2022 is shaping up to be a year of redefining what work looks like. Businesses are looking to strike a balance between giving employees the flexibility to work remotely with the collaborative and team-building benefits of working in the office. In addition, as organisations reduce their corporate real estate footprint in response to a hybrid and remote workforce, the need for events for whole team connection becomes more important than ever.
There’s a lot to consider, whether that’s your plans for office space and leasing, event schedules, video conferencing platforms and more.
Here are some of our thoughts on what returning to work in 2022 will look like.
The office changes from a daily hub to a special destination
Over the past two years, a significant number of businesses have shifted from everyone working in the office to a majority of team members working remotely. And while there are signs of ongoing demand for CBD office space at the big end of town, many small to medium businesses are reducing their office footprint. According to a 2021 survey by CBRE and CoreNet Global, 52% of respondents expect their property portfolio size to decrease over the next three to five years.
With a hotdesking model increasingly common – and frequently not enough desks for everyone to be onsite at once – that also begs the question of how to manage full team meetings like kickoffs and town halls. This is where the shift to hybrid meetings comes into its own, potentially integrating onsite participants with remote workers seamlessly.
In addition, it’s essential to consider what are the drawcards that will bring your team back to the office. For a lot of your team, the benefits of working remotely, like reduced commute times and greater flexibility in managing their day, will be hard to give up. Making the office an attractive destination that adds value and connection to their working life will be critical. For example, at Cliftons, our venues can provide full catering for your work meetings and events, providing an additional incentive to attend in-person rather than logging in from the laptop.
For many organisations, the option for short-term professional spaces is also more of a consideration. Some businesses are vacating their permanent leases. Instead, they are booking venues for regular meeting room hire for team meetings or opting for managed office spaces that can flex depending on fluctuating needs.
Other organisations are considering converting office space dedicated to workstations into meeting and event rooms or evaluating the best fit-out for their new, smaller leases. According to Cliftons Senior Project Architect John Jell, it can typically cost $300-500,000 to convert 80 to 100sqm of office space into a meeting room for 20-30 people. For high-end fittings, it can be even more. Leaving your office space as is and using a venue like Cliftons for meeting rooms instead can be a more cost-effective model.
Virtual events can’t be ignored
Increasingly, businesses are finding that virtual and hybrid events aren’t just a tool to use when face-to-face isn’t possible. They are a productive and viable event format in their own right.
The virtual event trend isn’t going away. According to Splash’s 2022 Event Outlook, 92% of organisations will continue hosting virtual events even when in-person events are safe, and 55% say virtual events are more effective than anticipated.
Using the right event technology can make a huge difference to the success and impact of virtual and hybrid events. So, it’s unsurprising that the Splash report also found that 59% of respondents plan to increase their investment in event technology.
Reliable internet is critical for effective virtual and hybrid events. Using an option like Cliftons Studio to broadcast your virtual meetings, taking advantage of our high-quality audio-visual equipment and high-speed internet for seamless streaming can help to provide a more consistent event experience for attendees. You can consider options like a fully remote audience with an in-studio speaker, a hybrid model with in-venue and remote audience, or a multi-city hybrid to connect your people across various locations.
Hybrid events aren’t just for things like training, either. They can be a powerful option for awards ceremonies like our client FMA has successfully delivered. For two years in a row, they’ve used our multi-city hybrid option to hold their awards event, connecting participants in locations across the country.
Another client successfully hosted virtual conferences with thousands of delegates across 11 time zones. Over the year, they ran virtual round tables, media briefings, break-out sessions and a symposium. All supported by Cliftons event management system for seamless registrations and access to all relevant meeting documents.
Events cater for a wide range of needs
Of course, events aren’t just about communicating information. The opportunity for networking and personal connection adds real value, as research by BESydney has shown. Some of the ways BESydney found that events add value include:
- Exposing attendees to new ideas and knowledge
- Forging connections for long-term networking relationships (and regularly meeting with international colleagues at conferences around the world)
- Generating income streams, particularly for industry associations
- Recruiting new members and boosting loyalty with exhibitors and sponsors Showcasing local abilities to a global audience
Creating economic opportunities for local businesses, as well as community engagement. As organisations make decisions about what 2022 might look like, both in terms of event plans and returning to the workplace, these less tangible factors often will make the most significant difference.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach
If there’s one thing we’ve all learned during the past two years, no situation is going to be the perfect solution for everyone. COVID-19 and lockdowns created real winners and losers. Some industries experienced vastly different impacts, while others did not find the ideal response to address the effects.
What we do know is that flexibility in approaches and the willingness to experiment with new things is critical. An open mind about the potential and benefits of hybrid working and events can reveal new possibilities. We believe a strong foundation for success starts with a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and an adaptable mindset about reaching that goal. In turn, this will allow organisations the best chance of success as we all respond to new ways of working, reclaiming what we loved about how things used to be and taking on everything we’ve learnt through lockdowns and restrictions.
We think there’s incredible potential – and many less obvious benefits – from returning to face-to-face events and the workplace. But we also recognise the needs and desires of many people to keep the options for virtual and remote work available. Hybrid workplace models and hybrid events give the flexibility to tick as many boxes as possible.
