reading number 1 city Sustaining Reading as a number 1 city
A different positive mindset towards today’s changing business sectors and employee workstyles is required if Reading and its urban satellites are to continue as a successful sustainable Thames Valley community and economy, writes John Burbedge
That was the underlying message from keynote speakers at the ‘Reading Number 1 City‘ breakfast seminar held at the Madejski Stadium in July.
Boyes Turner development and housebuilding partner Derek Ching expressed the mood best, ending his presentation with the words: “Don’t stumble on something behind you.”
“We got here by learning the lessons of the past, but we need to be prepared to tear up some old assumptions to achieve our 2050 aspirations.”
Ching highlighted as 21st century change- examples, the rapidly altering retail and logistics sectors, home-working, flexible and millennial workstyles, increasing private rental rather than property ownership, greater mixed-use development, and broader transportation requirements.
He called for local policymakers not to build their future decision-making around what is currently being provided, but the expected long-term demands of evolving lifestyles and business needs.
Together with a re-imagining of Reading’s future, historic perceptions of suitable land use, investment and development norms, planning regulations and laws surrounding them, all needed revisiting and revising as required.
Ching suggested simplifying planning procedures, more flexibility on property usage, less reliance on legal precedents or restrictive terms and covenants, and perhaps greater use of statutory powers such as compulsory purchasing to ‘unlock’ key sites.
Modern cities such as Reading may well need even greater fluidity of land-use than existing local plans allow, he noted. “We can
choose to follow the trend or catch the wind of changing occupation and get ahead of the curve.”
Creating attractive spaces for modern workstyles
Workstyle change was already being reflected in workspace design linked to business needs, highlighted Chris Allen, head of workplace consulting at office design and fit-out specialist Morgan Lovell, and Katrina Larkin, co-founder of Fora, the co-working exponent.
Allen suggested that in tomorrow’s business world, the work-life balance quandary will not exist. Work and life is already blending together as an individual’s holistic lifestyle. The 21st century workplace model is fast becoming an attractive ‘destination village’ providing employee-important aspects such as human contact, community, culture and choice.
Wellbeing (ranging from fulfilment and belonging to purpose and security), permission and organisational support, a diverse choice of workspaces, and good technology links were also key to employee needs.
“The workplace is no longer where we go to work; it’s where we go to connect.” Creating attractive purpose-driven places for employees would be the aim of agile businesses in the future.
Recent research revealed that purpose-driven
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workplaces provided 30% higher levels of innovation, 64% more employee fulfilment, 40% greater retention and even a 15% lower risk of death. A 2016 study on time spent versus value created at traditional workplaces, said Allen, had indicated that 42% of an employee’s time could be spent on emails while creating only 6% of work-value.
Mentioning a research forecast, Allen ended: “By 2023, zero office environments will be normal among knowledge workers across industries.”
In 2016, Katrina Larkin and Enrico Sanna co-founded Fora, which aims to provide flexible workspaces enabling cohesive and productive work environments – ‘places where great minds meet and work’.
Successful entrepreneur Larkin had previously shied away from traditional business models and workplaces: “Then I discovered co-working and operators who truly cared beyond providing a desk; they cared about the end-user, and that was fascinating to me.
“Throughout my career I have sought to elevate people’s experience of leisure-time, opening their minds to new expectations, and I believe that work-time is crying out for the same kind of creativity and innovation.”
Operating around four founding pillars – design, service, technology and network – Fora is building new ways of working by reimagining the office experience and employing premium hotel-style service and design, innovative technology plus a curated approach to occupier activity.
How do you attract and retain talent; get the best from your people; really develop your business?
Larkin suggested the answer was “offering attractive flexible spaces that really relate
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Speakers: Chris Allen, Katrina Larkin, David Murray, Richard Yorke, Scott Witchalls, Derek Ching
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