The End of The Real Estate Office as We Know It

With shutdown restrictions gradually being lifted across NSW this month, real estate businesses across the board are facing up to the reality of just what it means to being going ‘back to the office.’

But as commuter car parks and public transport services ramped up for a predicted onslaught of ‘return to workers’ across Sydney earlier this month, their supply was greeted with a surprisingly muted demand.

The transition back into the physical office was never going to be a simple snapback, but what this time in isolation has taught many business owners is that it is possible to blur the lines.

Remote working has proven that the show can go on without four walls to bring businesses together. Your employees can match their in-office productivity levels, stay connected using technology and manage their workloads effectively from home – but is this the best way forward?

The real estate office as we know it will never return to the way it was, especially for larger-scale businesses who are grappling with restricted headcounts and strict new social distancing measures. But these changes cannot equal extinction when it comes to the physical workplace.

The decision to work from home or return to the office should not be taken as an ‘all-or-nothing’ or an ‘either-or’ situation. It should be a chance to open up a conversation with your employees. There are pros and cons to both sides of the coin – but what you need to do now is find a middle-ground that works for both your staff and your business model.

Normalise Flexibility

Start by defining workplace flexibility not as a bonus – but as a necessity. Ask your team to voice their opinions on what worked for them about working remotely and their preferences for when and how they want to return to the office.

Consider implementing a rostered working week where your employees can come into the office for 2-3 days and work from home for the remaining days. Understand that your staff’s personal circumstances may have changed since you were last in the office and accommodate those who need to start later or finish earlier to adhere to staggered drop offs or off-peak travel times.

Keep Your Culture Alive

Don’t lose sight of what makes your business tick. A successful business is not to be measured solely upon its results, but on the happiness and wellbeing of the people within it. The values that underpin every facet of how your business operates, both before and after this pandemic, are shaped by your culture – and that culture lives in the office.

Find new ways to bring your workplace culture into a remote work environment. Don’t let the mutual connection and trust of working in the same space as your team be replaced with mere input comparison to benchmark success. Keep the humanity of your business alive by creating a feeling of ‘togetherness’, even when you are apart and maximise the time you do spend together through increased collaboration and communication on key tasks and big-picture decisions.

Promote Innovation

The free thought-flow of ideas in a physical office is critical to innovation in any business. The co-creation and collaboration that comes naturally within a team environment is much harder to replicate on a disjointed video conference. Use your time in the office to hash out the details of new projects or processes and engage in real-time problem solving with your team to reach an optimal result.

Open the lines of communication when you are working from home and encourage impromptu calls or informal meetings with your team to throw ideas around. Don’t wait for your staff to bring their ideas to you, make a point of checking in and working through their process to flag issues or suggest solutions to keep the wheels turning in the absence of ‘quick questions.’

Accept Change

The return to the new real estate office – however this will look – will be full of both physical and emotional changes. Whether it be implementing social distancing measures in your work space, embracing virtual meetings on an internal and external level, or investing more time and resources into your employee’s wellbeing – every single one of these changes can be a step forward, not just a bid to make up for lost ground.

The post-pandemic return to work will trigger a ‘cultural reset’ when it comes to how we view and value both the remote and physical workplace. The key to every business owner’s success however will be meeting in the middle to create a holistic experience for their employees. Not just in where they work, but how they work together.  

Image Credit: Economist