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A few years ago, Neiman Marcus invested hundreds of millions of dollars on remodelling its stores to improve the shopping experience for customers who were accustomed to doing their shopping online. The business is currently employing the similar strategy with its corporate headquarters. The $100 million gamble that Neiman Marcus is making with the opening of its new headquarters in a Dallas skyscraper early next year is that in the post-pandemic world, you can’t just expect people to show up; you also need to offer them a cause.
Private offices and other types of assigned workstations won’t be present in the new location to make place for conference rooms, sofas, and other group-seating areas. The owner of the department store is allocating about 70% of its 85,000 square feet of floor space to these collaborative zones, versus 30% for individual workstations. At the company’s former offices, a collection of suites just above its still-operating Dallas flagship shop, the ratios were inverted. The new workspace is designed to mirror a future in which many business tasks can be completed remotely. Employers like Neiman Marcus are increasingly becoming locations where people can work (and keep their jobs) without having to physically appear at work.
The company is moving in a more advanced direction toward a hybrid work model than many other businesses in the fashion industry, where employees can arrange with their peers to meet in person as needed rather than on a set timetable. According to Eric Severson, chief people and belonging officer of Neiman Marcus Group, “bringing people together in one single physical area demands a whole lot of planning of people’s schedules and life.” Therefore, you should only do that when it is the greatest method for you to produce something together or have a shared experience. Not every business is as adaptable. Employers and professional workers worldwide are debating the details of long-term working arrangements after two years of impromptu development of remote work regulations. This past week, Apple informed its local Cupertino, California, employees.
