  In Nokia’s living workplace laboratory, Davis finds that observations lead to new questions, and ultimately to solutions.
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Davis Identifies Workplace Solutions Have you ever noticed that your best ideas and inspiration rarely come while in your office? This is just one of the observations made by Bethany Davis, Director of Workplace Solutions with Nokia. It raises the question of what we can do differently in the workspace to change that. Recently, Davis moved to New York from Finland, where she has been living for three years while working in Nokia’s Workplace Resources group. For the past year, she has been directing a living laboratory – where people literally work and are observed on an ongoing basis. Participants from five occupant groups were recruited to take part in this experiment and to represent microcosms of employees in the workforce. "Nokia created a global workplace lab in Finland to test policies, protocols, behaviors – even office furniture – in a variety of settings before introducing new solutions," explains Davis. "This enables the company to gain feedback in a limited setting. Observations lead to new questions, and ultimately to solutions." Now Davis is taking what she has learned from the Finland lab and applying it in studies in New York. The study process involves anthropological, social and psychological observations, in addition to focus groups and concrete surveys.
Global Beginnings Armed with an undergraduate degree in human environment relations and a master’s in facilities, both from Cornell University, Davis was eager to use the knowledge gained through her thesis in non-territorial offices (mobile workplaces). Prior to joining Nokia, she worked with Arthur Andersen for eight years designing workplace strategy for their global workplaces. During the past year, Davis has spoken at the CoreNet Global Summits in Melbourne, Mumbai, India and Amsterdam. She has been sharing how Nokia is looking at the future of the workplace, mobility and mobile work. Advice she offers colleagues includes: • Learn to be a translator and focus on workplace resources. Focus less on bricks and mortar, and really support people. Sometimes this requires a mindset shift that differs from the traditional corporate real estate business perspective
• Look to other industries, such as hospitality and sports venues, to identify and adopt creative solutions. Often, we stay inwardly focused and channeled on getting our day-to-day work accomplished. Remember to stretch and stay open to new ideas
• Evaluate the real need. Starting a project for a brand new building is exciting, but be sure to focus on the real need at hand. Is a new building necessary? Are there more creative solutions to be investigated instead?
Changes in the Workplace "Some of the questions Nokia is addressing are about how the workplace is changing and how organizations are structuring to accommodate these changes" says Davis. "Often there is a need to rethink how workplaces are structured. We start by looking at what our business needs to perform, and what is needed in order to maximize performance." CoreNet Global’s Corporate Real Estate 2010 report offers valuable insights on key business drivers, including technology, globalization; changes in the workforce and the nature of work; innovation; risk; and sustainability and corporate responsibility. Davis agrees that these forces are creating new enterprise business models and totally new ways of doing business. She explains that "as companies take a more integrated approach to the workplace, new considerations come into play, including not only the people side (for example, where new talent is available, where people live), but also determining the optimum organizational structure, technology and security environment, as well as location, which sometimes is in the office." To achieve the optimum results, Davis recommends that CRE professionals: • Collaborate with strategic partners who are closely aligned with your organization. Most companies today have a lean structure and it is not feasible to have all the expertise needed within the organization. It is important to rely on a network of collaborators who can serve as effective partners to provide needed services. This allows you to focus on strategic issues. Nokia has many working partners, including Cushman & Wakefield, thereby allowing Nokia’s Workplace Resources team to focus on strategic issues
• Bring in experts from other areas of your company and take advantage of their knowledge. Be open to involving specialists, including IT and human resources, to assist in solving problems. Sometimes it requires giving up ego and recognizing that other team members have a lot to offer. Trust their contributions and develop a mutual respect and understanding
• Develop effective information systems to facilitate optimum access to information. In order to deliver value to your customers, it is crucial to have efficient information systems and processes in place
Staying Connected As other members experience, Davis finds that in the course of her trips she connects with other colleagues and CoreNet Global members regardless of where she travels. Previously an IDRC member, Davis has been a member of CoreNet Global’s Nordic chapter and plans to become more active with the Connecticut/Westchester chapter in New York. "CoreNet Global is offering vibrant, relevant speakers and meaningful conferences," says Davis. "CoreNet Global is focused on identifying meaningful trends, such as sustainability, and is positioned to measure and report the impact to members. This, coupled with the valuable global network of other experts and corporate end-users, results in great opportunities for knowledge sharing." "It’s exciting to be a part of an organization that is proactively looking ahead and addressing initiatives like Corporate Real Estate 2010. It’s critical to plan now for how we need to operate in the future. We achieve more when we challenge one another," she concludes.
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