Sabine Walter, in conversation with ...

Martin E.J. Becker, Managing Director of RBSGROUP - Part of Drees & Sommer in Munich

Mr Becker, what do you love about your job?

Interestingly, this is still the same thing that led me to devote myself to consulting and planning work environments 30 years ago. It's the diversity. I get to know the most diverse companies: from start-ups to large international corporations. And when I say I get to know the companies, I mean it. We deal across all hierarchical levels. We know what makes the company tick. We know the culture, we experience how decisions are made, we experience communication and togetherness. 

To feel these differences in the context of our work, but at the same time to see the commonalities of all these different companies, is still the most exciting and inspiring thing about my job. 

Even after such a long time, I still experience in everyday project work new forms of cooperation models that companies live by or how they deal with working time models. Social trends such as digitalisation and sustainability are also changing users' demands on the office environment. As RBSGROUP, we design working environments according to precisely these criteria and also reflect this attitude in our own projects, because the best way to prove what works and is economically viable is to demonstrate it yourself. In the new Drees & Sommer office building in Stuttgart, for example, recyclable materials based on the cradle-to-cradle principle are used alongside digital everyday aids to ensure a healthy office environment.  

Being able to help shape the rapid changes in the world of work and to develop solutions for ever new questions and problems is what has driven me in my profession for as long as I can remember. 

 S.W.:  The RBS GROUP has developed rapidly over the decades. Which achievement or aspect is the most fascinating for you? 

Due to my training, naturally the communication processes. When I look at the changes that have taken place as a result of the pandemic, topics and issues like working from home or from third places have not only gained significant priority, but have almost become a trend accelerator, as here too, communication and with it communication processes come first. How do I keep in touch with my employees? How do I manage to pass on entrepreneurial spirit? What is the social interaction of people that we desperately need and that we are all missing right now? What do digital or hybrid leadership models look like? Finding answers to these questions is important even beyond the Corona pandemic, because the working from home will remain an element of work culture. That means leadership, communication and social interaction will change. At the same time, in order to preserve the positive aspects of a purely presence-based culture, we must actively address these issues. This also includes dealing with the significance and role that offices will have in the future. They will increasingly develop into a meeting place that can be individually and flexibly adapted to the needs of the employees.

But that is by no means all. We are also investigating the impact of changing work environments in a broader sense, i.e. how we design buildings, what mobility concepts we need and how we will develop neighbourhoods and our cities. 

S.W. With all the changes in work culture over the last 30 years, what do you see as a constant? 

People are always at the centre. People with their need for social interaction, for exchange, for communication, for physical cooperation. This will not be replaced by artificial intelligence; it was, is and will continue to be the driver of human action. We know from studies and empirical research that most innovative thoughts and ideas arise through direct, personal exchange. And that is an elementary question at the moment: How can we allow this in times of social distancing? Or how do we deal with it and create "physical closeness" under hygiene protection regulations that the pandemic is forcing upon us at the moment? 

These are all questions that are currently part of our work and our projects. 

One topic that is currently bothering me personally for my company, but also for our customers, are so-called hybrid spaces. This is primarily about the question, how to ensure that closeness and exchange happen even when people are not in the same room. Do we actually still need classic meeting rooms? We are currently thinking about studios with the appropriate technology that will make it possible to merge the digital and analogue worlds. 

What parallels are there to what we do, personality and organisational development?

I would like to distinguish between internal and external effects. What does personality and organisational development mean for a person himself, and what does it mean in social interaction? 

Let's start with the inside: In my view, we have reached the end of the age of self-optimisation. We are challenged to pay more attention to our surroundings again. The question: "How do I behave in a group?", is becoming increasingly relevantbecause we know that often only the group or the interaction and cooperation with others will bring us further. The optimum of the individual must and will lose importance. 

Let's talk about the outside: Personality and organisational development can also manifest itself in the demands placed on working environments because offices have long been more than just a place of business. They are a business card of the company and an important element in the competition for the best talent - and thus an integral part of employer branding. 

In addition, the office is a place that makes corporate values and visions tangible in space, offers support and orientation and thus increases the employees' loyalty to the employer. Flexible working models, a corresponding culture of trust and a high-quality working environment and equipment will be (even) more important decision-making factors for applicants and employees in the future. 

Corporate, leadership, communication and interaction culture are reflected in the spatial environment and influence it equally. There are our parallels and at the same time an intersection that offers potential to complement our services. 

When do you get the best ideas?

There's a quick answer to this question: When I'm sailing. Contemplation and the space for creativity arise there. 

What will your profession look like in 2050?

For me, my job has a lot to do with leading people, i.e. with providing orientation and security. These will still be the tasks of managers in 2050, despite digitalisation and artificial intelligence. With the changes in our familiar and accustomed living and working situations, the nature and meaning of cooperation and togetherness will also change; especially against the background that the majority of the jobs in 2050 do not yet exist today. 

I'm not a clairvoyant, but in terms of content, too, nothing significant will change in the grand scheme of things. In my role as a partner of Drees & Sommer, the ultimate goal is to create a world - from the world of work to the city - in which all generations want to live and can - today as well as in 2050.  

Martin Becker is a partner at Drees & Sommer and, as Managing Director of RBSGROUP - Part of Drees & Sommer, is committed to designing sustainable working environments. Martin Becker has been supporting companies in innovation and change management for 30 years. He ensures that contemporary workplace concepts are created and successfully implemented.