Bustin’ a Move!
Recently, we had the opportunity to talk with Daniel Love, Executive Director of Elevate. Elevate are specialists in workplace strategy, technology, culture and change.
As most organisations will move premises as they grow or their needs change, we wanted to know what insights Daniel had to share that could help a business make the most of this new beginning. Here’s what we learnt…
SAVVY BUSINESS LEADERS are constantly looking for ways to improve results and put their organisation on track for sustained success. While there are many strategies a company can employ to achieve these objectives, one of the most effective is creating a modern working environment that keeps your organisation relevant.
“Needing to relocate or create new work environments can occur for many reasons, from needing more space, moving cities, to a lease expiring,” explains Daniel. “The good news? Office relocations can be the catalyst for giving your entire company a strategic make-over, and not just an aesthetic one. This is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed, but it needs to be managed appropriately and strategically to get the best results.”
Today’s office is a different space
Today, employers need to provide workspaces that are quite different to those of just five or ten years ago. The world of work is changing rapidly, employee expectations have moved on and organisations can’t stand still, retain traditional ways of working, keep the status quo and do things as they have done in the past – they need to adapt to change and provide modern, employee-centric workspaces.
“It’s important to realise people now want collaborative, flexible, agile, high-tech workspaces and it’s not a ‘Millennial thing’,” says Daniel. Activity-Based Working combines the efficient use of space with practical working environments that are designed to cater for the ever-increasing different working styles, people and cultures.
“Moving offices can kick-start a company into assessing the way it operates, it can motivate and encourage performance, alter the public, employee and customer perception of the business, and open up ways in which you can be more efficient and effective at what your organisation does.”
There are 4 pillars that need to be considered when developing an employee experience
1. Understand your brand strategy
An office relocation is the perfect opportunity for a business to evaluate and enhance how it needs to be perceived in the market. A move can be a good time to look at changes to your brand, with many companies opting to re-energise their corporate identity alongside a move. “A well-researched brand informs the leaders what needs to change and be developed in their business to differentiate their offering,” adds Daniel. “It is a key driver to understanding what strategies are key to delivering change.”
Your new premises can improve the perception of your brand and what it means to staff, partners and customers. The style, tone and values of your branding changes as a company evolves – a move gives you the opportunity to bring your office into line with your company brand.
2. Leadership and culture
Leaders have a huge influence on organisational culture. Culture is often defined by how people within an organisation perceive the priorities, values and initiatives the leadership team drives. Every employee plays a part in changing organisational culture, but at the end of the day, leaders are the people who own it. When it comes to driving cultural change, leaders play a critical role through their values and behaviour. Part of the employee experience is how well they perceive they are being led. “Having leaders who can articulate a compelling future, who are truly committed to their strategy, and who are able to develop their people to align to the future ways of working and the desired capability will enable the change leaders are looking to create,” says Daniel. “That commitment to change can be delivered practically through aligning your intentions with the design of the workplace. The design can be a tool that energises change.”
It can be a greater challenge to change the culture of an existing organisation than to create a culture in a brand-new organisation or team. But if you want to change your culture, a premises relocation is a rare chance to review the business brand and strategy and deliver a change in mindset – powerful change leadership through this process can align your people and culture to your vision.
3. Update technical systems
A key driver of today’s workplace is changing because of the disruption of technology – technology that is advancing at an ever-increasing pace. An office relocation is an ideal opportunity to update to the latest digital approach to support the way your team works, create efficiencies, reduce costs and enhance productivity. It’s important to realise that now we can work from anywhere, access people and information remotely and create greater work-life balance and flexibility. Employees now have access to great technology at home and information about your competitors. “Not having up-to-date technology sends a signal to your people that you are not a modern employer,” says Daniel. “New tech is crucial to creating an agile, collaborative and flexible workplace.”
4. Improve your processes
Business process is defined as a series of tasks that you and your team must perform to produce an outcome. Processes start with an objective and end with the achievement of that goal or milestone.
Processes that don’t work can lead to a number of issues. For example, resources are wasted, costs increase, workers get frustrated and customers leave.
With changes in technology, working spaces and strategies and process evolve. A relocation can create a reason to force people to change to new efficient ways of working. “Understanding this and developing a change management approach to your move can create a great opportunity to enhance your business,” adds Daniel. “A relocation is an ideal time to investigate new ways of working and change process for the better, improving accuracy, efficiencies and effectiveness and driving business growth.” Examples of process change resulting from a relocation include moving from paper-based to electronic information storage… or creating the ability through mobile technology for your people to work more closely and effectively at a client’s premises, with access to information and data in real time.
Tips to managing relocation
- Understand key decision points – Brand, Location, Costs, People and Culture, Customers, Technology and Process.
- Take a strategic approach to this change and consider your options. Ask yourself and your team, “What are we trying to create? How do we need to work, what is the culture we need?”
- Engage your people authentically and use them to help design a space that works for them. Staff can resist change. For example, “I don’t like hot desking, I want my own desk. I want to sit next to my friends. How do I communicate with colleagues if I don’t know where they are?”. Find out what your staff want. Realise staff need to be involved and engaged in the change if they are to accept it. Language is important.
- Having a clear change management plan to help people through the resistance is important. People need to understand – and buy into – your workplace strategy.
- Remember, change can reduce costs (e.g. rent and inefficiencies) and make the workplace more productive. But you also have the opportunity to make the workspace more modern and reflect the changing world of work so people are attracted to your business.
- You need 6-12 months to work through these changes. The more time you have to discuss the changes and transition with staff, the more time you have to manage the emotion involved, and the more successful the transition will be.
Brief case study
QBE Insurance
QBE Insurance Group had been in Auckland’s AMP tower for 20 years.
BEFORE
- Eighty per cent of staff had a desk with a PC.
- There was very little workplace flexibility.
- Traditional office spaces and desk
- Vast amounts of information was paper-based.
AFTER
- Now everyone has a laptop and can work and sit anywhere.
- Staff have a new ability to be collaborative and agile.
- Paper storage was reduced by 90 per cent.
- Digital storage and processes are now a driver for success.
