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Changing workplace perceptions

Realising that your work space exists largely in your mind opens up a host of new doors.


Johannesburg, 13 Nov 2017

When one of South Africa's top businesses moved a division from central Johannesburg to Sandton, it took a surprisingly modern approach to managing the move, unlocking a culture change that has grown ever since. Change Logic's Real Estate Optimisation executive Diana Hingeston says: "While many corporate offices are staid and old-fashioned affairs, often reflecting a hierarchical management infrastructure, leading organisations are thinking about creating the workspace of the future to ensure they stay relevant.

A change in workplace generally requires a relocation, and this component is often neglected. Hingeston says: "Businesses can be very linear in their thinking around how changes are implemented. This is true for office relocations as well. They plot the shortest route from A (status quo) to B (desired status) and assume everyone's journey between the two points is the same. This is all too often not the case and it's in the cracks between assumptions and reality that productivity is negatively impacted."

Productivity is the one thing that business cannot sacrifice when moving to new premises; all systems have to work from day one, and this is why businesses are well advised to retain the services of a relocation change management company to mitigate that risk. She explains: "We approach office moves from a change management background, with a specific focus on the impact that moves could potentially have on operations if not handled properly. No business can afford to lose weeks of productivity following a move because people don't have access to networks or e-mail or are just generally glum about the move."

When relocating any business, there are three opportunities to manage the change in order to reduce the impact on the business, she says. "The first of these is what we refer to as the hygiene factor."

Systems and processes

The hygiene factor is all about ensuring that the systems and processes in the current workplace work just as well - if not better - in the new premises. "You need to ensure that each individual has exactly the same set up in the new location that they have currently," explains Hingeston. "So if they have a specific chair or computer screen, or access to a particular network, all of that has to be replicated seamlessly in the new environment.

"We use an in-house developed tool that visually links individuals, their workstations and all their hardware and software requirements, and even their preferences to a database. This comprehensive view of the individual and the business requirements makes seating plans and stacking of spaces easier and faster. From this database labels are generated for everyone's possessions. This precise planning ensures that the person has every single thing that they need to be productive waiting for them when they arrive for their first day at the new site."

The move itself happens over a weekend, with a trial run being held on the Sunday to ensure that all connections and systems are operational. This means that staff leave work at the old building on Friday and simply arrive for work at the new premises on Monday with little or no disruption to business whatsoever. An onsite team deals with snags as they come up.

The human factor

Moving house is known to be stressful to human beings and moving offices is no different. While many businesses consider the practical aspects of moving offices, many don't consider the human impact. It's only human to find change stressful, especially when there are unaddressed uncertainties and impacts such as longer travel time, sitting with different people, finding their parking spot, knowing where to make coffee or where the bathrooms are located. Hingeston says: "The impact of a move on the human element can have as much of a negative effect on productivity as the IT systems not working properly, for instance. Stressed and unhappy people aren't productive so it's important to mitigate that risk too by identifying all of the contributing factors and addressing concerns prior to the move."

Growing productivity

The third element that needs to be managed in pretty much any business, regardless of whether it's moving premises or not, is increasing productivity. She says: "It's all about how you use the new (or existing) facilities and new (or existing) spaces, we refer to it as the cognitive workplace. When you start thinking about the space that you work in, instead of focusing on simply having a desk, you're able to balance efficiency and productivity by designing a space that works for each function.

While moving to a new premises offers the ideal opportunity for a business to address productivity, it can also be implemented in businesses that have linear, old-fashioned processes in place and no idea how to break out of that rut. It all comes back to that journey between point A and point B, says Hingeston. "Not everyone's journey is the same, but it is possible to find the most productive way of getting there."

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