Covid-19 merely accelerated the trend towards remote working and the evolution of the distributed office. The past 8 months have shown that people can work from anywhere and be productive.  However, such arrangements are not without their technology, leadership, and management challenges. It is not likely that the physical office will become completely irrelevant.  Not all tasks can be done remotely, and humans are sociable animals with a strong need for physical interaction.

Numerous surveys have shown a desire for hybrid working – some time at the traditional “HQ”, some time working from home and sometimes working from local shared spaces, or so called “Third Spaces” where the essentials of WIFI and Caffeine are readily available.

What will the workplace configuration look like post-COVID and how can we design it so that we optimise the efficacy of teams while giving people an attractive work-life balance?  How can we make the best possible use of the existing commercial real estate that has been put in place with huge investment?  What is the role for local and regional hubs in this workplace of the future?

These questions, and others, will be discussed at this webinar with an expert panel of speakers. 

Each will present on their particular area of expertise then Brian Purcell, renowned business entrepreneur and Founder of Big Picture Communications, will lead a panel discussion to pick apart the many challenges and opportunities that post-COVID world presents.

Moderator: Brian Purcell, Founder, Big Picture Communications

• Chris Kane, Founder, SixIdeas – “Reimaging the Workplace for the 21^st Century”
• Suzanne Feeney, Director, Robert Walters – “The Hub & Spoke Model – an Opportunity for Talent Retention?”
• Anne Phillipson, Director, People & Change Consulting, at Grant Thornton NI LLP  “Distributed Working – Leadership and Organisational Challenges
• Edel Flynn, Founder, Element 78: “Physical and Virtual Asset Management for Distributed Teams”.
• Jack Callaghan, SVP Digital Technology, Enterprise Ireland – “Digital Technology to enable effective teamwork under Distributed Workplace Models”.

This event is co-hosted by MERITS and Kildare Chamber and is supported by Kildare LEO and Kildare County Council.

MERITS is supported under the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation‘s Regional Enterprise Development Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland.