On the other side of the city, a third employer is evaluating how office color schemes impact productivity, offering employees a choice between working in a "dark room" with a deeper color palette, or a "light room" with the opposite palette—all in an effort to determine what boosts their productivity.
Each of the experiments mentioned above was initiated by a corporate consultant. Office design experts have been around for decades, but a new super-niche has emerged within the industry to help companies transform workspaces in the wake of the pandemic, especially as employees resist calls to return to the office.
As a result, you’ll now hear about jobs you’ve probably never come across before, like "workspace change management consultant," "office experience architect," or "human capital specialist"—these highly specialized roles are brand new. And business owners are willing to pay whatever it takes for their services, writes Lillian Stone for the BBC.
Creating the modern office
“Two out of three companies are either rethinking their corporate real estate function or predicting changes in the future,” says Georgina Fraser, Head of Human Resources at CBRE, a global player in commercial real estate.
Fraser joined CBRE in 2022 in London, after more than a decade at the American consulting firm Accenture, where she guided key financial services clients through periods of organizational change. Today, she works directly with major corporate clients around the world to determine what office amenities their employees want. Fraser says she was stunned when she realized how high the demand for her services was.
Companies today are looking for a completely different set of guidelines, and experts like Fraser advise them on everything from personalized workplace meal options to hybrid connectivity solutions fully tailored to employees.
“When you think about consultants, we basically help solve problems for which you have no answers, things for which there is no plan,” Fraser says, adding:
“Companies now face workspace issues that are new—problems no one has had to deal with before.”
“People just want more now,” says Linda Morey-Burrows, founder of the London-based architecture and interior design firm MoreySmith, who has noticed a significant shift in her clients’ needs post-pandemic.
“In London, commuting can be long, exhausting, and very expensive. So for it to be worth coming into the office, employee expectations are high.”
To make the office appealing even to those who’d rather work from home, Fraser says business owners must offer more creative approaches. She points to a recently implemented perk: one company uses facial recognition technology to ensure an employee’s favorite coffee is ordered as soon as they walk through the office doors.
Morey-Burrows, who has worked with corporate clients for decades, believes current employer demands are pushing beyond previously known boundaries. She notes that employees now “want to work in a space that feels as comfortable as home,” while also benefiting from office-specific features like ergonomic chairs, advanced tech, and attractive perks like free meals.
The foundation of everything: figuring out what employees want
The practical aspects of the workday are also changing. Technological design of the workspace can either improve or ruin the employee experience, says Lewis Beck, who leads CBRE’s European workplace strategy advisory team.
“The way we work has fundamentally changed,” Beck notes, highlighting major shifts in client needs over his eight-year tenure in the role.
“If you can’t find a place in the office to take a business call, if the environment is too noisy, if there’s no private meeting space, or if hybrid meetings aren’t efficiently organized, all of that can lower employee satisfaction.”
Modern offices must be comfortable, meet employee expectations, and quickly resolve issues related to noise, temperature changes, and even odors.
“That means we care about far more than just carpets, tiles, and desks,” Morey-Burrows emphasizes.
“We work with companies that need help designing their work environment—whether that’s creative interior solutions or ensuring employees have top-tier working conditions,” she says.
“And then we see how workspaces become more vibrant and attractive,” adds Fraser. Depending on the client’s budget, this could mean adding more color and greenery to make the office more pleasant, or, as in the case of CBRE’s London headquarters (designed by Morey-Burrows and named Henrietta House), it could mean completely reconstructing the building to include a large open staircase in the center to promote spontaneous employee encounters, collaboration, and a sense of community.
It all starts with listening
These specialized workplace consultants often begin the transformation process with in-depth interviews to understand a company’s unique needs at all levels, from executives to support staff. Morey-Burrows prefers to rely on focus groups to get direct input from employees rather than just hearing from management. She says that focus group feedback often surprises company leaders:
“Sometimes I go back to the managers and say: ‘Remember when you said you wanted this thing? Well, your employees want something completely different!’”
These modern consultants heavily rely on data and in-house research to get an accurate picture of what employees need.
“Our clients are very hungry for data,” says Beck, adding:
“But the results of our research have a shorter shelf life than ever—because the situation is constantly changing.”
Shaping the future of work
Beck believes that this niche of corporate real estate and office design consulting has the potential for near-exponential growth:
“I’m seeing a lot of diversity among the competition,” he says, noting that this field has expanded to include professionals beyond traditional consulting firms:
“From architects designing workspaces, to workplace environment advisors, to traditional consultants. It’s a reflection of how popular and necessary these consulting services have become.”
Fraser notes that the demand stems from a growing focus on “people-centric” corporate spaces—a response to companies wanting to extract more value from their real estate.
“In the post-pandemic era, many business owners realized the office is just an option. Okay, we don’t have to have an office—but they made the conscious decision to keep one, despite the cost,” Fraser explains.
“When I finish a project, many clients come to me and thank me, because their work environment has genuinely improved,” Morey-Burrows concludes.
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