What makes a big fashion office

A few years ago, Neiman Marcus invested hundreds of millions of dollars in renovating its stores to make the experience more appealing to customers who shopped from home.

Now the company is taking the same approach with the corporate offices.

Neiman Marcus’ new headquarters, scheduled to open in a Dallas skyscraper early next year, represents a $100 million bet that in a post-pandemic world, you don’t just have to wait for people to come, you have to give them a reason.

The new space has no private offices or designated work areas to free up meeting rooms, sofas and other seating areas meant to accommodate groups of people. The department store operator is devoting 70 percent of its 85,000 square feet of floor space to these co-working spaces and 30 percent to individual workspaces. Those ratios have been reversed at the company’s old offices, a suite above the Dallas flagship store, which it still owns.

The new office was built to reflect a landscape where many corporate jobs are done from anywhere. Employers like Neiman Marcus see the office as a place to exchange ideas and share unique experiences that can’t be replicated elsewhere, rather than places where people are expected to show up to do (and keep) their jobs.

The company is moving more toward a hybrid work model than many fashion businesses, where employees can team up with peers to meet in person as needed rather than on a fixed schedule.

“Bringing people together in one physical location requires coordinating people’s entire schedules and lives,” said Eric Severson, Neiman Marcus Group Chief People and Membership Officer. “So the best way to build something together or experience it together is when you have to do it.”

Not every company is so flexible. After two years of developing remote work policies, employers and professionals everywhere are negotiating what permanent work arrangements will look like. Apple this week told employees at its California headquarters near Cupertino to report to the office three days a week starting in September. Nike and Adidas have had many of their corporate employees come in at least two days a week for months.

More than ever, the office is a powerful recruiting and retention tool. Everything from the design and layout to the days and times a company needs people to come in sets the tone for whether employees view their company as a desirable place to work. Even companies with the strictest office attendance policies should be wary of extra meeting spaces or ergonomic sofas and chairs or other perks that may counteract the comfort of a home office.

“The biggest thing you can do wrong is to go back to where you were before the pandemic,” says Craig Rowley, senior client partner at consulting firm Korn Ferry. “You need that kind of iterative process to get your people back in the office.”

True Estate

Even before the pandemic made remote work the norm, Neiman Marcus decided to move to a hybrid model where its corporate teams only use offices as needed. This led the company to begin planning the new center, which “includes studies that cross sociology, social anthropology, industrial engineering,” Severson said.

The big lesson was that offices were great for collaboration, and that other needs of employees—privacy and rest and recovery periods, for example—could be better served elsewhere. And in meetings with the global architecture firm Gensler and the “human-centered” design firm IDEO, as well as the hiring furniture companies – he learned that the most attractive modern offices function like homes.

“It’s a combination of developing an open concept but allowing people to choose where they want to fit in throughout the day,” Severson said. “So they move around like they’re at home; they get up and sit at their desks and go from the kitchen to the bathroom and to the sofa.

To achieve this, the company brings in “assistive furniture” or non-standard office furniture and items designed to support postures such as sitting, reclining and resting. It was also found open for space, such as a conference center and entertainment space on the building’s 42nd floor, with “a lot of facilities to host fashion shows and recognition events,” Severson said.

When it comes to office design, fashionistas need spaces that inspire them to think about their most innovative ideas—but the decor must be meaningful and on-brand, says Melissa Gonzalez, principal at MG2 architecture firm and founder of Leonesque Group. .

“It’s about creating that multi-sensory environment where the interior accentuates the brand’s personality and promotes energy and well-being,” she said.

The Zurich, Switzerland-based running shoe brand opened its new 17-story office space earlier this year, with a central level called “The Road” designed to replicate the brand’s three founders’ journey across the Engadin Valley. Switzerland When they first set out to build the company in 2009.

Employees are encouraged to use the standard as much as possible as a source of motivation and a reminder of the journey the company has taken. They are also organized into “villages” to encourage cooperation, rather than the separate units the founders encountered climbing the mountain.

Nike’s New York headquarters features a swimming pool, multiple gyms, a basketball court and food cafes with complimentary food and beverages, including coffee made by on-site baristas. Adidas’ newly expanded Portland, Ore. headquarters features a fitness center, rooftop lounge, cafeteria, juice bar and a “green roof” covered in plants.

For brands looking to inspire without breaking the bank, simple additions like greenery can add a sense of “natural therapy” to the office, Gonzalez said. Rearranging existing furniture to make a space more fun and collaborative is another cost-effective solution, Rowley said.

“The immediate thing is to rethink how you’re positioned,” he said. “For example, if you have four empty cubicles, can you turn around and buy a couple of bean bag chairs and create a place for people to collaborate?”

A matter of people

It’s true that many corporate employees have grown to appreciate remote work. But more than the ability to deliver emails in their pajamas, what they’re most after is the flexibility to use the office — and their work hours — in a way that makes sense for them, Gonzalez said.

One of the things that corporate employees appreciate most about working from home is that they no longer have to deal with wasted time and the stress of a two-way commute. But in the two years since the outbreak began, many workers have been forced to fill in extra work that would otherwise have been their commute, Rowley said.

Companies that require a mostly remote corporate employee to return to the office (even a few days a week) need to be mindful of the new businesses they’re creating and adjust people’s responsibilities and access in a way that’s useful and useful. Both sides, experts say.

For example, on the days an employee comes in, their responsibilities may range from difficult deliverables, such as creating a PowerPoint presentation or preparing a spreadsheet, to a softer task requiring them to attend a one-on-one meeting with their manager.

While not new offerings, perks like (good) coffee and free food still go a long way with team members — especially senior executives — experts say.

“You can order bags once a week or do a mid-week coffee for the group,” Gonzalez said.

Who is more important than in the office. At the top of the list are managers, directors and senior executives who need to set the tone and present themselves to young talent and other team members who have missed out on important workplace rituals because of the pandemic, Rowley said.

“If you’re going to get people to come into the office, there’s got to be a reason,” Severson said. “When they leave, they should feel like, ‘Wow, I just did something that I can only do in this physical space with other people.'”