The Campus-To-Corporate Experience

insights for developing human capital strategies

Attracting Top Talent

Your workspace is a competitive advantage!

Each year, a fresh cohort of graduates enters the workforce – armed not only with résumés but also with expectations forged in dynamic campus environments. While compensation remains essential, our new Campus-to-Corporate study reveals that the physical and cultural qualities of your workspace are equally decisive in attracting and retaining early-career professionals.

Graduate Students: 33% graduated within the past 10 yrs. 15% currently in college/grad school. 52% graduated within the past 5 yrs.

We set out to examine this new landscape, exploring how new and recent graduates experience their transition from higher education environments to the corporate world. The results provide valuable insights for companies to use when building their recruitment strategies for attracting talent and retaining human capital.

Jonathan Webb & Brett A. Shwery

Man working in third space with Affina High-Back Lounge Seating and Toggle Height Adjustable Table

Community as a Strategy

How can your office space resonate with new graduates?

Graduates seek more than a desk: they crave environments that mirror the collaboration, amenities, and social cohesion of their alma mater. Hyperflexibility—the autonomy to choose when, where, and with whom to work—emerged as the single most desired attribute, echoing the freedom they enjoyed on campus.

5 Key Findings

What matters most for today's graduates when it comes to an office environment?

01.
Hyperflexibility is King

Graduates ranked the ability to work in varied settings and at optimal hours above all else. Flexibility now encompasses schedules, locations, and team configurations – far beyond the traditional debate between remote and onsite work.

Design Solution: Empower Autonomy For Peak Performance

02.
College Spaces Form Work Preferences

Seventy-nine percent of respondents said their campus study habits influenced their workplace needs. On average, they moved among several settings each day – quiet nooks for focus, café-style booths for collaboration, and open lounges for informal exchange.

Design Solution: Offer Spatial Variety & Routine Change

03.
The Office is a Strategic Asset

Eighty-nine percent of candidates consider an employer's workspace design and amenities when deciding whether to accept an offer. Yet three-quarters of organizations under-communicate their best spaces during hiring, missing a vital opportunity to differentiate their employer brand.

Design Solution: Create Workspaces That Recruit Top Talent

04.
Dedicated Spaces Are Evolving

A fixed workspace remains the most valued physical attribute, but it's waning in favor of adaptable, technology-enabled studios and outdoor "quad" areas. Graduates expect a portfolio of settings that support focus, teamwork, and well-being.

Design Solution: Balance Structure With Flexibility

05.
Graduates Lack Soft Skills

Forty-six percent of college graduates feel under-prepared in communication, teamwork, and critical thinking – and their employers concur. Structured mentorship, peer-coaching pods, and targeted workshops are no longer optional; they are fundamental to engagement and retention.

Design Solution: Bridge Capability & Confidence With Culture

Want the Full Report?

Our white paper offers actionable insights to help you develop and refine workspace design strategies.

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Practical Recommendations

Bringing these insights into action requires more than good intentions; it takes purpose-driven steps. The following tactics translate our key findings into concrete workplace initiatives that resonate with today's graduates and foster lasting engagement.

Observe Campus Dynamics

Spend time on university quads and in student commons to witness firsthand how spatial design and culture interact – insights that can directly inform your workplace strategy.

Invest In Soft-Skill Development

Implement mentorship circles, peer coaching programs, and experiential workshops to bridge communication, collaboration, and critical thinking gaps among new hires.

Showcase Your Workspace

Feature collaborative lounges, technology hubs, and amenity-rich zones in your career materials and interview tours. A well-showcased workspace becomes a powerful selling point.

Adopt Collegiate Design

Adopt booking-free touchdown areas, café-style seating, flexible modular layouts, and outdoor "quad" lawns to replicate the mobility and community of campus life.

Need Help Incorporating Collegiate Design In Your Workplace?

As the #1 premier partner for higher-education environments, we translate campus energy into the corporate success. Connect with your dedicated KI specialist and let's craft a workplace that attracts, retains, and inspires a top talent–again and again.