5 ways for you to build a better office with MRI Workplace Central

As the vaccine rollout continues and real estate occupiers across the globe are assessing local health and safety requirements, everyone, from employees to landlords are asking the same question.

Where are we on the work-location continuum now?

Company executives now believe offices are more useful than they imagined in the height of the work-from-home model. They now see much more value in having teams located physically together and re-establishing the office culture. As your company determines its upcoming model for where employees work, you also need to keep in mind that there will be significant implications to the decision. For example, when and how will companies bring people back into the office? This is an important decision that will need to prioritise the wellness of your business and your employees.

Not all offices follow the same direction in returning to work and for that reason, your business needs to have a solid action plan in place to address those who wish to work onsite full time and those who are more productive working remotely.

MRI understands that workplaces are about driving productivity and collaboration as your company determines its upcoming model for where employees work. This is why we are introducing MRI Workplace Central, a set of solutions that enable occupiers to create a safe, flexible work environment that empowers employees to make optimal use of your workplace. Workplace Central can be your one-stop shop for bringing employees back into the office and managing your space requirements as the needs of your business change. As such, we have put together a list of necessary steps to help your business succeed.

1. Plan for a successful reopening

As one survey showed, most occupiers are planning to bring their workforce back gradually, with some remaining in their work-from-home schedules full time. By maximising your office space with Workplace Central, you can easily plan your new occupancy floor plans and return-to-office scenarios to ensure a safe and successful reopening.

High-profile companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google say they will be using a hybrid work model, where workers spend time working both from the office and from home. When your employees start to return to the office, they can return to a workplace that is designed specifically for collaboration across teams, whether those teams are in-office or working remotely.

2. Track who’s on-site with presence management

Workplace management isn’t just about your office layout, it’s about establishing clear lines of direction on where your employees are supposed to go, as well as having established procedures for visitors, and booking desks for your employees working on a hybrid schedule. With presence management, you have the ability to gain visibility into who’s on site with solutions that let you fully track the people coming into your building, from visitors to contractors and even full-time employees.

For those who might not spend every day of the week in the office, this means utilising booking technologies that let them reserve a desk for themselves, schedule a meeting room, and allow visitors into set parts of the premises, all from a mobile application.

3. Modify the space to suit your business needs

The pandemic hasn’t just caused a shift in market trends. It’s completely changed the way we think about office space. Your workplace will need to be constantly flexible and open to reinvention based on the needs and desires of your employees. Workplace Central gives you a full view of real time and historical trends to highlight shifts in usage and adjust layouts to meet changing demands for space.

As more employees return to the office and use the space over longer periods of time, you’ll gain a better understanding of how the space is being used. With this knowledge, Workplace Central can enable you to readjust your original plan to better meet evolving space needs, whether that means adding room for collaboration or removing desks.

4. Optimise your office with usage data

While changes will always need to be made to accommodate your employees, you also need a workspace management tool that gives you greater insight into how changes to your office are impacting the business and how your leases might need to be adjusted as requirements continue to change. Workplace Central lets you leverage reliable, strategic insight into your reconfigured workplace to identify areas of improvement and lease re-evaluation, utilising AI-powered lease abstraction.

5. Using technology to keep your employees safe

Appropriate measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of all employees in a hybrid workplace model. A ‘2021 Return to the Office’ survey acknowledged the concerns that people voiced around the need for increased awareness of office hygiene and tools to ensure proximity among employees while tracking all interactions that take place within the office. With WhosOnLocation, your employees, visitors, and contractors are kept safe and secure with touch-less sign-in, social distancing, contact tracing and wellness checks when working on and off-site.

Learn more about how you can utilise Workplace Central to benefit your business and your employees in this webinar.