Colliers expands workplace strategy & design services team

A recent survey conducted by Colliers among 76 BSS companies belonging to the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland (ABSL) revealed that adapting the workplace and work model to post-pandemic times is a major challenge for many organisations. For this reason, Colliers is developing its Workplace Innovation department – Karolina Dudek, PhD has just joined the team as Associate Director.

More and more companies are recognising that a new, interdisciplinary approach is needed to create the office of the future. Office space needs to be redesigned and adapted to the new reality and new functions that focus on building interpersonal relations and ensuring employees’ safety, for example by introducing hot desks, booking systems, office management applications and organising more co-working spaces. For some companies, this may also be a good time to review their office space requirements. 60 percent of organisations that are considering changes to their office space in the near future plan to use external experts. Colliers’ consultants and architects will support them in this, enriched by the knowledge and experience of Karolina Dudek, who will strengthen the department in the complex processes of planning, designing, organising and transforming space for large corporate brands. Her responsibilities will include defining the needs of companies and their employees, analysing current space, formulating strategies for hybrid work environments and managing change when moving to a new space.

Karolina gained experience in workplace strategy development at companies including Forbis Group and BNP Paribas Real Estate. She is President of the Polish Work Environment Institute, and is constantly developing her competencies by being actively involved in academia – she is a lecturer at the Faculty of Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and a deputy editor-in-chief of the academic journal State of Affairs published by the Institute of Sociology at the University of Warsaw. Previously, she worked at Kozminski University in the Department of Management, and she completed studies in international relations, management and marketing at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, as well as in ethnology at the University of Warsaw. She also holds a PhD in sociology.

“Workplace design is nowadays a huge challenge and requires taking into account not only the current needs of the organisation but also business strategies to build and maintain a competitive advantage in the post-pandemic world, as well as new ways of working, living or different preferences resulting from the users’ neurodiversity. It should therefore be preceded by solid analysis of the situation, using both qualitative and quantitative methods and involving key stakeholders. Therefore, in my role in the work environment strategy & design services department I will use my skills in organisational diagnosis, knowledge of research methodology and design management expertise to support the shaping of sustainable work environments and help our clients achieve their ambitious business goals,” says Karolina Dudek, Associate Director in the Workplace Innovation department managed by Dorota Osiecka.