Companies Need a Workplace Strategy Plan

LOS ANGELES—Companies from a spectrum of industries are starting to take workplace strategy seriously as a tool to increase productivity and create a company culture that will attract and retain talent. CBRE's Kevin Bender recently worked with Northwestern Mutual to optimize the company's current two-and-a-half floors to one full floor at 515 South Flower St. in Downtown Los Angeles. Bender, who represented the firm in signing a 10-year lease, conducted a six-month survey to gather information on building a more holistic workplace. To find out more about the importance of workplace strategy, we sat down with Bender for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: How can workplace strategy be beneficial for more traditional or non-creative tenants? 

Kevin Bender: All companies, regardless of industry are evaluating how their employees want to work. This does not only effect the design of space, but also the furniture selection and the type of policies that companies are allowing today. Workplace not only helps drive productivity, it can help change the culture of a company or office.

GlobeSt.com: Have you seen traditional tenants begin to think about workplace strategy differently?

Bender: Yes, many companies have been considering smaller offices or going paperless. Today, we are seeing all types of industries embrace  more open spaces for collaboration such as cafés for employees to congregate and experience opportunities to intermix, and more natural light to allow sunlight in.

GlobeSt.com: What are the design trends or configurations popular for these types of tenants?

Bender: Most companies still require offices or head down type spaces; however, companies want to mix the traditional office concept with different types of seating arrangements to support different meetings, which drives discussions and ideas.

GlobeSt.com: You recently worked with Northwest Mutual to create a workplace strategy for their employees. Tell me about that strategy.

Bender: With Northwestern, they realized that their financial advisors are working differently and the teams that support them need to work differently. They have some of the most traditional office designs in the market, and they have decided to change the way they support their advisors and their teams. Their new design will provide a variety of workspace options for the teams that support each advisor so that they can have private space, or room to work in teams of 2-6 people. Additionally, when a client visits their space to meet with an advisor, they traditionally held meetings in their private offices. Now, Northwestern is designing a customer care center, which provides options for different sized meeting rooms for advisors and their teams to collaborate with clients in an environment that has amenities and technology to support any type of meeting.

GlobeSt.com: Are you working on similar projects with any other clients?

Bender: Right now, we are working with three different clients from dramatically different industries to build a workplace strategy prior to engaging the market about space. With a lease expiring, every company has a chance to reevaluate how they utilize space. It's exciting to see companies begin to realize the changes that can occur and how that motivates their employees.

LOS ANGELES—Companies from a spectrum of industries are starting to take workplace strategy seriously as a tool to increase productivity and create a company culture that will attract and retain talent. CBRE's Kevin Bender recently worked with Northwestern Mutual to optimize the company's current two-and-a-half floors to one full floor at 515 South Flower St. in Downtown Los Angeles. Bender, who represented the firm in signing a 10-year lease, conducted a six-month survey to gather information on building a more holistic workplace. To find out more about the importance of workplace strategy, we sat down with Bender for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: How can workplace strategy be beneficial for more traditional or non-creative tenants? 

Kevin Bender: All companies, regardless of industry are evaluating how their employees want to work. This does not only effect the design of space, but also the furniture selection and the type of policies that companies are allowing today. Workplace not only helps drive productivity, it can help change the culture of a company or office.

GlobeSt.com: Have you seen traditional tenants begin to think about workplace strategy differently?

Bender: Yes, many companies have been considering smaller offices or going paperless. Today, we are seeing all types of industries embrace  more open spaces for collaboration such as cafés for employees to congregate and experience opportunities to intermix, and more natural light to allow sunlight in.

GlobeSt.com: What are the design trends or configurations popular for these types of tenants?

Bender: Most companies still require offices or head down type spaces; however, companies want to mix the traditional office concept with different types of seating arrangements to support different meetings, which drives discussions and ideas.

GlobeSt.com: You recently worked with Northwest Mutual to create a workplace strategy for their employees. Tell me about that strategy.

Bender: With Northwestern, they realized that their financial advisors are working differently and the teams that support them need to work differently. They have some of the most traditional office designs in the market, and they have decided to change the way they support their advisors and their teams. Their new design will provide a variety of workspace options for the teams that support each advisor so that they can have private space, or room to work in teams of 2-6 people. Additionally, when a client visits their space to meet with an advisor, they traditionally held meetings in their private offices. Now, Northwestern is designing a customer care center, which provides options for different sized meeting rooms for advisors and their teams to collaborate with clients in an environment that has amenities and technology to support any type of meeting.

GlobeSt.com: Are you working on similar projects with any other clients?

Bender: Right now, we are working with three different clients from dramatically different industries to build a workplace strategy prior to engaging the market about space. With a lease expiring, every company has a chance to reevaluate how they utilize space. It's exciting to see companies begin to realize the changes that can occur and how that motivates their employees.