Shocker: International real estate portfolios are complicated. But it’s not just about keeping the lights on. The real, modern complexity lies in fine-tuning satellite offices to more efficiently balance between unique regional workplace accommodations and reinforcing a branded structure with corporate values.
The bottom line is modern work operations are dynamic, and so should our office and real-estate strategies.
In this third article in our "Workplace Leaders Insights" series, we dive into this challenge with Daaf Serné, Head of Workplace & Sustainability at Miro, and David Music, Corporate Real Estate Strategy at WTW. These experienced leaders share how they’re successfully navigating this balancing act and offer insights for companies looking to scale their own workplace experiences.
Meet Daaf & David
Daaf is the Head of Workplace & Sustainability at Miro, a visual collaboration platform for international teams. With a background in hyperscaling workplace organizations, Daaf joined Miro at the tail-end of the pandemic and took the helm while helping the company advance in-office experiences and an optimized portfolio tailored to support its scaling workforce.
David comes from a different kind of corporate landscape. As part of the Real Estate and Workplace Solutions team at WTW—a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company—David’s role focuses on workplace technology, data benchmarking, and strategy. He ensures that WTW’s vast portfolio is aligned with future workplace trends and the company’s strategic objectives. His expertise comes from years in global real estate consulting, where he tackled similar challenges for various companies.
Navigating Workplace Contexts at Miro and WTW
From Scaling Up to Steady Growth: Miro's Transition
After a significant scale-up, Miro has been fine-tuning its workplace experience dynamics. For Daaf Serné, redefining the workplace to accommodate an unmandated attendance policy has been akin to reconciling their real estate strategy to reflect the values of their virtual work software.
“Our executives see a lot of value in bringing people together in the office space,” Daaf shares. “But there’s no mandate. How do you organically grow the need to come to the office and be together?”
The answer for Miro lies in creating a compelling strategy that promotes cultural and team-building days, encouraging employees to come in two to three days a week. One technique Miro employs is flexibility in workspace design. For example, they've partnered with a service that allows for easy reconfiguration of office furniture, enabling them to adapt spaces quickly based on feedback from their employees.
WTW’s Agile Workspaces: Bridging Global and Local
WTW, on the other hand, has an established global presence with offices around the world. David explained that the company's agile workplace strategy was established well before the pandemic, allowing them to remain flexible and adaptable through change.
“Our goal around the world is to make sure that when we build an office, it feels the same whether it’s in Vietnam, France, or the United States,” David says. But even with this global consistency, there’s a need to be sensitive to cultural nuances. “Every country has its cultural norms around how people expect to work in an office, but at the same time, we want to create environments that are efficient, clean, and supportive for our colleagues.”
Global Consistency and Local Flexibility: Finding the Sweet Spot
How does a company ensure its office design supports both local needs and a global brand ethos? Miro and WTW have navigated this challenge with innovative strategies.
Building for Culture vs. Building for the Company
WTW has adopted a globally unified approach to office design and workplace strategy across its 350 offices, outfitting each location with equivalent tools, infrastructure, and support
David highlights the importance of technology in maintaining consistency across diverse locations. WTW uses tools like occupancy sensors and room-booking systems to gather data and optimize their spaces based on actual use, not just assumptions.
David explains, "It's really about making sure that the offices, whether you're coming in three days a week, one day a month, or working purely virtually, allow people to work together seamlessly." To achieve this, WTW continuously iterates on office layouts, informed by data collected from thousands of occupancy sensors deployed before the pandemic.
“The way people think about real estate is very different from how they actually use it. That’s why balancing data and feedback is essential to creating the right environments.”
David Music, WTW
The Office as an Anchor: Miro’s Approach
For Miro, the office is seen as more than just a place to work—it's a transactional tool for investing in employees and infusing the company's culture and brand values. Daaf calls the office “the anchor for people to meet, to be together, to mingle.”
Miro’s focus on flexibility has been pivotal in creating collaborative environments. They treat their offices as "learning labs," where they experiment with different setups and make adjustments based on continuous feedback. For instance, Daaf and his team realized that post-pandemic, employees needed to reconnect with in-person collaboration, especially after rapid growth.
Miro implemented culture-building days and team events to organically encourage office attendance without enforcing mandates. This strategy fostered a sense of belonging, helping employees feel more integrated into Miro's culture.
“The office is the anchor for people to meet, to be together, to mingle.”
Daaf Serné, Miro
Another strategy Miro adopted was the use of flexible design elements that could easily be reconfigured. Daaf emphasized the importance of adaptability, explaining that their new office headquarters were designed with modular components that could be easily adjusted based on team needs. They partnered with a provider for furniture-as-a-service, allowing them to change office layouts without major overhauls.
For example, the team could reconfigure collaboration zones into smaller, private spaces as needed, reflecting Miro's commitment to making the office a dynamic, responsive environment.
Another strategy Miro implemented was the use of QR codes throughout their new headquarters. When employees first entered, they could scan these codes, which directed them to a Miro board explaining how to navigate the space.
This interactive approach not only familiarized staff with the office layout but also promoted the company’s core solution of visual collaboration. Daaf highlighted these small, thoughtful integrations help employees feel comfortable and empowered in their workspace, further reinforcing the office as a dynamic and engaging environment.
Learning Through Experimentation
So, how does a company jump into this kind of experimentation and adaptation? With both feet.
Perfect solutions don’t exist, Daaf says, and the only way to begin to see development is by making decisions and moving on them.
“We have our baseline data, and it’s just iteration upon iteration. We keep learning, keep getting better, and are willing to reinvent ourselves over and over.”
A key aspect of Miro’s experimental approach is involving employees directly in the design process. They engage in regular conversations and surveys, ensuring their workspace strategies are not only data-driven but also responsive to real-world needs.
This willingness to adapt has allowed Miro to pivot when certain assumptions didn’t pan out. For example, they’ve adjusted office layouts based on feedback from different teams, sometimes introducing more private areas or altering collaboration zones to reflect how people truly want to work.
Miro’s commitment to learning and iterating from workplace data means is allowing them to prepare to test new ideas, gather feedback, and adapt.
It’s not about finding a perfect solution but rather about creating a dynamic workspace that continues to evolve with the company and its employees
Leveraging Data & Insights to Inform Strategic Decisions
The Power of Data-Driven Design
Experimentation can be costly in real estate. That’s why Miro and WTW rely heavily on data to guide their strategies. Whether it’s budgets, room-booking statistics, or employee surveys, gathering and analyzing data helps them understand what’s working and what’s not.
David mentions, “Before the pandemic, we had over 20,000 anonymous occupancy sensors deployed. That data provided insights into how our people used spaces and allowed us to make informed adjustments.”
Data doesn’t just inform day-to-day adjustments; it plays a critical role in long-term planning and “right-sizing” office spaces. During the pandemic, WTW used those 20,000 sensors to collect data on how often employees used different types of rooms, such as conference areas and phone booths, which allowed them to identify underutilized spaces.
This analysis helped them make strategic decisions about where to reduce or expand office layouts. For instance, if a large conference room was consistently only used by small groups, they might convert it into several smaller, more flexible meeting spaces. This approach helped them avoid costly overhauls while ensuring the space met employees' needs.
But there’s an art to interpreting data.
As David puts it, “You might find that what people say they need doesn’t always match how they use the space. It’s about figuring out which data might be misleading and which is truly reflective of their needs.”
“It’s as much art as it is science. Data provides the foundation, but understanding its nuances helps create the best workplace experience.”
David Music, WTW
WTW also relies heavily on data, but their strategy blends quantitative data (such as occupancy rates and room utilization metrics) with qualitative insights from direct feedback and observations, attempting to get a least three data sources to help them contextualize data points.
For example, David mentioned that WTW regularly conducts surveys and informal discussions with employees to gather their perspectives on the workplace environment and their needs. Often, this results in anecdotal feedback that can throw off planning if weighed without balance. David used the example of meeting room availability.
“[Employees[ don't remember the average day, they don't remember the typical Wednesday. They remember the worst Wednesday. And so when they fill out these surveys, it's always about the worst day.”
David explained that a simple look at corresponding occupancy sensor data shows that these grievances with conference rooms and bookings are not an issue. Instead of adding more conference rooms in an office, workplace teams could potentially alter scheduling to smooth out peak capacity.
A Balance Between Strategy and Flexibility
Real estate strategies that balance global consistency and local flexibility are those where data and dialogue intersect. For Miro and WTW, this means continuously learning and adapting, treating every office as a chance to improve upon the last.
“There’s no silver bullet,” Daaf emphasizes. “It comes down to having conversations, staying open-minded, and being willing to change.”
For companies looking to scale their workplace experience globally, the lessons are clear: embrace flexibility, listen to your employees, and let data guide your decisions—but don’t let it dictate them.
The future of work is dynamic, and so should your workplace strategy.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next in Workplace Strategy?
In the next part of our series, we’ll dive deeper into the evolving role of Corporate Real Estate teams in strategic objectives, exploring how they’re shaping the future of work. Stay tuned for more insights and practical strategies to help you create an environment where your teams can thrive.
