Ark Insights from Recent Change Management

Many across the firm have worked with Ark on programming scopes or in visioning sessions, but a lot of our work happens after the project is designed through our Change Management services. We rarely get the opportunity to share with you what we learn as people begin to use the space, so we’re taking this opportunity to share some of those insights.

What is “Change Management”?

If you’re wondering what this even means, take a look at the attached quals deck first.

What Have We Learned from Recent Work?

Honest Communication

There’s a difference between full transparency and honest communication. While not everything should be communicated, it’s important that relevant messaging regarding change, at the right time and in a user-friendly format, is prioritized.

Oftentimes, internal teams battle over what to share with staff. Facilities teams have the tendency to overwhelm with policies, while People teams shy away from communicating details that may create backlash they would then have to address.

Ultimately, we find that the C-Suite or Leadership Team of an organization have the most power to direct their own ship. When these members are absent from the change process, the parts and pieces tend to tread water and argue amongst themselves. When leadership is involved and provides succinct, clear, and direct communication at critical points in time, it can do wonders in establishing trust with employees and ensuring stability through change. 

Phone Rooms, not Phone Booths

Phone Booths - those small squares that dot the floor plan and breakup open expanses of workstations - are looked down upon with scorn from most end users. People say they are too small, too hot, or not acoustically sound.

We hear their sentiments, but sense a deeper unspoken reason in many cases, which is that phone booths often signify the privacy people have lost if they used to have a private office or spacious cubicle. The phone booth is what we as change managers point to and say, “but look you still have private space when you need it.” Booth shortcomings outweigh the benefits.

“I rely on dedicated space behind closed doors to do my work, but it cannot be one of those bloody phone booths. It’s too claustrophobic to do anything in!”

Reversely, people really do like phone rooms, especially slightly larger versions that can accommodate two people or be used as a flex office. They often also provide better acoustics and temperature control. If an employee is unhappy about losing their office, this space functions similarly and performs better than the cubicle some may have had.

Perhaps the biggest benefit to us as designers is that there’s less of an opportunity to VE phone rooms from a top-of-the-line model to something more affordable as with phone booths. We hate to see the negative feedback from end users coming from something like that which is often out of HLW’s control.

Policy Supports Design | Design Supports Policy

For many companies providing a new workplace is an opportunity to streamline operations. They may be able to save money with centralized trash and reduced cleaning in certain areas, but these design changes require parallel policy updates (i.e. people should only eat lunch in the café). To help make this happen organizations would prefer if people ate their lunch only in the work café.

In one recent instance, a company created a policy to only eat lunch in the café to encourage its utilization, but then, “I heard we aren’t allowed to eat at our desks anymore” was the #1 response regarding the design of their space. 

You can’t tell people where to eat, but you can strongly influence behavior through design. Ideally the design of the space makes people want to leave their desk and head to the café - if not to be social, at least to step away from their work. That means these more communal zones should be bright and open, but also include private areas, and even single-seating zones for people who don’t want to socially interact. Beyond that, it’s really not up to us, but we can ensure the best potential for success.

People Love Authentic Wellness – If it’s built into the design!

Adding a wellness room - or lactation room, prayer room, nap room, etc. - is usually a good idea. But if that’s the full extent of the wellness program, employees take notice and feel some animosity toward their organization. We hear things like, “We have these wellness rooms, but I’ve never used them.” or worse, “Someone told me we have a wellness room, but I’ve never seen it.”

People can tell when money was spent just to follow trends, without organizational backing. The workplaces that receive top reviews regarding wellness make it embedded within the design. Bright spaces, the ability to have quiet personal space, and areas of greenery that you would also use for working are what move the needle on wellness.