A HYBRID workplace combines people working remotely and, in the office, with an understanding that there is some flexibility involved. Seems straight forward, but what exactly does it look like? Your culture, focus, location, size, growth projections, how you work and collaborate will all help to determine the best approach for finding the right hybrid workplace that supports the way you and your team work.

The appetite to shift towards flexibility continues to grow in popularity. This hybrid shift falls within a workplace spectrum, one end of the spectrum is having the goal to fully return to the office with 100% assigned seating for each member of the team. The opposite end represents a fully agile workplace with no assigned seating and more space provided for shared collaboration. While these are the two ends of the spectrum, there are many workstyles that fall in between. A local Toronto Design firm, SGH Design Partners, has established five workstyle models within this spectrum that quickly gauge where the leadership team is comfortable shifting towards.

Strategizing change is not new to SGH Design Partners. For the past 35 years SGH has been designing workplaces where people do their best work. Utilizing our envision discovery process as the jumping off point, SGH has been working with industry leaders to understand what this new HYBRID environment will look like for them.

Our interior design studios in Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax have worked with Clients across the country. For some clients, like a current Canadian forestry company in Vancouver, British Columbia, we began months in advance of their lease expiring. With an understanding that their current space was no longer meeting growth and accelerating shifts in work patterns, SGH took time to listen and analyze leadership’s long-term goals, focus and collaboration requirements, standard footprints and developed a master planning approach that includes HYBRID work activities. SGH determined the right square footage required to get them there and clearly outlined what this would look like. This generated a collective positive energy and with this information in hand, their real estate broker was able to find them a space that checked all their boxes. SGH continues to be an intrinsic part of the team as we move to complete construction towards the end of 2022.

SGH is working with a variety of companies to put in place adaptable solutions that provide options to accommodate both flexible and fixed hybrid work styles. Another one of our clients, who is a global provider of agricultural science and technology, engaged SGH to work through an extensive envision strategy process which helped guide a significant change from dedicated workstations to an agile model. The strategy includes the provision of enclosed collaboration spaces that meet privacy and confidentially requirements. This was key in gaining trust from key leadership who opted to give up assigned private offices knowing they would not be fully occupied. The gain is that real estate is now allocated to a variety of shared collaboration spaces that will support a seamless hybrid work experience for all employees. It will be a destination space that brings their people together to collaborate, socialize and foster health and well-being. SGH is currently working towards completion of this project in 2022.

The option to pilot hybrid work settings in existing space is also a viable approach. Another client, who is a global pharmaceutical company, reached out to SGH to look at reworking a section of workstations that are currently held vacant due to people successfully working remotely. Creating spaces with freestanding furniture solutions that provide fully integrated audio-visual connection. SGH has incorporated a combination of open and enclosed collaboration zones that support the shift to a more collaborative work zone in the office.
The Hybrid Workplace is the future, and we believe that the office will continue to be the heart and soul of where people work and connect with one another.
If you have any questions please reach out to our team, we are happy to help you and your team find
the best workplace solution for you.

SGH is a privately owned national Corporate Interior Design firm with its head office based in Toronto, Ontario. We service clients from coast to coast with our two branch offices in Vancouver, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. For more information about SGH Design Partners please visit our website at www.sghdp.com.