There are some who believe that the pandemic has signalled the end of the office.

But for BT, we believe that new, inspiring office environments, combined with a flexible approach to home working, will play an important role in the company’s future.

While some organisations have already switched permanently to remote working – getting rid of some of their office spaces – BT has committed to a hybrid, “smart working” approach, in which colleagues balance their time between home and the office.

A major part of this is making sure that offices are attractive places for colleagues. Spaces that help people get their work done and help them collaborate and socialise.

Even before the pandemic, BT Group had already launched a huge, five-year workplace improvement programme to rationalise more than 300 locations across the UK to around 30, containing modern, collaborative workspaces.

As part of this programme, Cardiff was named in 2019 as one of BT’s key locations and, earlier this month, we were pleased to announce our new, exciting building in the city centre, due to open before the end of 2022.

Our new office will be a state-of-the-art workspace in the new Capital Quarter development and will become a hub for up to 900 employees in the city and wider capital region.

This new workspace in Cardiff is what it’s all about.

A modern building in a great location close to Cardiff’s main transport hubs. It has a sixth floor roof terrace and will feature the latest conferencing and IT facilities, innovative communal spaces, cafes, underground cycle parking and shower and changing facilities.

While hybrid working and new workspaces will offer many benefits, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, particularly for a company as large and as varied as BT.

For some colleagues – many of our engineers and retail colleagues, for example – working from home isn’t always possible, as their roles require them to be serving our customers out on the road or in shops.

But we believe that having this kind of impressive workspace and hub will help colleagues get together – alongside home working – and collaborate effectively. This is particularly important for new starters, apprentices and graduates.

The office provides an invaluable learning environment, where it’s possible to build confidence, learn how teams work and successfully navigate a large organisation.

A hub like this is also important for hosting, or meeting with business partners and clients, and for colleagues’ social and mental wellbeing.

As part of this programme, BT colleagues in other parts of Wales are already enjoying the benefits of working in modern workspaces like this. Our customer service centre in Bangor was one of the first BT locations in the UK to undergo a refurbishment, completed just over a year ago.

We’ll be continuing to consult with colleagues over the coming months about which teams will be based in the new Cardiff location.

We’re excited about this new hub in Cardiff.

Despite the current economic challenges and changes to working patterns caused by the pandemic, this represents a multi-million-pound investment by BT in the city, and it secures a new, significant presence for the company in the Welsh capital.

It will help us attract and retain brilliant people and we look forward to welcoming colleagues into this great new workspace when it’s ready later this year.