LOS ANGELES—With flexible working arrangements including telecommuting now an accepted business practice, nonetheless “the desire for engagement, culture and innovation is greater than ever before and is fostered by an environment of community, not dispersion,” according to CBRE Research's latest Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs Report. “So how does an organization voluntarily draw people back into the office and remain competitive?”

The answer, according to CBRE's report, is to “create a user experience, in part through technology, that makes the employee more efficient and effective in their personal and professional lives. Although technology has allowed us to decentralize from the physical workplace, it is now also the catalyst that leading organizations use to make the office the preferred place to work.

“Technology in the workplace can range from fundamental tools required to do your job to sophisticated technology that anticipates an employee's needs throughout the day, the report states. “Where an organization falls in this spectrum will likely determine how much its employees need the office to achieve success and how differentiated the company is from its competitors.”

CBRE's report notes that technology represents the biggest catalyst of change in the workplace today, with mobile devices, virtual networks, videoconferencing and cloud storage creating a seamless transition from the physical workplace of the 20th century to the virtual workplace of the 21st century. Companies increasingly are using sophisticated technology offerings as a way to attract and retain talent in a competitive hiring environment.

Technology is also being used by occupiers to understand and manage their occupancy patterns in sophisticated ways and create an environment that maximizes employee efficiency. “One of the coolest things we see organizations doing today is thinking about the opportunity to connect people more effectively,” says Lenny Beaudoin, leader of CBRE's global Workplace Strategy practice. “A building is inherently a social network, and predictive technology can be used to connect people working on similar projects, connect people to space and connect people to services that help them make more efficient use of their time.”

Additionally, says Georgia Collins, co-leader of CBRE's Americas Workplace practice, notes that, “Predictive tools will help us accelerate how professional networks are built and relationships are formed. This will be facilitated by technology, but it will be the responsibility of someone at the local level to take on a concierge-type role that will foster these relationships. Many commercial real estate organizations are transforming to fill this role.”

Health and wellness is also a growing trend in workplaces across the globe. Technology related to health and wellness, such as wearable fitness trackers, apps and social network platforms, is growing in usage—but providing the hardware is only the first step.

“Analyzing data to create targeted campaigns to employees based on health needs and evaluating program effectiveness according to healthcare spend is the future in this space,” says Julie Whelan, Americas head of occupier research at CBRE. “As demographics in the workplace get younger and technology advances, we expect this trend in health and wellness to grow.”