Post-Pandemic, flexible working models were intended to deliver the best of both worlds: freedom and liquidity without losing the spark of personal cooperation. While the pendulum turns back to work in the field, companies still have to compete for top talent- of course in Tech. But increasingly they have to convince those people to come back to the office.
It is not enough to offer a desk and a decent coffee maker. The office has become a little more symbolic: a reason to believe. A space that reflects the intention and identity of your company. That is why commercial real estate, once only a line item on the P&L, quietly becomes a talent platform.
And if you think that is an exaggeration, look at the competition that is now taking place at the high-end of the office and the market for mixed use. Despite a general oversupply of space and a continuous shift to external activities, premium buildings are still inquiry In excellent markets such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles. That’s because they deliver more than square meters. They transform the workplace into a cultural and connecting experience – a choice, rather than a mandate.
The Talent Mandate stimulates the real estate competition
Before the Pandemie, class A developers started to distinguish through design and lifestyle. But Post-Pandemie, the deployment has risen. At the top of the market, the most successful developers of commercial real estate now behave more as boutique host dishes. They make experiences together, design for well -being and programming rooms in ways that resonate with a workforce that values the autonomy, connection and goal. Look no further than the promise of Hudson Yards of ‘Connected Community’, or Brookfield Properties’ (owner of Brookfield Place in New York and the 100 Bishopsgate of London), mission to create ‘new ways to work’.
In our work with customers such as Tishman Speyer and SLE Green, we have seen first -hand how a hospitality method that has long been central in hotels and resorts is used to reposition commercial spaces as magnets for talent. These are no longer passive shells for work; They are active tools in the battle for culture, cooperation and competitive advantage.
The need is not just to create ‘high-end’ offices. It is to build environments that help companies recruit the best people and to inspire them to come together personally. That means more than adding gardens on the roof or wellness studios (although they help). It is about the story that those elements tell – and how they connect to a deeper promise about work, life and connectedness.
From assets to experience
Take the spiral in New York, a Tishman Speyer building designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The terrace -shaped, corkscrew architecture connects every floor with green space, a vertical extension of the high line that nature literally stores the building. This is not just a design; It is a signal of fresh air, light, openness that says employees: “You will be good here.”
Or Morgan North, another Tishman Speyer project that we have collaborated on, where a multi-acre roof park on top of a historic post office offers an unexpected sense of calmness and retreat in the heart of Manhattan. These are not gimmicks, but curatorial decisions that are intended to adapt to the values of the people who want to hire companies: well -being, connection, inspiration.
In One Madison, developed by SL Green, that story continues with a French garden on the roof, luxury fitness of Chelsea Piers and culinary offers from Chef Daniel Boulud. There is even an exclusive facilities for tenants alone. This is not just where people work; It is a place where they want to be.
Why space is a dimension of brand
Real estate fire is seen as a short time; Temporary campaigns to lease the space. But this new era requires slightly more permanent, more intentionally. When it is done well, the brand of a place becomes part of the product itself. It does not fade as soon as the building is full. It lives on in the daily experience of the people inside.
And that is where hospitality becomes essential. Not in a superficial sentence, but in how you work together and program a space to say something meaningful. In many ways it is less about branding as communication, and more about creating an environment that indicates what kind of company you are and what kind of people will thrive there.
In this context, hospitality is no longer a metaphor, it is a method. It means that you think of your office if a host would be a guest: what do they need? How do we ensure that they feel welcome, inspired and cared for?
But what is the ROI?
We are often asked: does this make people really more productive? How do we justify this investment level to the workplace experience?
The short answer is: the best spaces do not distract, they create tangible operational leverage. When employees can walk in a park, can work from a lounge, eat world class food or exercise without leaving the building, they are more productive, loyal, more connected and more likely to return.
What is even more important, these spaces send a signal to current and potential employees. They say: “We appreciate your experience. We want you to do your best work and enjoy your life while you do it.” That is a powerful competitive advantage, especially when top talent is scarce and expectations are high.
What founders should ask
If you are a founder or human leader, the question is not: “How much space do we need and what benefits of well -being can we offer?” It is “what kind of experience do we create, and what does that say about who we are?”
The office, in this light, becomes an important pillar of your employer brand, not background, but a stage. One that helps you tell your story and helps you to live it. And if that is done well, it is not only employees, present and future, who notice it. Investors, customers and employees do that too.
In the most effective developments, Brand does not only appear in a name or a logo. It informs the entire user experience, just like in a top hotel or entertainment location. From the lobby to the lounge, from fitness to food, every detail becomes a chapter in a larger story.
So if your real estate still tells a story about ‘available space’, you are already lagging behind. The next wave of workplaces tells a different story about goal, energy, community and care. That is the kind of story that the best talent wants to be part of.
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