Ep 14: Measuring Hybrid Success: MillerKnoll’s Katie Finlayson on Needing New Space Utilization Benchmarks

In episode 14, I'm very excited to welcome Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll, a collective of dynamic furniture brands representing over a 100 years of design research, which they leverage to reshape the experience of work and to design a more sustainable world that improves people's lives.

Katie is passionate about helping customers solve problems to create an amazing experience for employees while meeting business drivers. She has had an awesome career moving from project management and design to facilities operations to workplace strategy, which gives them a unique perspective on the future of the workplace and why Katie is joining us as a hero of hybrid work today.

Embracing New Space Utilization Benchmarks

Workplaces have changed forever due to the pandemic, leading to a disruption in traditional work norms. Katie Finlayson believes that embracing flexibility, purposeful space design, and new protocols are key to adapting to the new work environment.

“Work can be done in different places, but it has to be purposeful. Make good use of the variety of spaces that you have options to—office, home, Starbucks, whatever that might be—and be purposeful so you can really leverage that space to do the best work.” - Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll

Katie Finlayson discussed the shift in workplace utilization post-COVID and how organizations should move away from pre-COVID benchmarks to embrace new ways of working. She argued that measuring success based on pre-COVID utilization benchmarks may not be the best approach, and many organizations wrestle with that post-COVID. She highlighted the importance of considering the lessons learned during the pandemic and adapting to the changing workplace dynamics.

Pharma Success Story: Connecting a Globally-Distributed Workforce

Katie Finlayson shared one of her client’s success stories transitioning to hybrid work. This pharmaceutical organization had employees who were mostly onsite pre-COVID and did not have much location flexibility. As a result, they only hired in the general physical vicinity of their office. During COVID-19, they changed their hiring practices and started hiring globally. With such a quick shift to a distributed workforce, they struggled with the lack of connection among employees. 

To address this, the company consolidated teams on one floor in the office and created a feeling of “hustle and bustle” by putting people closer together. They also realized that even though they have a highly-distributed team, they still needed to meet monthly or quarterly. They had been using hotel ballrooms, and the experiences were not ideal. Thus, they transformed another floor into a versatile event space where the company now hosts regular team meetings and cultural events to foster purposeful connections among the distributed employees.

Designing Spaces for Wellbeing and Engagement in Hybrid Work

Katie Finlayson agreed that hybrid policies have led to lower office utilization, meaning organizations may need less real estate moving forward. However, it is crucial for office spaces to be purposeful and engaging in order to compel employees to come in. Simply mandating office attendance is not enough to ensure employee engagement and productivity. People need to feel compelled to come in. 

Katie Finlayson emphasized that mandating return to office doesn’t mean you’ll get engaged employees. As such, companies now are investing more in higher quality spaces to support their employees in doing their best work. Well-designed spaces can have a positive impact on employees’ well-being and engagement. She believes that getting space design right really comes down to three things: well-being, connection, and planning for change.

“Getting space design right comes down to three things: well-being, connection, and planning for change. It’s like a three-legged stool. When you don’t have one leg, it doesn’t quite work.” - Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll

When it comes to space design, Katie Finlayson shared that although having beautiful furniture is a plus, organizations need to design spaces that ultimately support employees in being engaged and productive. Creating office neighborhoods is a great way to do that, as each neighborhood can be designed specifically to a work style or type of work. For example, a creative department may have a slightly different setup than an engineering department, which has a different setup than the HR department.

People work differently and may need different levels of focus, and the spaces they work in can support that. Good space design is offering different types of spaces to support different needs and work styles.

Global Trends in RTO: Flexible Work Policy Remains Consistent

Katie Finlayson discussed some of the global trends in return to office post-COVID. Research and data show varying degrees of return across different regions, with a common theme of increased flexibility in work arrangements. She pointed out that large urban centers are slower to return, possibly due to factors like commuting and quality of office spaces.

However, what is consistent is that there’s an increase in flexible work policy. Katie Finlayson acknowledged that there are still some organizations and regions where people are back in the office full-time, but the vast majority at a global scale has a level of flexibility. What that looks like might be a little bit different by region and by country, but flexible working seems to have become a consistent norm.

“It’s less about being hybrid and more about having flexibility to manage where, when, and how you do your work. That’s by far the consistent piece. Even in the countries that are back in the office, there’s a level of flexibility that did not exist pre-COVID. I think that’s something lasting, and it’s a good thing.” - Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll

Improving Equity and Workplace Experience for In-Office Employees

Katie Finlayson did recognize that there are still groups within organizations that can't be hybrid, and sometimes they are forgotten. For those organizations, it's about creating an equitable experience between the groups of people who have the flexibility and can be home and the groups of people who cannot. She shared that if organizations can't offer all their employees the same flexibility, then they have to offer employees without flexible schedules an improvement to their workplace experience. 

Finlayson discussed the importance of improving workplace experience for in-office employees who have to be in every day. It’s the organization’s responsibility to improve equitably. That may begin with providing the basics: access to natural light, ergonomic furniture, respite spaces, and better amenities to enhance employees’ well-being and overall experience. Finlayson emphasized the importance of place design, and how sometimes small improvements can really make a difference to people. 

Biggest Lesson Learned as a Facilities Operations Manager

Katie Finlayson shared one of the biggest lessons she learned when she worked as a facilities operation manager. Early on in her career, she made many mistakes because she lacked understanding of the change piece. She pointed out that while facilities managers may not be responsible for managing change, they are making decisions that impact people. Therefore, facilities managers need to be aware of change management and ensure that piece is handled properly.

“Facilities managers’ day to day tasks may not be change management, but they are making decisions that impact people. And sometimes that impact can be positive or negative, whatever that might be, but you need to bring those people along with you.” - Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll

Katie Finalyson explained that while it may not be the facilities manager's job to be responsible for the change management piece, they do need to be aware of that. If it's not being done, spearhead someone in the company who can help, or get someone from outside to help. Allow that person responsible for managing the change to run alongside the facilities manager and the project because they need to be happening at the same time so people can be brought along the way.

Giving People Agency Within an Organization’s Work Structure

Katie Finlayson shared the importance of supporting agency and allowing employees to work in a way that suits them best, focusing on quality of work rather than time input. It’s necessary for organizations to set some work norms, but it’s beneficial to allow people to have some agency within that structure to get their work done. She believes there needs to be a big shift towards measuring work based on deliverables and quality, allowing for individual work styles and preferences.

“It's less about ‘hybrid/not hybrid’ and ‘are you in every day/are you not?’ It's more about supporting people in what they do and giving people agency. Even if you're in every day, you can still have agency within those boundaries.” - Katie Finlayson, Head of Workplace Strategy at MillerKnoll

Katie Finlayson emphasized that although there’s been a disruption in where people work, there hasn’t been a disruption in how people are measured. People do work, process information, and focus differently. Organizations can support their employees and in turn improve engagement and productivity by giving their employees the space, tools, and agency to do their best work.