Harnessing the best talent is a key element of any organization’s success— and an increasingly competitive sport as firms from all sectors, even law and finance, struggle to recruit against technology companies for the very best workers. Those workers have very high expectations of the workplace, namely abundant freedom and choice in where and how they work and an accommodation of their lifestyle. The workplace experience is what matters most to top talent.
Over 3 months last winter, IA managing directors in all 20 offices gathered clients and other industry leaders to discuss this shift in the recruiting and retention dynamic, and what role design can play in helping a company maximize its most valuable and costly assets: its people and its place of business. Human resources and real-estate/facilities executives from sectors including technology, retail, and financial services participated in the conversation. The same list of questions was posed at each event in an effort to glean insights into the role the physical workplace plays in this talent recruitment and development.
Although the answers varied somewhat depending on the participant’s industry and the generational and demographic mix of its workforce, a consensus was reached that there is plenty of opportunity to be more strategic about workplace design. IA is well poised to help clients figure out where to invest, what areas have the highest impact in attracting and retaining employees, and how best to implement amenity spaces for greatest effectiveness.