A perspective on alternative officing concepts.

Alternative officing (AO) is a corporate buzz word that at first blush conjures up an image of sales staff sharing offices to save the real estate cost of underutilized space. The reality to companies that have fully implemented the concept is that it enhances 1990's corporate re-engineering by streamlining management, increasing client exposure and reducing the overall structural costs of doing business.

In short, AO is an integral part of the way we work in an era of rapidly changing global markets. Lowering the real estate occupancy cost is simply one potential benefit.

The three primary components in the corporate environment that impact AO decision-making are organizational dynamics, technological infrastructure and the workplace paradigm. Each of these elements is critical in the implementation of AO.

From an organizational dynamics perspective, support must come from all levels for the AO concept to succeed. Senior management, which has typically prospered by navigating a hierarchical structure, must be willing to lead by example in forming teams and dismantling the "management row" concept. To succeed, AO development requires full employee participation, as well as full administrative and technological support.

The potential benefits from organizational change include better employee morale, increased productivity and idea generation from more effective team building, and reduced office furniture costs through the standardization of components.

Technology is a key link between employees and widely dispersed corporate resources. Hoteling, team space, telecommuting and virtual offices would not function without the advances in computer and network technology that enables employees to share ideas interactively from any location.

Management must understand and be willing to financially support the rapidly changing technology that makes alternative officing a success. While the equipment and training may be expensive and the shelf life of the technology relatively short, the bottom-line payoff in worker creativity and increased productivity can far out-weigh the initial investment.

The most publicized aspect of alternative officing is the change in the concept of the physical workplace. While some organizations are implementing AO by totally redesigning space to accommodate open workstations or workstations on wheels that can be moved to shared spaces, many corporations are implementing hoteling, team space and universal plan concepts within existing spaces.

The primary component, namely computer networks, are upgraded first, followed by space reconfiguration as capital budgets and specific needs arise. However, savings can be realized immediately with an AO plan that includes hoteling of employees, allowing selected employees to work at home and re-orienting field employees to spend more time with clients, while maintaining company contacts through telecommuting.

A high level of integration among the three primary components that impact AO greatly enhances the benefits. For example, while implementation of a hoteling strategy has yielded immediate savings in real estate costs for corporations, the sudden cultural shift of eliminating the bricks and mortar office must be reinforced by increased support. To avoid feelings of detachment and isolation, the employee must be reassured through both technological and organizational links that their role in the company has been enhanced and not diminished.

Second, universal plan changes combined with an organizational change such as a casual dress code can break down barriers with senior management and improve communications.

Finally, a workplace concept such as a shared office may need an organizational change such as flexible scheduling, and technological links that allow employees to telecommute.

Where Does This Revolution Stand Today?

A recent survey of 33 companies prepared jointly by the International Society of Facilities Executives (ISFE) and Knoll, the furniture manufacturer, revealed that the revolution is well underway. For example the team space concept was implemented by 85 percent of the companies (impacting 20 percent of employees) and was expected to increase to 97 percent utilization by the year 2001 (impacting 29 percent of employees).

The universal plan and shared work space concepts both had participation rates over 70 percent. Telecommuting, work-at-home and hoteling participation rates are expected to increase by over 30 percent over the next five years. By 2001, nearly 90 percent of the companies surveyed are expected to have telecommuting programs that will impact approximately 12 percent of their employees.

The participation roster reads like the Fortune 500 list of companies: IBM, Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Corning and DuPont, to name a few. The reason for the high participation rate is the potential savings, combined with an increase in productivity that can result from the full palette of AO concepts.

The ISFE/Knoll survey identified several corporate trends that will reduce costs. First, concepts such as the universal plan and hoteling can cut the cost of internal employee moves through more flexible space utilization and furniture standards. The survey indicated that these same concepts can also help to reduce overall space per employee by an estimated 4 to 12 percent over the next five years, with the greatest space savings per employee among the ranks of management and professional staff.

How Can an Alternative Officing Strategy Be Implemented?

A critical assessment of the organization's goals, combined with an operational audit, must be undertaken. This assessment is followed by a strategic real estate plan which translates business plan objectives into a methodology for achieving savings from the corporate real estate portfolio. Nowhere in the business plan does it say that this process is easy, but the competition is already doing it.