Tall Architects specialise in workplace design. With Melbourne and Sydney now emerging from lockdown, we are getting asked a lot of questions about what companies can do now to plan for a successful return to the office.

Here’s what we recommend:

1.) Do a building walkthrough to minimise risks

It’s been months since we were in the office, and now is a really good time to look at it with fresh eyes. Do a walkthrough of the office and think about:

Where do you put your QR codes, sanitisation stations and other COVID prevention measures?
What surfaces are staff most likely to come into contact with? Can this be migrated? For instance, sensors can open doors meaning staff don’t have to physically touch them to gain entry.
How much fresh air is getting into the office? Can this be increased by opening windows? Has the air conditioning been tested lately?
What areas are staff likely to gather in? Safety screens, quality ventilation and fresh air can all help to prevent the spread of COVID, as can opening up these spaces so they are less congested.
Does your team have the right technology for the return to work? Laptops make the transition between a home and office working environment easier, and collaborative software can minimise disruption when teams are working from different locations.

2.) Check-in with your team

Only 8% of office workers want to remain working from home full time. It is worth checking in to see:

What their expectations are and how they are feeling about the return to the office.
Are they planning on returning to the office?
If there is anything preventing them from returning to the office
How many days do they plan to work from the office?
If they require equipment or support to continue working from home when required.
Are they vaccinated?
If they have other concerns about the return to work?

This will help you to gather the information you need to plan your space requirements for the future. Some common things your team may be worrying about are:

Is vaccination required to return to the office and how will this be enforced?

By law only double vaccinated team members can return to the office. This will likely lead to you needing to think about two angles:

Double vaccinated people who want to return to the office who are concerned about working alongside colleagues who aren’t.
Unvaccinated people who can’t return to the office will want to know if they can continue working remotely.

What COVID prevention measures are in place?

Cleaners are incredibly important in a post-pandemic world. Proactive measures like safety screens, sensor doors, sanitisation stations and CO2 monitors can also help mitigate the risk of spreading COVID, as can making shared spaces larger and open to fresh air (where possible).

Dress codes

27% of workers have gotten used to not getting fully dressed in for a morning. Has your company rethought it’s dress code after the pandemic?

If working remotely will harm their future career prospects

Many of your team members will want to continue to work remotely, but will be worried about the effect of doing so on their future career prospects. If you are considering a hybrid work approach, have a think about how performance and productivity will be monitored and managed with remote team members in the mix.

Project management and collaboration software will help to improve visibility on what your teams are working on.

3.) Make a plan for the return to work

This plan should contain certain elements including:

What is the purpose of your workplace now?
What roles (if any) are required to be performed from the office?
What roles (if any) can be combined entirely from offsite locations
Are your space demands different post COVID
Will guests and visitors be allowed in the workplace
Are there any areas of the workplace that will see minimal usage (e.g. Hotdesks) now
How much of your office space is likely to be needed in the future
When do you want to return to the office

You’ll need to speak with your HR department, management team, facility managers and other involved parties to get the best outcome here. This is not an easy task, but it is incredibly important. Each businesses plan will be different but some interesting trends to consider that affect all businesses are:

Hybrid Working

A hybrid working model allows for working remotely and from home. Most employees expect to return to a hybrid workplace which has been shown to improve productivity, trust and collaboration

If you choose not to allow for hybrid working it is likely that you’ll experience backlash from your team. 59% of workers say that they value the ability to work from wherever they choose over salary and other benefits. With 80% of large organsiations planning for a hybrid working model it will be a key workplace benefit in the fight for talent.

The changing role of the office

With a hybrid working model there are fewer people in the office at one time. Focused work tends to be done remotely, and your team will be coming into the office for collaboration and socialisation.

Does your current office layout promote this? With proper planning it is possible to convert some of your previously used cubicles and hot desks into collaborative space while still keeping enough for staff to work from.

Decentralisation

Many urban workers have moved to suburban or rural areas due to the pandemic and lockdowns.

4.) Communicate your plan

Once you have a plan in place, the final step is to communicate it with your team. Workers’ top concerns about the return to work are often due to poor communication of expectations by leadership.

You’ll need to clarify not only your organisations stance on hybrid work but also how it will affect their work-life balance and career trajectory.