Why change management matters in workplace strategy

We know from experience and numerous studies that people’s behaviour doesn’t automatically change simply by exposure to a different environment. A company, may, for example wish to, emulate the qualities of a start-up or innovative incubator, and think that updating the office interiors will be enough to stay ahead of the competition. Put in quirky collaboration spaces for group work, pods for individuals and a highly stylised café, and hey-presto the business will have become a market disruptor and well placed for the future. But transforming a workspace and work practices, involves much more than a physical upgrade or redesign of the aesthetics, and it doesn’t end on move-in day. This is about using design as a strategic tool to influence behaviour and performance and change management is often the forgotten hero and less about being in the Zeitgeist or worse-still, a senior managements view of ‘what they believe will make them happy’.

Providing informal spaces for meeting, discussion, brainstorming and coordination will not in itself change how people think about their role or what they can do with others. Getting more creative and collaborative work patterns established takes explicit encouragement and leadership. And so a successful workplace strategy should make communicating, consulting and winning over the employees’ ‘hearts and minds’ about the proposed changes a key part of the project. This requires a collaboration with the design team, bringing the workforce on board and keeping their role as users of the building clearly in focus.

Plan the communications from the very beginning

At a time when more employees, especially knowledge workers and millennials, are making a decision about whether or not to take up a position and stay, if they find the physical work environment comfortable, stimulating and supportive of their mental and physical wellbeing, creating the optimal workspace and involving employees in the process is of paramount importance. Such an investment shows that their employers are truly committed to providing the best environment for the staff to be happy and productive.

Where the workforce is highly mobile, communications as part of the overall workplace design thinking is particularly critical. Staff need to have a clear idea from the time they arrive, on a very practical level, of where to go, where to find things and how to work in the premises. An additional challenge is ensuring a sense of belonging and maintaining high morale when they come into the office.

In our work with a global consultancy with a highly mobile workforce, staff involvement has been central to what we have been creating. The business asked its employees about the office environment they would like to have–finding out what helps or inhibits their work. One of the underpinning principles has been to customise space for the teams and its members, with the design created around each job function. The consultancy conducted workplace journey mapping to identify opportunities for improving employees’ workplace experiences and as a result this highlighted access to the building, the workspace and areas for food and relaxation.

Involve a range of stakeholders

Creating a space for The Crown Estate that encouraged and empowered collaboration, involved rigorous employee surveys and workshops throughout the programme. The Crown Estate established a change management team for the communication of information and change within the organisation with which we worked closely. As part of a major change management exercise, we assisted with regular talks and presentations about the designs for the new workplace, held a pop up exhibition in the new space prior to the fit out, to show the proposed transformations as well as cross-company furniture trials.

 Changing behaviours in tandem with a new environment

Criticism of open plan offices– too much distraction, too noisy, not providing enough collaboration –all point back to the need for communication about how to use the space better. Quiet zones, specific spaces for collaboration, the use of sound-proofing acoustic panels and furniture, for instance, may be in the new scheme and talking and demonstrating their efficacy should be part of the redesign.

Focus on the benefits

Giving up individual offices and moving to a different configuration of workspaces, undoubtedly will require a different mindset and behaviour. It is natural for employees to be worried or sceptical and to think that the changes are just a cost-cutting exercise, which will lead to working in an inferior setting and with less space. The design and management team need to ensure that communications are a priority, leading with the why and highlighting the positive end goal.

Richard Howson, Managing Partner of Kilburn & Strode, the patent law firm which made the dramatic transition from offices to working open-plan, said after they moved:“So thorough was their analysis of how we operate as an operation, the project team were able to stand their ground and win the argument about changing our longstanding working habits. Six months in, I see even those who initially were most skeptical about the change in work style embrace it all like true believers. We are super proud of our new space – we love coming here and enjoy showing it off to others even more.”

Communications doesn’t stop with occupancy

Finally, we need to move away from thinking about how the planning and design is completed with the move-in and that it is when there is a major organisational change or a lease is coming up for renewal that it’s time to go back and involve communications. Measuring how the space is used, how happy staff are, whether there are improvements to be made, should be a continuous process as part of the organisation’s transformation.