Location alone can't retain today's workforce: as technology and demographics impact the competition for talent, top companies view workplace real estate from the perspective of not just what or where, but the design, amenities and flexibility it offers.

• Author: Reiss, Dale Anne
• Position: REAL ESTATE

Stock market success and phenomenal growth aside, Google Inc. has flourished because the company is recognized for providing a unique work environment for its employees. From an array of gourmet cafeterias to rock-climbing walls and lap pools, to inviting meeting space and informal "open areas" that encourage impromptu collaboration and big-idea spawning, the Internet giant has created a workplace environment to attract and retain the employees it needs to continue growing.

Genentech Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif.-based biotech firm, is also acknowledged as an "innovator" in real estate design and usage. The company is well-known for offering its employees a work environment that promotes collaboration and knowledge transfer, both face-to-face and via e-communication, along with a culture that serves to enhance work/life balance for every employee.

Workplace environment is one of the top three factors influencing an employee's decision to accept or stay in a job--just behind compensation and benefits, reveals recent research by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Thus, with attracting and retaining the right human capital among the most pressing concerns for senior-level executives, it's not surprising that more companies are taking a hard look at their workplace real estate from the perspective of not just at what it is or where it is, but how it is designed, what amenities it provides, how flexible the space is and how it fits into the workforce's growing desire for sustainability.

In a recent WorkPlace Forecast, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) predicts that work/life balance will be one of the top 10 trends influencing the workplace in the next decade. The high premium placed by a growing number of employees on work/life balance has prompted many organizations to allow arrangements such as telecommuting and flexible work schedules. Such "perks" are prominently featured in retention and recruitment campaigns.

That's likely one reason why more laptops and PDAs are being utilized for longer periods in cafes and coffee shops the world over. The upside for employers of this growing "cafe workforce"--according to a global survey released earlier this year by CoreNet Global's Applied Research Center (ARC)--is that it allows corporations to reduce the size of their real estate portfolio. Cutting back on real estate spending also helps employers avoid cost-cutting in compensation and benefits, clearly two other critical issues for attracting and retaining employees.

The CoreNet survey also reveals that working remotely is becoming quite commonplace. In fact, the physical location of employees on any given workday has become so fluid for some companies that 65...