loader image
Wednesday 18 October 2023
Workplace Trends: The Office as a Desired Destination
Cavendish Conference Centre, London & Online
10:00am – 4.30pm GMT + 1. Followed by Drinks Social
Workplace Trends: The Office as a Desired Destination
*EARLY BIRD RATES*

Limited numbers of great value early bird tickets are now available.

Cancellations, refunds and credits are available up until a month before an event so you can reserve your seat now with confidence.

Workplace Trends is the must-attend conference for workplace professionals who want to design and manage modern, attractive, productive and healthy workplaces.

Our themes include designing for inclusion and neurodiversity, sustainable circular thinking for the office, new research from Henley on managing change in an uncertain world, and two trail-blazing case studies.

Join our friendly audience of around 150 (+ many more online) workplace occupiers, managers, consultants, HR, FM, and suppliers this 18 October!

There are good reasons why so many workplace professionals return to our events and conferences time and time again. Here’s just a few of them:

  • Meet and network with like-minded workplace professionals.
  • Mingle with established thought-leaders in workplace.
  • Gain access to the latest research that can be applied for practical benefit.
  • Non-commercial, relaxed environment.
  • Quality, pitch free presentations.
  • Delegate access to video recordings after the event.
  • Support the environment – we plant a tree for every delegate place booked.
  • Award-winning sustainable venue.
  • Complimentary post event drinks social.
  • All in a non-commercial, relaxed environment.
  • CPD certificates available on request.
  • Join our exclusive LinkedIn Group for all our past and present delegates.

With sincere thanks to the support of our 2023 sponsors and media partners.

Workplace Geeks Audiem

We’re not as sales-driven as some other workplace conferences, preferring to concentrate on people and relationships. But we do have a handful of friendly exhibitors at each event. Here’s who’ll be at the Research Summit on 19 April. (There are a few spaces still available so get in touch if you’d like to know more).

Audiem is a workplace experience analytics platform that uses cutting edge technology to uncover actionable insights from employee feedback. Explore not just what matters to your people, but why.

Our wide range of sustainable workplace services is constantly evolving to cater to the needs of today’s businesses. We support your sustainability agenda and are always looking to offer new and innovative ways to assist your needs.

Saint-Gobain Ecophon develops, manufactures and markets acoustic products and systems that contribute to a good working environment by enhancing peoples’ wellbeing and performance. Our promise »A sound effect on people« is the core backbone of everything we do.

We provide a range of customer-centric solutions through workplace transformation, integrated facilities management, project solutions, data-led asset management services and carbon reduction.

Bringing the beauty of nature to you.
We are academic publishers and broadcasters of research into the health and environmental benefits of Biophilic Design, we interview thought leaders on many different aspects from urban planning to home design, architects to acousticians. We also offer a networked consultancy service, advising on the benefits of Biophilic Design connecting you with the expertise you need.

We make bespoke mobile collaboration walls, enabling teams to create dynamic workspaces. We call this system ThinkingWall®.

Our brands are leading the conversation on design—just as they have for over 100 years. United by a belief that design can change the world for the better, they’re anticipating and shaping what’s to come, in ways large and small. 

We’re proud to announce that we’ve partnered with One Tree Planted and plant a tree for every delegate booking.

Our Programme Includes

What Should the Office Sector Do To Adjust Their Offer?
– Chris Kane, Author, Advisor, Non Executive Director, Co-Founder Everythingomni

Chris has recently updated his book, Where is My Office, and is currently working with the BCO to suggest future recommendations for the sector.

  • Should the industry look beyond the building itself, consider its wide purpose not just as an asset, re-examine the design process to include a wider range of stakeholders?
  • Is there merit in examining how the industry could adapt its approach to the emerging new reality of ubiquitous choice in the context of the development, consumption, and management of British offices for the post pandemic world?
  • Has the time arrived for a fundamental re-think about how we do things? Should we take a leaf out of the book of car manufacturers with their approach to switching from ICE to Electric cars? Can we bring ourselves to reimage offices, how they are funded, designed, built and operated in a smarter more sustainable manner?

Workplace Communities and Networks: Why they matter and why you should be doing more
– Government Property Agency Team

The Government Property Agency is helping transform the way the Civil Service works and reshaping the relationship civil servants have with their place of work. We are introducing a portfolio-led approach to managing central government general purpose property as a strategic asset. We drive benefits through more efficient and effective use of the estate.

Effective and efficient workplace experiences require more than bricks and mortar. The GPA have the insights, data and real life case studies to provide attendees with an opportunity to get under the skin of how communities and networks within our workplaces can directly impact workplace experiences, for the better.

This session will discuss how the GPA are putting communities at the heart of great places to work. Through pre and post occupancy evaluation we are gathering the detail on how our spaces and our customer experience strategy is directly impacting on the people who work there. We have insight on what’s working well and what needs more investment – all of this means the GPA can make data driven decisions that are truly based on empathy for our customers.

The Appealing Office
– Nigel Oseland, Workplace Unlimited

There has been much recent speculation on post-pandemic office occupancy levels and the reasons why they vary between organisations.

Workplace Trends’ programme advisor Dr Nigel Oseland and fellow psychologist Prof. Gary Raw are conducting research in partnership with MillerKnoll to understand the appeal and relative attractiveness of working in the office and working from home. This newly developed on-line survey explores people’s views on the advantages and disadvantages of working in these spaces and will inform the workplace industry on how to improve working environments.

Take part in the survey and have your say now. As a thank you we will email you a 10% discount code for this or a future WT event, plus you may enter a draw for an Aeron chair and free place to a future WT conference.

Adopting Foresight into People Centric Change
– Jennifer Bryan, ABChange

In an uncertain future, characterised by rapid and disruptive change, many change projects seem to be permanently behind the curve, dragging people reluctantly behind them. But does it have to be like that? Change projects and programmes are often conceived using hindsight and then thrown into a changing world. Foresight would be useful, but in a complex world, the future is anything but straightforward and certain. We are going to need some help to gain insight.

Jennifer co-facilitated a 12 month action research project, where they invited 20 people from 4 different organisations in public and private sectors, to integrate future facing tools and people-centric change approaches into their change work. Come find out what the research team and the members did and what they learned.

Post Lunch Hackathon Energiser
– Everyone! with Perry Timms, PTHR

Since the advent of software engineers converging to fix bugs and enhance features by positively hacking programmes, Hackathons have become a go-to innovation and problem-solving technique.

For over 10 years now, Perry Timms – named HR’s Most Influential Thinker in 2022 and in the Top 50 Workplace Influencers for 2023 – has brought this method to people, culture, learning and workplace arenas.

Join us for an hour’s energiser to sample the Hackathon approach and work in small teams to experience this energising and creative approach to solutions. Bring your best brain power and collaborative spirit to our unique experience and avoid the post-lunch slump with post-it notes, sharpie pens and pacy, iterative ideas into action.

Suggest your ‘burning issue’ topics for discussion when booking your conference ticket!

Circular Economy Thinking For The Workplace
– Ann Beavis, Crown Workspace

How can we integrate circular economy thinking into the workplace?

Ann Beavis explores the urgency, challenges and barriers for these critical workstreams to ensure that workplace change supports organisations with their carbon reduction targets and the environmental standards they are aiming for.

As a member of their circular economy taskforce, she will introduce the new Circular Economy Roadmap recently launched by Business in the Community, that signposts organisation through practical steps they can take and case studies that support this transition.  She will also share her unique insights into the key blockers to driving sustainable/circular change in the workplace and how to overcome these.

What It’s Really Like To Be a Neurodivergent CEO
– Tree Hall, Charity IT Leaders

Tree Hall, CEO of Charity IT Leaders, was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 47. In this very personal presentation she shares her story, exploring what autism means to her, and how it has shaped the way and places she can best work. Tree has become a staunch advocate of how everyone needs to understand autism and other neurodivergence. She is on a mission to make the workplace more inclusive and supportive of neurodiverse individuals. (TBC)

Designing for Neurodiversity
– Josh Artus, Centric Lab

Approximately 15% of the UK population identify with a level of neurodivergence, many of whom struggle with the typical corporate work environment. Many corners of the broader real estate market see design as the primary solution, whereas this talk will focus on more dynamic, holistic yet equally as simple solutions to creating enabling work environments by real estate people.

Josh Artus will centre his talk on Centric Lab’s recent work for the British Council for Offices titled ‘Designing for Neurodiversity’, covering Centric Lab’s work into the links between place and health through a neurobiological lens; (re)defining neurodiversity from a justice and equity based lens; and how to use the playbook as a means to develop company-wide guidelines for future projects.


With thanks to our sponsors

and our Media Partners