When looking to host a meeting in London there are so many choices. What location is best? Does it have good transport links? What facilities are on offer? Are the rooms adequately sized? These are just some of the important factors to consider. So where do you start? 

We have put together our guide to choosing the best meeting rooms in London.
 

News of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine this week has brought a wave of optimism and hopes that in 2021 we will see a return to the office on either a permanent or hybrid basis. Attitudes to working from home may have been positive in the first lockdown, with McKinsey reporting at the start of June that 80% of people were enjoying it, but now we have come into the second lockdown, how are levels of job satisfaction faring for home workers?

The day office offers a back to work opportunity that is safe & private. But how does it compare with a dedicated desk?

A virtual office provides you with a business address without the physical office. What are the benefits of this?

Innovation in the physical workspace is something we are all familiar with. Get the right mix of people in the right environment with the right process and big ideas begin to flow. But how well does innovation work in the digital workplace? With the start of the second lockdown this is a key question for us all.

No doubt your CFO is delighted at the reduction in energy, telecom and office fit-out bills during lockdown. McKinsey cites real estate as ‘the largest cost category outside of compensation’ and estimates that its costs could be significantly reduced in a post-COVID world, with those moving to a fully virtual model nearly eradicating them entirely.

Remember the halcyon days when life was about self-fulfilment? Going to work and being part of a company were opportunities to realise your potential, grow personally and be rewarded for a job well done. Before the pandemic we were living at the peak of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

For those of you who have not thought about Maslow recently, here is a reminder. He posited, back in 1943, that humans have five levels of needs. Those needs lower down in the hierarchy (physiological, safety, love and belonging) must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up (esteem and, ultimately, self-actualisation).

As you put together your plans for post-COVID working it is worth reflecting on what makes a successful workplace. 

According to global architects Gensler a great working environment, that delivers high levels of employee engagement, must satisfy four work modes...

How has your team fared?

While initial reports showed that productivity rose during lockdown, the big question is how sustainable this is in the longer term. Research from McKinsey in June found that while 28% of people working from home reported being as productive as they were, and 41% claimed they were more productive, it could have been the product of social capital built before the pandemic hit rather than due to the special merits of working remotely.

One of the positive outcomes of the pandemic is the proliferation of innovative design solutions for the post-COVID workplace, whether in terms of sanitation, seamless connection between physical and remote locations, or rethinking the role of the office itself. 

In the immediate post-lockdown period the design focus has been on minimising health and safety risk for people at work with strict new hygiene and social distancing rules. ‘Right now, what humans want most is safety, the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’, says Kay Sargent, director of HOK’s global WorkPlace practice: ‘If people don’t feel their basic needs are met, if the bottom of the pyramid is not solid, you cannot achieve the things that are higher up like collaboration, trust, bonding.’