In this episode of How’s Biz, we invited three professionals from different industry sectors to discuss the state of the office market, and more specifically, how the ongoing remote and hybrid workforces and practices have operated since the pandemic. The panel discussion offered tips on successfully managing in this new era, as well as Return-to-Office mandates and how all this impacts the office market across the U.S. The panelists were: Jim Scalo, CEO of NAI Burns Scalo, based in Pittsburgh. Just before the pandemic, in 2019, he published a book, Work Them to Life: Upgrade Your Office Space to Win the Talent War. Toni Navy is a Future of Work Keynote Speaker and Global Workforce Consultant. She helps companies overcome the challenges of leading a global, multi-generational and hybrid workforce. Mike Robbins is a Keynote Speaker and expert on teamwork, leadership and emotional intelligence. He’s an author and former professional baseball player. The panelists discussed the ever-so-present topic of when, if and how workers will come back to the office 5 days a week, and whether or not the way workforces are operating these days is here to stay, or a temporary moment in time and just an extended consequence of the pandemic. From a real estate management perspective, Scalo favors more of an all-hands approach to workforce management yet does so with carrots rather than sticks. One of his current mantras include the 3 Ms. According to Scalo, what matters most to employees is Money, Movement, and Meaning. He also used the acronym NOW: New Office Wins, to describe the current success of building owners and managers with new and newer office assets, as they have the most modern amenities and are most often in the best locations and hence, the most occupied. For example, while many cities are experiencing 20%+ vacancy rates, the top tier Class A buildings have single-digit vacancy rates. All three panelists stressed the importance of building and maintaining corporate cultures among employees. They also talked about doing so in the current environment. Robbins, who has spoken at SIOR conferences and coached leaders at many companies, including real estate firms, addressed the top things corporate leaders should be focusing their people management on. He also spoke about the theme from one of his books—Bring Your Whole Self to Work. The book covers the responsibility of employees to be their most authentic selves to enhance their performances and the workplace as a whole. Navy, who like Robbins, has worked with many Fortune 500 companies in HR, operations and leadership training roles, touched on some of the issues impacting recruiting, and the war for talent. One of the most pressing issues for management today is to prepare their staffs for the influx of Gen Z workers and an increasingly multi-cultural workforce. As The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers and even Millennials start to retire, the workplace of the future is going to look much different than the past.
