It’s official: the world won’t ever be returning to work the way it did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations such as Dropbox have announced that they will become "Virtual First" with remote work the primary, day-to-day default for employees.
Properties in central business districts will still be used but in different ways. Dropbox plans to open "studios" in the all the locations it currently has offices, as well as in new locations, anticipating the company will become more geographically distributed over time, giving employees greater flexibility.
In Australia, asset classes such as short stay accommodation and hotels have already taken a dramatic hit. A report by Ripehouse Advisory suggests that for commercial property, the exact impact is more difficult to identify and may stretch on for years. According to one property analyst interviewed in the report:
“Commercial Property Management income will reduce with rents not being paid. Commercial Sales and Leasing opportunities will be reduced due to lack of businesses seeking new premises… but food, food production, transport and logistics and other essential service businesses may absolutely boom - so still investors and tenants but changed appetites.”
This represents significant and challenging issues for asset managers. All built environments, from offices to retail stores, will need careful consideration and planning. Occupancy levels are unlikely to ever be what they were due to new hygiene requirements, with lower people density permanently mandated in many locations. Deloitte notes that "workplace planning and occupancy trends may have resulted in individual and team workspaces that could be too densely populated for COVID-19 requirements or guidelines".
It suggests that organisations may need to rethink workplace design, and in the short-term, consider measures such as sensors to measure workplace occupancy and analytics to measure the maximum number of people in an area. Workplace apps can be used to manage employee movement throughout offices and track which areas occupants use most often, and reservation systems to relocate meetings to larger team spaces as needed.
Technology and data will play a critical role in this new environment. For example, it can be used for:
Environmental management
Effective ventilation reduces infection disease transmission in buildings. Indoor air sensors can measure air quality, and the data can be combined with occupancy analytics to optimise the ventilation strategy. Automatic Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD) can enable preventative maintenance in HVAC and other facility systems.
Social distancing
Companies may need to track people movement as staff return to the office and employees interact with one another. Mobile apps can track office occupants whom they come into contact with, and lifts can be programmed be one-directional to limit the number of users.
Facility maintenance
Data from room reservation systems as well as movement detection sensors can identify higher traffic areas that may require more regular cleaning. Cleaning staff can also use mobile apps and QR codes to more easily track the timing and frequency of cleaning. Meetings can be scheduled with sufficient time in between them to allow for cleaning, with self-cleaning surfaces another option.
Hybrid work arrangements
As organisations figure out how to manage distributed teams, with a mix of on-premise and remote employees, there is likely to be continued investment in advanced video conferencing solutions. This has implications for office design, including lighting and acoustics.
Cloud-based asset management platforms, powered with advanced analytics, will be fundamental to the required changes. As the amount of data increases, asset managers will need to employ AI and advanced analytics to generate the insights they need to refine strategy and optimise portfolio planning.