Key takeaways from SpaceUK

We recently attended the SpaceUK event at the London Stadium. The day was billed as a chance to share big ideas and make new connections and it certainly provided both. Our team not only held its own ‘tribe’ discussion (read the blog here) but also attended the other keynotes, presentations and panels that were held throughout the day.

We’ve put together this blog to highlight some of our key takeaways from the event.

Tech as an enabler

• Tech remains a primary enabler for the agility of the modern workforce, allowing staff to work effectively from anywhere in the post COVID world. From an operator and end user perspective, tech remains high up on the ‘must have’s’ when considering where to work. It needs to be speedy, simple to access, secure and reliable.

Flexspace driven by tech

• Tech advancements have underpinned the entire movement of the flex industry and its increasing utilisation and success for both customers and operators alike

Utilising the data

• From an operator and big corporate perspective data is now the main driver in strategising corporate investment in CRE. Analysis of workforce uptake in the built environment including – how many days/how many people/types of working (fixed desk vs coworking) is helping structure what sort of space is used and for how long. Historically, spaces were invested in regardless of utilisation – now, by utilising the data, a far more cost effective and efficient use of capital investment can be delivered.

Employee experience is vital

• Delivering a quality experience for employees is by far the number one most important thing companies are considering when encouraging the workforce back to the office environment.

Corporates favouring high end flexspace

• Large corporates are now favouring high end flexspace that delivers exceptional hospitality driven experiences when ‘rightsizing’ their portfolios. Decisions are based on (in order):
• Hospitality
• Agility
• Experience
• Geography
• IT

It’s worth noting that although IT comes low down the list of ‘must have’s’ it’s the general opinion that even if a space incorporates all of the other elements listed but has poor connectivity that space will not be considered.

If there’s any of these topics you’d like to discuss with our friendly team, get in touch today.