_How to create best in class workspaces
Creating best in class workspaces will be an essential component towards achieving this goal in the future development of Dubai’s infrastructure. According to the Knight Frank Your Space report, which surveys 100 global corporate real estate leaders, workplace amenities have improved markedly over the last five years.
"As the attraction and retention of talent becomes critical, office occupiers now actively seek, rather than shun, buildings with ground floor retail and vibrancy."
High-end coffee shops together with an eclectic mix of food and beverage facilities have particular appeal and double as informal workspaces for many. Meanwhile, the rise of wellness as an employee concern has seen access to gyms, cycle storage and well-serviced ‘end of trip’ facilities become de rigueur for a truly best-in-class workplace.
However, the appetite and speed of adoption of such amenities has been so widespread that they no longer represent a point of difference for either building owner or occupier. New amenity requirements will surface, further compounded by the continual redefinition of work, workers, and the workplace. Dubai has the opportunity to both follow the global trends and set some of its own, as we are witnessing.
Productivity Push
At Knight Frank, these amenities are intrinsically linked with what Your Space calls the ‘the productivity push’ - one of five themes shaping future occupational demand across global real estate markets. We all know that real estate has a critical role to play in the push for increased corporate productivity. Yet, this is not about increasing the density of occupation with the ultimate aim of savings at all costs. This approach has ultimately proven counter-productive. Instead, the aim is now to increase productivity by strengthening the interaction between people and property via the creation of, and investment in, a positive, serviced and well-supported workplace experience.
The five amenities the global real estate leaders we surveyed identified as being most likely to be demanded by staff within the next five years were: cycle storage and facilities; gym facilities; independent food and beverage; concierge; and healthcare facilities.
Catering for cycling commuters may not seem to be relevant in Dubai now, but if we want to maximise the lifecycle of our buildings, don’t forget that the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) plans for Dubai to be among the most cycling-friendly cities in the world ahead of Expo 2020. As Gulf News reported last July, the RTA plans to extend the existing network of 300km of cycling tracks to 560km by 2022, passing through areas such as Al Warqa’a, Jumeirah Beach, Nad Al Sheba, Expo 2020 site, Downtown, Jebel Ali, Al Quoz, Al Karama, Oud Metha, Hor Al Anz, Al Ghusais and Al Barsha. Dubai’s cycling infrastructure will move from being a fitness and recreation facility into an environmentally friendly transport system. It could certainly help reduce the burden on car parking spaces currently suffered by many occupiers.
Other future amenity provisions worth consideration by developer, landlord and occupier alike include:
- Common spaces to support company- and/or community-wide learning initiatives
- Walk-in health surgeries and clinics
- Childcare/nursery facilities
- Sanctuary spaces such as quiet zones, zen rooms, nap spaces and even corporate spas
- Atria space to increase building vibrancy
- Public art installations and exhibitions
- Tech spaces dedicated to online learning
Next wave technologies
This brings us to one of the other themes identified in Your Space, that of ‘next wave technology’, which will have a profound impact on the afore-mentioned ‘productivity push’.
Two thirds (65%) of the global corporate real estate leaders surveyed by Knight Frank said that ‘merging technology’ would ‘greatly change’ the flexibility of their workforce/workplace. Sixty-one per cent said it would ‘greatly change’ the productivity of the workforce/workplace; 57 % said it would ‘greatly change’ the talent required by the business; and 48% said it would ‘greatly change’ the ‘effectiveness of the workplace’.
Artificial Intelligence, robotics and automation, will create a period of rapid organisational and process reengineering, ultimately changing the future form, function and location of our workplaces. It will reset the quantum and qualities of staff required by a business. It will bring about the closer interaction of humans and machines in support of greater corporate productivity. Critically, it will create new and different forms of occupational demand in global real estate markets, including Dubai.
Flexibility is key
With the above in mind, it’s certain that the workplaces we are used to in Dubai will transform over the coming years. Developers would be wise to ensure that their buildings are designed with the best property management, MEP and HVAC systems possible, allowing flexible floorplates for a variety of space utilisations, exciting amenities and a longer life cycle.
For Dubai’s landlords and developers, this demands a fundamental rethink of your market proposition. After all, a third (33%) of the global corporate real estate leaders surveyed by Knight Frank said their biggest frustration as a ‘customer’ was the ‘inability of landlords to offer flexibility, closely followed by ‘lack of innovation in product offering’ (28%).
Tenants are seeking greater occupational flexibility and lease terms, expecting spaces that are a fluid and flexible business service, not a fixed physical product. Although the provision of a high quality, well-designed physical environment remains important, providing excellent customer service and curating an unrivalled and productive customer experience will become more so. In Dubai, this will be the route to maintaining a base of income generating customers to maximise the lifecycle of the building.