting and flexible work hours to employees, but in fact are cutting back on time for child leave or to care for an ill parent.

Source: www.nytimes.com

What does your flex work  strategy say about your company’s relationship with its employees? Some companies offer flex work as an option to ensure the productivity and well-being of their workforce, while others use it to cut corners and reduce employee benefits like child leave. It’s important to remember that flex work is just one part of the attraction and retention package. 

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change