Return to the Office - The North American Nonprofit Perspective
This week, we feature a white paper by Cresa that examines how nonprofit organizations are reevaluating their workplace strategies and how it’s affecting their commercial real estate requirements. The Cresa Nonprofit Practice Group issues a survey to several varieties of nonprofit organizations and the results are very interesting. Some highlights:
- 78% of respondents plan to offer some degree of remote work in the future
- 73% of surveyed employees prefer remote or flexible work models
- While 49% of nonprofits experienced a decrease in revenue in 2020, the overwhelming majority of organizations retained their existing office space (81%) and managed to avoid terminating or furloughing employees (85%)
- Some are hesitant to embrace hybrid work with 10% of respondents – and 17.4% of 501c3 organizations – not planning to offer remote work at all.
This white paper concludes by saying that there are
opportunities & challenges ahead for nonprofit organizations. Let’s talk now if you think Cresa can help
your nonprofit. Cresa’s Nonprofit
Practice Group provides occupier-only corporate real estate services to
nonprofit organizations committed to serving their members, clients and the
public. We offer superior service and insight into the unique requirements and
constraints of your sector. Contact me –
www.tenant-broker.com.
Return to the Office – The North
American Nonprofit Perspective
This is also true for nonprofit organizations. Cresa’s Nonprofit Practice Group
provides occupier-only corporate real estate services to nonprofit
organizations around the world. To better understand your needs in the wake of
COVID-19, we issued a survey to leaders of foundations, public charities, trade
associations and a variety of other nonprofits. We have summarized the results
of that survey in this report, Return to Office: The North American Nonprofit
Perspective.
Our findings both confirm – and occasionally challenge – suspected industry
trends, offering insight into the future of work as many nonprofits explore
new, more effective ways of working. One consistent theme persists throughout
the survey responses: hesitancy. Employees, having quickly adopted to new
technology platforms and the flexibility created by remote work, are now
hesitant to return to the office. Conversely, employers are hesitant to move
toward hybrid or fully remote work models, fearing reduced collaboration and an
erosion of office culture.
We will continue to track workplace trends as they evolve and leverage these
insights to inform flexible real estate strategies that support your mission.
Respondent profile
The majority of survey respondents (96%) were made up of
charitable organizations and professional trade associations that tended to
lease their space (70%) in central business districts (59%). Throughout our
survey, there were no notable variations on how organizations experienced the
pandemic or Return to Office planning based on organization type, lease v. own
or location.
The impact of COVID-19
While 49% of nonprofits experienced a decrease in revenue in
2020, the overwhelming majority of organizations retained their existing office
space (81%) and managed to avoid terminating or furloughing employees (85%). As
hybrid workstyles continue to gain popularity, we suspect there may be an
uptick in the disposition of underutilized space in 2022. Of the 19% of
respondents looking to shed space, 70% were located in central business
districts and 79% were looking to dispose of leased space.
Timing the Return to Office
With 69% of nonprofits looking to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to inform their Return to Office timing, 37% have already returned with another 41% planning to return in Q3 2021 as vaccination rates continue to increase. Organizations seem hesitant to shift to a completely virtual model at this time, a reluctance likely due in part to existing lease obligations.
The future of work
The majority of nonprofits intend to pursue a hybrid work
model with 78% of respondents planning to offer some degree of remote work in
the future. For many, remote work is nothing new and 38% of respondents already
had a remote policy in place prior to the pandemic. However, some are hesitant
to embrace hybrid work with 10% of respondents – and 17.4% of 501c3
organizations – not planning to offer remote work at all. The data suggests
this reluctance reflects a fear that hybrid work would inhibit collaboration
and erode culture – two factors that were cited among the top two priorities
for 66% of organizations. Interestingly, organizations were considerably less
concerned with creating live training and mentorship opportunities for their
employees. While 73% of surveyed employees prefer remote or flexible work
models, it may not matter. The future of work will be determined by the C-suite
with 93% of respondents citing their executive leadership as the primary
decision-maker for all return to office initiatives.
Opportunities
& challenges
The pandemic’s impact on work wasn’t all bad.
Outlined below are respondents’ thoughts on the positive and
negative aspects of remote work. With lockdowns behind us (hopefully),
organizations can begin to explore both the opportunities and challenges
presented by the past year of remote work.
Conclusion
The data is clear: as the workplace continues to evolve,
nonprofits need to carefully balance the employee’s preference for flexibility
with the organization’s need for collaboration and innovation. Developing a
mutually beneficial workplace strategy will be key to growth, and organizations
that do not work to accommodate their employees may do so to their own
detriment. Cresa’s Nonprofit Practice Group experts specialize in creating
custom real estate strategies that support your entire organization. No two
clients are alike, and we work with you to develop solutions that are uniquely
suited to your needs.
End of white paper
If you have significant questions about your current real estate strategy, it may be time for a discussion. Once we have started our conversation, we can create a strategy to look at your business operations and current space and then craft up a plan to find something that is a great fit in the area. With the current vacancies and inventory, we will work with you to get the best deal. We represent tenants ONLY, so you can feel comfortable that we are working for your business 100%. If we can help you by being your tenant broker in the DC, Maryland, or Northern Virginia area, visit my website or call me at 301-841-6542. Make sure to follow all my social efforts by clicking on the links below.
I specialize in providing comprehensive real estate services,
exclusively representing corporate tenants on all commercial real estate needs.
Commercial Tenant Broker
2 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 900
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-842-6542
Comments
Post a Comment