Introduction: The Evolution of Hybrid Work
Whereas hybrid work isn’t a brand new idea, it continues to evolve as we collect extra details about worker work preferences and clients’ office and actual property targets. At Cisco, we leverage the insights gained from our personal hybrid work environments, together with our workplaces and collaboration facilities, to form our strategy. On this weblog, we are going to deal with two of our Hybrid Work constructing pillars—supporting hybrid work and digitizing actual property—and the way knowledge performs a significant function in optimizing workspaces. The remaining pillars, company sustainability and worker well being and wellness, might be coated in our subsequent weblog.

Assist Hybrid Work: Designing Areas that Matter
Whilst workers return to the workplace post-pandemic, corporations are reconfiguring their actual property portfolios to align with their return-to-work methods. Cisco has been proactive in reimagining the office by investing in collaborative hubs and, in some circumstances, downsizing workplace areas to prioritize different areas.
Toronto & Chicago
Our hybrid work journey started with the design of an innovation heart in Toronto, geared toward inspiring innovation and funding in Digital Transformation. This workplace, though constructed earlier than the pandemic, marks a few of our first steps in creating sensible and collaborative workspaces. By leveraging a single converged community powered by Energy over Ethernet (PoE) know-how, we linked individuals, processes, and knowledge, enhancing productiveness and optimizing vitality utilization. Over time, we made changes to the house based mostly on insights gathered, together with downsizing the general floorplate. In the present day, the Toronto workplace serves as a studio to teach individuals on the hybrid work journey.
In Chicago, our workplace format was designed to accommodate a pre-pandemic work surroundings, with workers spending extra time within the workplace. Nearly all of the format was devoted to “me” areas (70%), reminiscent of private workplaces and particular person workstations, whereas the remaining portion targeted on “we” areas (30%) to foster collaboration. This workplace serves as a showcase for Cisco’s know-how and collaboration units, furthering our hybrid work journey.
Penn1 & Atlanta
All through every these initiatives and our work -from-home experiment through the pandemic, we collected vital knowledge to tell our future house designs. A 2021 Cisco Worker Survey revealed that 81% of our workers most popular to work exterior the workplace for 3 to five days per week, with workplace visits primarily pushed by studying and collaboration wants.
Armed with these worthwhile insights, we integrated these findings into our subsequent main workplace transformations, together with PENN1 in NYC and our newest workplace in Atlanta. In these places, we purposefully designed particular areas reminiscent of scorching desks, huddle rooms, and collaboration areas to align with the recognized developments and utilization patterns of our workplaces. Every of those workplaces had been meticulously configured with layouts and know-how to reinforce productiveness and gather worthwhile knowledge for ongoing assist of hybrid work. At each, Penn1 and Atlanta, our dedication to hybrid work is clear within the deliberate discount of house to satisfy workforce capability, utilization of collaboration know-how, video-enabled environments, prioritization of collaboration areas over particular person workstations, and the elimination of private workplaces.
The PENN1 workplace follows a 30% “me” house to 70% “we” house ratio, which is the alternative of what our pre-pandemic workplaces had been designed for. With the event of our newest workplace in Atlanta, the ratio of “me” to “we” areas is now 10% to 90%. This clear shift displays our knowledge and observations on how individuals now make the most of workplace house. Hybrid work means going to the workplace to collaborate with others, relatively than specializing in particular person duties. The alternatives we made in our workplace designs show our dedication to creating environments the place groups can thrive, have interaction in significant studying, collaborate seamlessly, and drive innovation.
Digitize Cisco Actual Property: Leveraging Information for Smarter Workspaces
Constructing on the earlier part, we now discover how knowledge and analytics have formed Cisco’s decision-making course of in creating workspaces that promote collaboration, studying, and productiveness. By harnessing insights from varied sources, we now have been in a position to optimize the bodily surroundings to align with worker wants and preferences. Listed below are just a few examples of how knowledge and analytics have guided our hybrid work strategy.
Cisco Video Finish Factors
Analyzing knowledge from Cisco Video Finish Factors revealed that the common assembly measurement consisted of three.7 in-person contributors and a pair of.5 distant contributors. Armed with this info, we deliberately designed small collaboration rooms, quiet areas, and huddle rooms that cater to smaller teams. This strategy fosters frequent and efficient collaboration inside a extra intimate setting.
Cisco Areas
Cisco Areas is the core of our Hybrid Work technique, appearing as the inspiration that brings every part collectively. It transforms flat flooring plans into dynamic and interactive 3D maps, serving to us to higher perceive and strategize for house utilization. We constantly gather knowledge across the clock from our collaboration units, networking units, and third-party units, enabling us to achieve worthwhile insights in actual time. This knowledge empowers us to make knowledgeable choices throughout the various areas of house design, security, sustainability, and worker well being and wellness. Whether or not it’s reimagining the format of a room or serving to amenities know what rooms to wash based mostly on occupancy, this knowledge offers us with the insights drive an impactful and knowledgeable hybrid work follow.
Room Design

By using knowledge from Cisco Areas, we recognized a well-liked room format at Penn1—a semi-open house with a high-top bar, low-profile seating, and restricted energy shops. This configuration unexpectedly grew to become a most popular spot for workers, encouraging targeted collaboration and decreasing distractions. Analyzing room utilization knowledge by Cisco Areas allowed us to acknowledge the demand for such areas, main us to implement comparable designs in our newest workplace in Atlanta.
Worker Information
Business requirements revealed that workers usually go to the workplace to study, collaborate, and socialize. This information significantly influenced our house design, leading to devoted areas at Penn1 and Atlanta that cater to those features. From giant, linked rooms for coaching and workshops to smaller breakout rooms for collaboration, our areas are purposefully designed to assist these actions based mostly on worker knowledge.
By leveraging the ability of information and analytics, Cisco has made knowledgeable choices about house utilization, room design, and assembly configurations. This optimization not solely enhances the bodily surroundings but additionally ensures that our areas align with the wants and preferences of our workers, facilitating a seamless transition into the hybrid work mannequin.
You Can Be Subsequent: Translating Information into Motion
Now that we now have mentioned how knowledge informs our strategy to hybrid work, you might be questioning tips on how to start implementing your data-driven technique. At Cisco, we acknowledge that sensible buildings and hybrid work environments require a community of trusted companions to design, construct, implement, and iterate — companions identical to you. To get began on growing a data-first strategy to hybrid work, take into account the next choices as your subsequent steps:
- Schedule a tour: Go to our new workplaces in Atlanta or PENN1 in NYC to witness firsthand the data-driven strategy we now have adopted and the way it can profit your clients. If you’re an present companion, attain out to your Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor (PMM) at the moment.
- Digital tour: If an in-person go to isn’t attainable, take a digital tour of PENN1 to preview the capabilities of our sensible constructing strategy.
Collectively, let’s leverage knowledge to create actionable insights and form the way forward for hybrid work. By creating workspaces that workers wish to return to, buildings that present the mandatory knowledge to adapt to altering wants, and environments that foster sustainability and innovation, we will ship the expertise that each clients and workers want.
Keep in mind, the way forward for work is hybrid, and knowledge is the important thing to unlocking its full potential. Collectively, we will create workspaces that encourage productiveness, collaboration, and success. Let’s embrace the ability of information and embark on this thrilling journey towards a extra linked, sensible, and versatile work surroundings.
Coming Quickly: Sustainability & Worker Wellness
In our subsequent weblog, we are going to delve into the remaining two pillars—company sustainability and worker well being and wellness—and discover how knowledge informs our strategy in these areas. Keep tuned for extra insights on how Cisco is main the best way in delivering a data-informed hybrid work technique.
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