How finance giants like HSBC and Scotiabank rewrite the rules of the workplace

With New York City serving as both the financial and real estate capital of the U.S., if not the world, it was a fitting backdrop for Financial Workplace, an exclusive forum for finance leaders to explore the behavioral and technological shifts shaping today’s workplace.

This year’s event brought together over 165 senior workplace professionals and leaders from 90 forward-thinking financial organizations to discuss AI’s impact, the evolving challenges of commercial real estate, and the growing focus on employee experience.

Here’s what stood out:

Are finance organizations falling behind in AI adoption?

When asked which area of work finance companies were least prepared for, 27% of attendees pointed to “leveraging data and AI effectively.” That was just ahead of those who cited “adapting to rapid technological shifts.”

This lines up with broader industry trends. A recent Slalom report surveying 200 C-suite executives found that while most companies are piloting AI projects, few are using AI to its full potential. Despite this, 82% of executives plan to increase AI investments this year.

The gap between AI ambition and execution is clear: only 15% of leaders feel their pace of adoption matches the speed of AI advancements according to Slalom’s report. Firms are prioritizing collaborative AI leadership, bringing in diverse perspectives to challenge AI initiatives before they launch. The executives surveyed emphasized AI’s ability to enhance human collaboration and amplify uniquely human skills, rather than replace them.

Throughout the conference, discussions reinforced how AI-powered solutions can reduce administrative burdens and improve the workplace experiences, but these solutions have to be applied thoughtfully.

Data overload: Finance leaders struggle to harness the ‘right’ insights

In an industry that once lacked comprehensive data, CRE leaders are now encountering information overload, making it difficult to extract meaningful insights.

When asked, “What’s one thing our industry isn’t talking about but should be?” attendees identified a disconnect between collecting data and turning it into action. Responses included “connecting data to drive insights” and “how to collect, integrate, maintain, and use modern data infrastructure.”

Another audience poll revealed that 38% of attendees believe better real-time data collection tools would significantly enhance their workplace strategy efforts. Many also shared the ongoing challenge of measuring ROI on workplace initiatives, emphasizing the need to pair quantitative data with qualitative insights to make more informed decisions.

Panelists Melissa Marsh (PLASTARC), Hilary Green (Scotiabank), Kelcia Azevedo (Macquarie), and Linda Foggie (OfficeSpace) on stage at Financial Workplace 2025.

Retrofitting historic buildings: A costly challenge for financial firms

New York City’s iconic architecture presents a unique hurdle for financial organizations. As highlighted in this short documentary from Smart Spaces and WorkTech, many of NYC’s commercial buildings are made of steel and concrete, and updating them to match the needs of the modern workforce is challenging and expensive—often more so than building something new.

Melissa Jordan MacIsaac, Global Facilities Director at Bloomberg, advises teams to start planning and investing early to avoid costly surprises. Vijay Jesrani, Financial Services Consulting Lead at JLL, recommends starting small. “Incremental changes are better than no changes,” he says. Jesrani encourages companies to think of creative solutions, like sharing spaces with the community to maximize their use and value.

For some firms, the solution isn’t retrofitting but relocating. Dallas, Texas, is emerging as a popular alternative to New York City for financial institutions, offering more affordable and spacious real estate options. Two new stock exchanges are set to open in Dallas, and Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot campus in the city, asking their NYC-based managers to relocate. 

Experience-driven workplace design is key

Employee expectations have shifted, and many finance leaders at the event said employee engagement and workplace experience are some of their biggest challenges.

Melissa Fisher, PhD, Chief Cultural Anthropologist at Workathon, says the “liminal space” between pre- and post-COVID offered a rare chance to rethink assumptions about the way we work.

While 91% of finance companies offer some form of location flexibility according to the Flex Index, most require in-office time for collaboration and execution. BlackRock, for instance, has implemented a four-day-a-week in-office policy, emphasizing the role of in-person work to speed up innovation and problem-solving.

Regardless of policy, employees want a workplace that’s seamless, inspiring, and built for connection. Philip Ross, author and CEO of UnGroup, who spoke at Financial Workplace, pointed out that digital tools are essential to shaping these experiences.

Here’s how financial leaders are improving workplace quality and experience: 

• HSBC has added more than 4,500 plants throughout their offices to improve air quality and acoustics. Their meeting room displays show not just availability but also lighting and temperature conditions.
• Mastercard is using AI-powered space management to align on space requirements, considering factors like team size and preference to ensure employees always have a desk to work from when they come in.
• Scotiabank is emphasizing qualitative insights to refine their policies, and using a workplace effectiveness score to understand engagement and sentiment.

Navigating workplace transformation requires the right insights to guide your next move, and digital tools to successfully implement change. 

OfficeSpace provides centralized data intelligence, employee experience tools, and space and real estate cost insights to help financial organizations optimize their workplaces for the future.

Learn how you can harness data for a more connected, seamless, and intelligent financial workplace.