HOME ABOUT SERVICES ADVISORY & SOFTWARE CLIENTS PEOPLE INSIGHTS CONTACT 4 Real Estate trends at hybrid law firms that Intelligent Office is supporting Is it finally time to bid goodbye to over a year of Teams calls and glitchy Wi-Fi signals? Well, not so fast. Evidence of the benefits surrounding productivity, efficiency, cost, and wellbeing has persuaded a high proportion of leading law firms to commit to a hybrid working future. However, in designing and implementing the work environment of the future, firms need to give serious thought into redefining the purpose of their physical office space, which is under more pressure than ever to compensate the shortcomings of a partially remote environment where employees or clients are interacting less frequently than pre-pandemic. With 74% of our law firm clients adopting a hybrid working model, Intelligent Office (IO) is seeing some clear trends amongst law firms as they re-think the Office in their shift to hybrid working: PERSONALISED OFFICE SPACE The vaccines are reducing the need for social distancing in workplaces, but convincing home workers to make the leap of faith and return to the office is challenging. Additionally, with staff dispersed between home, office and on-the-go, law firms are focused on reorganising their office spaces to increase staff collaboration, create more attractive and personalised workspaces and adjust to a lower and much less predictable average occupancy levels. The office location, size, design, layout and how they make staff feel are some of the issues that will require scrupulous attention over the coming months. Intelligent Office has been spearheading this work for our clients, where they are benefitting from our experience and a broad view of what other firms in the market are doing. IO is heavily involved in leading multiple initiatives such as comprehensive departmental surveys to determine floor space, desk provision and layout needed to deliver a highly effective, collaborative ‘coffee shop’ working environment. REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIOS Real estate portfolios are a key focus of attention as businesses plan their post-Covid return to work. An undisputable long-term concern will be to reduce occupational costs and simultaneously respond to workforce pressure to reduce commuting time, for example. It is inevitable that leases may require substantial renegotiation, so occupiers maintain flexibility while their businesses and people adjust their needs in this time of great flux. As leases come to an end and break notice dates approach, firms are looking for assistance with planning for a reduction in square footage and office costs, pulling on the know-how Intelligent Office has built up over many years around more efficient office and support service delivery and the migration of onsite to offsite service centres and home working. REVIEW OF SERVICES Hybrid working means a review of workplace practices, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies to ensure they are fit for purpose in the hybrid world. Additionally, firms need to update and improve post-pandemic health, safety, and workplace wellbeing protocols to reflect both accelerated return to the office and permanent working from home. Intelligent Office has been able to affect wholesale change by performing and implementing this type of review for our clients, both from Intelligent Office’s Services Centres and clients’ sites. DIGITISATION A greater number of people are adopting a hybrid method of collaboration, with some working from home, and others in the office at different points of a week; law firms are therefore, moving towards digitising their core support services – including mailrooms, desk and room booking apps, and concierge – in order to create more flexibility and ease in meeting the contrasting demands of hybrid working. Intelligent Office is truly championing the delivery of digitised support to suit hybrid and virtual working demands, with our latest 2021 client survey revealing that 54% of our clients have already implemented a software-based desk booking system and many are using remote switchboards and QR codes when welcoming people into the office. We expect the trend to progress and are helping our clients in the thought process, operational delivery, and management of their hybrid real estate support services. With the capability to deliver via 800+ employees based either at our services centres operating on extended hours, directly on premises for law firm clients, or a blend of both, Intelligent Office is helping law firms pivot their operations at speed to adapt and adopt new working practices. Our best practices, advanced processes, and an operational and management infrastructure that has been refined over two decades, mean we are uniquely placed to simplify hybrid transformation for law firms. « Major new survey highlights the operational challenge facing today’s law firm leaders Adopting a successful hybrid working model for law firms » RECENT BLOGS Adopting a successful hybrid working model for law firms 4 Real Estate trends at hybrid law firms that Intelligent Office is supporting Major new survey highlights the operational challenge facing today’s law firm leaders Law firms are re-thinking their Guest Services strategy Top 4 results law firms achieve by working with us GET IN TOUCH To find out more about Intelligent Office’s innovative approach to delivering support service excellence, contact Jo Styles, Director of Business Development and Marketing, or complete the form below and a member of our team will get in touch. 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