NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
WORKPLACE WEEK 2020
WORKPLACE LIVE
In the summer, Peter Cheese,
Chief Executive of the
Chartered Institute of Personnel &
Development (CIPD) said that the
pandemic signalled “a moment of
real change in the world of work…
that employees are at the centre
of organisations’ operations”. His
words followed a slurry of large
organisations, like Twitter, Fujitsu
and the Royal Bank of Scotland,
committing to home working
models for the long term or
hinting at significant shi s in
property strategy.
In many cases, however, the
pandemic has merely accelerated
plans that were already in motion.
Advancements in technology and
infrastructure, ongoing globalisation,
and demographic changes to the
workforce have converged in recent
years to create the ideal conditions for
greater flexibility and mobility. And the
most forward-thinking organisations
have identified how they can exploit
these factors to enhance employee
productivity and wellbeing.
Global change management
consultancy Advanced Workplace
Associates (AWA) has organised annual
Workplace Week events in London
since 2010 and in New York since 2018.
These week-long festivals feature
conventions, seminars and tours of
some of the world’s most innovative
workplaces. When COVID-19 put paid
to this year’s scheduled live events,
AWA spotted an opportunity to turn
Workplace Week into one virtual event,
providing delegates with an opportunity
to see how organisations from around
the world have responded to the
pandemic’s challenges and transformed
their workplace models.
IT’S A SILLY BUSINESS
Ratnabali is an investment firm in
Kolkata, India. The organisation
employs around 60 sta who it calls
“members”. Having cultivated a closeknit,
family-orientated environment, the
organisation wants its workplace to feel
10 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021
like home.
The work that members do is mentally
tough, so Ratnabali also recognises that
it has a responsibility to keep everyone
“physically engaged, mentally focused
and emotionally attached”. With this
in mind, its o ice has been designed
to be ergonomic and clutter-free. It
features lots of plants and a mix of
private clusters and collaborative areas
for di erent activities. Members are
also encouraged to share the space
irrespective of seniority.
As early as January, Ratnabali formed
a committee to plan its response
to the pandemic. The organisation
immediately began running training
sessions for members on virtual
meetings in anticipation of what was to
come. Then, in mid-March, prior to
the Indian government’s national
lockdown order, the committee
shut the Kolkata o ice.
During the home working
period, Ratnabali put a great deal
of e ort into keeping everyone
engaged and connected. Members
were encouraged to join two
scheduled Zoom calls each day – one
in the morning and the other in the
evening.
But the organisation could sense the
loss of its workplace. Colleagues were
missing out on the “silly stu ” that
allowed them to socialise, like informal
awards (one team member received a
prize for eating the most biscuits) and
regular o ice games.
So, another committee was formed
in early June to form a return-to-work
plan. Once Ratnabali was able to reopen
its o ice, measures were put in place
to keep the environment sanitised and
ensure that members maintained a safe
physical distance, while a moratorium
was placed on all business travel. The
organisation noticed an immediate
uptick in business productivity.
However, the Ratnabali admits
that the home working period has
brought some lasting change.
The organisation has become
technically-savvy. Zoom meetings
remain the norm. It’s also more
travel averse, more hygienic and
“post-COVID conscious”.
UNDERWRITING THE FUTURE
Lloyds of London, the world’s oldest
insurance market, can lay claim to one
of the most iconic o ice buildings in the
English capital. While its unusual metal
exterior feels undeniably modern, the
interior o ers plenty of hints at Lloyds’
rich 350-year history.
Before the pandemic, Lloyds had
begun the process of bringing the
space into the 21st century through a
programme of design and digitisation.
Despite some 5,000 people entering
the building every day, much of it was
underutilised. Its underwriters also
wanted more space that could support
collaborative and flexible working.
Meanwhile, lots of Lloyds’s neighbours
were building fabulous new creative
spaces and the organisation feared
falling behind in the war for talent.
Lockdown hit while the design and
build team were working on the first
phase of the fi h floor.
However, it provided Lloyds with
an opportunity to test many of the
issues it had already identified as part
of its digitisation project. Lockdown
helped answer questions like ‘Which
activities will employees need to do in
the o ice in a hybrid system?’ It gave
the organisation unprecedented insight
into how a hybrid system would impact
things like onboarding, connecting with
colleagues, and holding client meetings,
upskilling teams to manage and work
remotely, employee wellbeing, and
health & safety. The organisation has
already rolled out a range of digital
collaboration tools and mindfulness
apps such as Headspace.
Lloyds was also able to identify
some significant teething problems
with flexible working. As lockdown
rules eased over the summer and
employees returned to the o ice, for
example, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday became the busiest days.
A situation whereby the building is
overloaded in the middle of the week
and empty either side of the weekend is
unsustainable.
Now, Lloyds says that its workplace
transformation is just the first step on a
never-ending journey. The demands on
employees and workspace will continue
to change and the organisation must be
ready to adapt.
AFTER COVID
For Ratnabali, the pandemic has
reasserted the power of its workplace,
reminding the organisation why it
has invested so much time, money
and energy into creating a space
where colleagues can come
together, form a community and
call home. For Lloyds of London,
on the other hand, COVID-19 has
provided an acid test for its digitally
focused workplace transformation,
giving the firm confidence that it is on
the right journey.
Ultimately, the digital case studies
on show at Workplace Week 2020
demonstrated that the challenge in
a post-pandemic world is to create
workplace models that are inextricably
linked to organisations’ values and
employees’ needs.
FMJ reports on Workplace Week International 2020 (9-13 November), a virtual festival
that explored how world leading organisations are transforming the way they work