Tudor Popp, REC: “Office modernizations must reflect the needs of employees and the needs of companies”

“There are many components that make an office space attractive. I believe that HR efforts must be supported by the spaces. Wellbeing is very important and everything must start from a pleasant space where people feel good.

The current trend is that the office is no longer a production space, it is no longer the production line of the old days with open spaces, but office spaces are now social spaces, spaces that encourage creativity and these things are done with a lot of effort,” Tudor Popp, Managing Director REC, Workplace Consultant said at Work Compass HR Conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

Key statements:

• Office modernizations must reflect the needs of employees and the needs of companies. A strategy is needed. First of all, we must ask people what their needs are and how we can make offices attractive to them.
• The market is constantly changing, but talents are always sought after and there is always competition between offices because often employees choose their company based on how the offices look. The office should not only be beautiful, but also practical and useful.
• Very few employees want to come to work in a classic office anymore. If offices do not offer an alternative to classic workspaces, employees will not want to come to work willingly.
• Unlike the classic mentality where we adapt to the offices that are provided to us and create a comfortable space for ourselves, the current trend is going in the direction where there are different areas in the office and we choose our workspaces depending on what I am doing. If I need a focused space, I go to an area where I have real peace. When I need to interact with colleagues, there is an interaction space. For learning processes, flexible spaces in offices are growing more and more in this direction.
• 5 years ago, I started a new business with flexible co-working spaces, I created HotSpot and after the first experience I came to the conclusion that I would like to put everything on wheels: tables, chairs, cabinets, screens, etc.
• We have to think that the office can evolve according to needs in much shorter intervals of time, so the spaces have to evolve too. There are still not enough solutions, for example, for mobile walls at affordable prices. Spaces for learning, for training, for augmented reality are already available, but I don’t think they are enough.