How workforce segmentation connects workplace supply and demand

As workforce demographics, behaviors and needs evolve, real estate space planning is becoming increasingly responsive to these changes.

In brief

• Innovative real estate solutions are rooted in understanding the workforce and are designed to reflect an organization’s ways of working. 
• With the pandemic adding complexity in where and when people work, workforce segmentation can be leveraged to support better real estate decision-making.
• A one-size-fits-all approach to employee needs will neither support the workforce nor allow accurate real estate demand forecasting. 

It is important that real estate space planning be highly responsive to workforce planning. As workforce demographics, behaviors and needs change, real estate is evolving to support these changes accordingly. In general, the most impactful real estate solutions are rooted in a thorough understanding of the workforce and are designed to proactively, not reactively, support how an organization needs to work to be successful. While workplace strategies have historically had a human-centric approach, the focus of the past has typically been on supporting an in-person or primarily on-site workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted perspectives across the globe from science, to mental health and well-being, to the value of corporate culture and connectivity, to how employers empathize and value their employees. The pandemic has also revealed that a greater level of job flexibility is sustainable and desirable for many, meaning that workplace strategies will account for a spectrum of work locations and arrangements moving forward. With this added complexity, conducting a workforce segmentation analysis is a key first step toward a more defined plan for real estate needs.

In the EY Work Reimagined Employer Survey 2021, 77% of surveyed employers expect to make changes to their workplace real estate strategy, including reducing real estate footprint or aligning the workplace with the needs of the shifting workforce. During the pandemic, many employees were able to remain productive remotely; 79% of employers anticipate there will be moderate to extensive change in remote/hybrid work. As a result, many employers have experienced a greater demand for increased levels of job flexibility, with 79% of employers agreeing that their company is actively promoting hybrid work to retain and attract talent.  However, a one-size-fits-all approach to employee needs will neither support the workforce nor allow accurate real estate demand forecasting.