Flex Index 7/25/23: How Real Estate Firms Can Take Advantage of This 'Kodak Moment'
Key actions winners will take to thrive in the disruption
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Corporate Real Estate’s ‘Kodak Moment’: How To Win In Times of Disruption | Kay Sargent
In this episode, Rob is joined by Kay Sargent, Director of HOK’s Global WorkPlace practice, the largest US-based architecture-engineering firm. They discuss:
‘Kodak Moment’: Lessons from Kodak’s failure to embrace the shift to digital photography, and where there are similarities to the current office environment.
Winning In Times of Disruption: Three attributes every corporate real estate company will need to embrace to survive and thrive in the disruption.
Lessons from Abroad: What US real estate companies can learn from how office leasing works in other markets (and why those practices might come to US).
Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
ICYMI: Flex Report | Job Growth
At the beginning of 2023, the vast majority of banks, economists, investors, and executives believed that we were on the path toward recession. The Fed had raised interest rates at the fastest pace in generations. Inflation was up 6.5% over the prior 12 months. The stock market was down, and layoffs were abundant.
Fast forward to July 2023, and the economy is surprisingly strong! GDP grew by 2% in the first quarter of 2023. Inflation has dropped to 3%. The US has added a seasonally adjusted 1.67M jobs this year, and the unemployment rate is historically low at 3.6%. Perhaps a recession is on the horizon, but it's not showing up in the data yet.
In this report, we explore which types of companies are finding the most success in adding talent and whether there’s any linkage between a company’s office requirements and its headcount growth. From that analysis, we can start to draw some early conclusions on how impactful flexibility is on a company's ability to attract talent.
Company Spotlight
At Dolby Laboratories some groups or teams have adopted a "core day" approach or more specific moments when they choose to come together in office on some cadence. Most offices have commuter benefits and parking. HQ has an on-site gym, coffee bar, and pop-up cafe. New hires receive a stipend to set-up their at-home environment.
Newly Added Companies
In the Media
Time: Proof is getting stronger that a lack of work flexibility can hurt employers attempts to grow over the long term.
Forbes: Companies with more flexible office policies can hire from a wider geographic radius and get more interest from job seekers.
Bloomberg: Companies with remote or hybrid policies appear to be hiring people at about twice the rate of employers that are full time in office.
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