that we never see or hear about. What, therefore, of its future? The workplace has long trailed and mim- icked the tech industry for its ideas and terminology. “Perpetua beta” – or the “banana principle”, as it was orig- inally known – is just such, having been articulated by Tim O’Reilly who had earlier given us ‘open source’. The organisation is in perpetual beta, an unfinished entity, listening to those within (or at least some) in co-creating its purpose, composition and form in constant evolution. And so too must its workplace, always adapting to ensure it remains relevant and appropriate. Not the result of a huge-scale cash-in- cinerating intervention that spends the next decade feeling progressively less so, but small and necessary changes as determined by those within. The actual occupants.
To which we turn for clues as to sub- stance and form to another tech term – the minimum viable product (MVP), the workplace as the product: MVW. That is, only what’s needed rather than what’s wanted, functionality, reliabil- ity, usability and beauty, developed together, in proportion. Needed in this case not for productivity, what we do today, but for what we’ll do tomorrow: innovation. Most organisations have no idea what they’ve lost while absent from their offices. It’s most likely to be compulsion free, inter-team, personally driven, inefficient and chaotic collabo- ration. All a far cry from the grandiose, indulgent and wasteful ‘maximum possible product’ (let’s call it MPP) of the pre-Covid decades, everything for everyone, just in case.
The office of the future should there- fore be the minimum necessary to achieve maximum innovation, evolving as the needs of the organisation and its people change, highly sustainable and deeply connected to its host commu- nity. We’ll know how many days we’ll need to spend there; the hope is we’ll want to spend more. For most organisa- tions they’ll be able to evolve what they already have. The office of the future won’t look much different to today, for some time – but if it follows this path, it’ll begin to mean so much more.
Rob Cottrill – The city centre in a minimum viable office world The twists, turns, tragedy and up- heaval of the past 18 months have been accompanied by predictions of doom for the centres of our cities and towns. The dramatic stories of retail empires collapsing, and images of closed shop- fronts create a powerful narrative of inevitable and unstoppable decline. The habits of being wary of close con- tact, social distancing, greatly reduced
September 2021
use of public transport, online transac- tions, and the uncertainty of how much of this is permanent, leads to increased in- vestment in out-of-town retail and leisure assets. Add in the shift to hybrid working and it’s easy to be pessimistic. After the enforced workplace experiment to which many of us have adapted, the prospect of everyone returning to work in the same place at the same time, when we have vastly different roles, strikes many as absurd. And what of the billions invested in buildings that are rarely ever full and transport networks that are at capacity for a couple of hours in each peak period. The past 18 months also proved that the shift from ‘my’ information, in the file on my desk, to the organisation’s infor- mation, was perhaps more resilient than anticipated.
I am indebted to all my colleagues who quickly enabled and adapted to this new approach to work, almost overnight. That said, apart from the few curmudgeons among us, we still want to congregate, engage, share and collaborate in a work environment with all the wellbeing and career benefits that this tried and tested culture brings.
The two local authorities I work for were hit hard financially. To recover, we needed to adapt fast, investing in people, not buildings that were surplus to our new requirements. We moved out of our main offices by the end of last year and instead utilised space in an historic, but under used town centre building, and similarly, in our cultural quarter, which is now provid- ing an ideal base for our teams. In another location we are breathing new life into a vacant, shuttered former technical college for our main office base, a move that will also help boost one of our underperform- ing town centres.
Is this not a retreat? Quite the contrary. The savings made from this more efficient footprint has allowed us to recruit to several key roles. The principles of community wealth building also compelled us to retain
the buildings in public ownership; one of which is now occupied as an office base for more staff than were hitherto located there. Another will become an arts, culture, and education centre, generating new jobs, training, apprenticeships and with signif- icant appeal to national and international visitors, creating greater footfall that will enable the town centre to thrive. Perhaps these moves are part of the journey to a Minimum Viable Office. Although the transition is creating the inevitable teething problems, unfamiliar- ity, and a sense of dislocation for some, there are many positive signs. As Luis sets out above, the choice of how and where we work, whether it is online or in person is now firmly established. Both solo work and collaboration is taking place outside of the office, whether it’s online, in cafes, quiet corners of an empty theatre foyer, ‘a walk around the block’ and, yes, the library. There is an energy associated with these interactions and a newly found enjoyment that they are different spaces, in very differ- ent times outside the corporate walls. Office boundaries become more permeable as a result of the Minimum Viable Office. So what role can libraries play in the new normal – as centres for information, accessible to all, safe, often centrally located, excellent connectivity, and staffed by informed and helpful hosts? As a place for exchanging information and collaboration are these roles integral, additional, or dis- cordant with the literary core of the offer? Outside of our major cities, the pub- lic sector is often the anchor institution and largest employer. Perhaps now is an opportunity to consider libraries as an integral part of this workplace evolution, rather than as so often in past, a peripheral player, with little or no presence when final decisions are taken. To do this, the speed at which the workplace and town centres are changing needs to be embraced. Our libraries are cherished and often the strong vocal support for the “as is” as an under- standable response to service reductions may impede that participation. Our experience of the past 18 months gives us an appreciation that connectivity and interaction with our friends and col- leagues is less dependent on road and rail. The shift from mass commuting and the opportunity for our local urban centres to provide a more sustainable option whilst also improving our personal wellbeing is a prize not to be given up lightly. Libraries combine a familiar presence, connectivity, and a wealth of knowledge, maybe the epitome of Localism with a Global Reach.
Paul – I hope you enjoyed the thought provoking comments/calls to action from Luis, Neil and Rob. This Presidential Debate promises to be a belter! Register to attend the free Presidential Debate at
https://bit.ly/38IPpn1. IP
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