CRN Rising Stars on….Is the office dead?

As the UK heads out of lockdown, bosses from QUANTIQ, Wanstor, Highlander Business Solutions and Agilitas face off on the future of the workplace

What is the return-to-office strategy of some of the UK's fastest-growing and most profitable channel partners?

This was the topic that dominated debate during our CRN Rising Stars panel last week as the UK continues on its roadmap out of lockdown (see full video above).

According to Stuart Fenton, CEO of Microsoft Dynamics partner QUANTIQ, going 100 per cent virtual could "backfire" if done for "cynical" reasons.

He said QUANTIQ has opted to take more space in central London despite the pandemic.

"We initially saw productivity increase, and then we saw productivity largely plateau. I think the inability to get people together is starting to hinder some people," he said.

Francesca Lukes, chief operating officer at Wanstor agreed, stressing that the MSP's London office holds a strategic status because it is close to clients and is used to train and develop staff.

"We've got a fairly young talent pool. And whilst there are some things you can do remotely, the accelerator of being able to sit next to someone, get to know everyone in the business, ask questions, bounce ideas off of people, we haven't yet found that digital can really replace that in its true form. So we're sticking with the office for now," she said.

Staff feedback

Steve Brown, managing director at Highlander Business Solutions - which has until now operated a 1:1 desk ratio at its Sheffield HQ - said the rise of the hybrid worker model has given it the chance to use its office space differently, with conversations under way to build a gym or wellness room.

"The ideas we've had from staff have been great," he said.

"We've gone one that's got a pet parrot and I think he wants a pet parrot day. My old-school mind says that staff want a night out every now and again… but a lot of them want to bring their pets or kids into the office."

Fenton said a firm's age profile should be considered, adding that QUANTIQ's cohort of "quite mature and developed" staff are "probably more capable at working remotely and still collaborating".

"If you have a small team that are learning from each other, or a young team, that are still developing, I think it's very hard to do virtually," he said.

RELATED READING: NINE UK RESELLER BOSSES ON WHETHER THERE STAFF WANT TO RETURN TO WORK

Some of the key themes to emerge from Rising Stars panel:
- All continuing to invest in office space - not because they are worried about productivity but because offices are strategic to customers and (particularly younger) staff
- Age of employees a big factor in approach
- Traditional office space being converted for more staff health and well-being activities, such as gyms
- Rise of true 'no-desking' (as opposed to hot-desking, where people still nest)
- Employees key to driving what the 'hybrid office' will look like

CRN Rising Stars, which was produced in association with Agilitas, profiled seven of the UK's fastet-growing and most profitable channel partners. Read the report here.