From Core Beliefs to Unassigned Seats: Change Management in Action

Love Englund, from original post Dec 1, 2016

More and more, companies are reassessing how spatial environments and ways of working affect productivity. Given our unprecedented technological advances, as well as an understanding of the role work-life balance plays in fostering excellence, it is not so surprising that firms are rejecting traditional office set-ups in favor of models that center on flexibility, autonomy, and most of all, people. I’ve discussed the incentives for change here before - but how to ensure a smooth transition from old to new?

Let’s say you’ve decided on an Activity Base Club. You can read about it here, but to recap, the approach maps the office by required functions, removes assigned desks, and facilitates remote working. But how to go about steering your office overhaul to success? That 70% of all change initiatives fail is a figure that gets bandied around a lot, and its validity rightly scrutinized. Nonetheless, the assessment was backed up by McKinsey’s 2008 survey of 3,199 executives reporting a one in three success rate. Anecdotal experience also reinforces this sobering statistic that underlines my most important takeaway for transition: call in the experts! After all, layout, seating plans and people flow represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to facilitating change. For that reason, TRWS works with third-party consultants to support the mental shift from a client’s current status to its desired future state.

 First and foremost these adjustments aficionados communicate proposed plans face-to-face to the entire team. Detailed follow-up with HR is particularly important, as is appointing so-called ‘change champions.’ Although their numbers will vary depending on the organization (in a recent presentation real estate firm JLL suggested around 15% of total staff), their role in relaying information, vocalizing concerns and advocating new behaviors can’t be underestimated!

Although change management professionals do a great job in road-mapping what can be a disruptive period for even the most stable of companies, there’s also cultural challenges to consider - particularly in China where the issue of visibility and presenteeism can prove a particular stumbling block. In traditional work places under conventional supervision, presence in the office equals performance. This jars with the trust that underpins ABW’s effectiveness: the autonomy it grants staff to choose where they work best. Management must challenge these engrained behaviors by communicating how output is measured.

Engaging external experts and third-party consultants helps design companies and their clients preempt pitfalls, timetable transition, and ease teams into their new ways of work. Change management is not straightforward, but by positioning a company’s strongest asset - people - front and center, we can all change for the better.

Love Englund has 20 years of experience in workplace interior design and is currently heading TRWS’s operation and expansion in Asia.