For years we told ourselves that culture lived in a building. That collaboration happened in a conference room. That connection was a by-product of proximity.

An organisation can have a stunning culture anchor, say a world-class headquarters that beautifully expresses its values. However without adequate culture touchpoints across remote, hybrid and third-spaces it may still fail because the culture travels with the person, not just the postcode.

The most sophisticated workplace strategies therefore need to address both, deliberately designing anchors and engineering touchpoints.

Today many employees make choices about where to work based on the task at hand, with deep focus work pulling them home.

For many the key problem remains that the their global real estate portfolios were designed when the office was the only option on the table i.e. built for presence rather than today's human-centric purpose.

What I find fascinating is how organisations are starting to invest in the moments that matter ... spontaneous connection in a corridor, a mentorship conversation that wasn't scheduled, a celebration ritual that makes someone feel genuinely seen, a sensory environment that signals "this place was designed with you in mind."

These are your cultural touchpoints and they need to exist across all work environments (the corporate office, the home office, hybrid arrangements, and also the coffee shop, the co-working hub, the airport lounge ('third spaces').

Culture doesn't live in one building anymore. Collaboration doesn't happen in one time zone. And human connectivity .. are you leaving that to chance ? .. or it now part of your strategic intent?

The hardest challenge and one I don't think we talk about enough is culture equity.

It's relatively straightforward to invest in a world-class flagship HQ. It's far harder to ensure that the employee in your Warsaw hub, your Singapore satellite, or your fully remote support team in three different time zones feels the same cultural gravity as someone sitting in your London headquarters.

Investment, density and organisational history are also unevenly distributed across the global portfolio ... so how to ensure your culture does not follow this unevenness?

Here's what I'd love to hear from this community: Have you successfully piloted something, a programme, a ritual, a physical or digital intervention that created genuine cultural connection across more than one environment? What worked? What surprised you? And where are you still improvising?

The floor is yours.

Interested to share observations on ways hybrid working has positively/negatively impacted productivity, both at organisation / employee level.

Do we need to redefine 'productivity' for the Hybrid Era? ... Is social connectivity key to 'productivity'? 

What are your hybrid working 'productivy' metrics?   ... Is your work environment still a key determining factor in productivity?   

Let's brainstorm ideas!

To thrive in a hybrid working environment, organisations need empathetic and motivated leaders, followed by agile places, empowered employees and technology to bridge the digital / physical experience.

What advice would you would give to organisations seeking to improve efficacy of hybrid working, incl social connections and hybrid working flows ?

Is a better understanding of employee flexibility requirements the secret to successfully balancing fluidity between working in the office and working from home ?

What are your key priorities for workplace design, workplace technologies and essential amentities over the next 2 to 3 years?

Are you targeting improvements in employee centric performance criteria and employee well-being ? 

The opportunity for reinvention and reimagination is significant and we clearly need to embrace our new hybrid world of work. 

I believe over time hybrid work will be the best thing to ever happen to our office environments ... until then, balancing physical proximity against emotional proximity may determine success today. 

Interested to learn experience of other end-users on how organisations are adapting their space strategies and forecast models to account for hybrid working.

Do you anticipate employee WFA / flexibility expectations will change over the coming years ? ... how best to embrace the momentum for change and refocus on employee needs and experience ? ... whilst also ensuring the organisation adequately supports and promotes creative collaboration and relationship building ?

Is your office now a place for socialising, meeting, sharing, and collaborating or principally still a place for focussed concentration ?