October 2026
Back to the Basics
This month’s Data Digest takes a closer look at one of Ark, HLW’s workplace strategy and research studio’s core offerings: workplace strategy. As a critical first step in the design process, workplace strategy helps organizations understand how their people work, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions before design begins. We’re breaking down the key concepts, terminology, and insights that shape this process, offering a clearer understanding of how workplace strategy creates the foundation for more purposeful, people-centered spaces.
Strategy encompasses a lot of things - like initial visioning, engagements, and space programming; but we also help navigate the initial conversations and pre-design effort in any way we can - through stay vs. go analyses, consolidation assessments, surveys, utilization studies, and so on. Basically, we like numbers and solving problems. We’re good mediators and storytellers, and we enjoy crafting an initial brief to clarify design direction and build consensus across the entire team.
What is Workplace Strategy (The Casual Chat)
Ark works with clients to optimize their space through thoughtful engagements and data-driven analysis. We discover functional and aspirational needs prior to design, so that the entire project team has an established vision and space budget to begin the project confidently.
The Differentiator? We’re a One-Stop Shop for Strategy and Design. Ark’s process is rooted in our partnership with HLW to understand the vision and program for clients’ spaces to enhance their business, support their people, and maximize their real estate.
What is Workplace Strategy (The Formal Discussion)
Oftentimes, clients begin projects without even realizing this service exists. This is where we could use your help (and where we can help you) if there’s confusion around what a client needs in their space. Here’s some flags & light-bulb moments:
When We Can Help
People-Pleasing
Office attendance has been low. How can we get more people to come in?
We want our space to better support our teams.
Our departments have different needs and workstyles.
We need more gathering and collaboration space to draw people into the office.
Real Estate Wrangling
We’re consolidating our space.
We’re growing fast and want to future-proof our real estate.
We’re not sure how much space we need. We may stay or consider a new lease (stay or go).
We think the current space might be underutilized. We may need an occupancy study to understand use.
We want to know what competitors are doing.
Realignments
We want a vibrant and energetic space.
Our office design hasn’t caught up with our hybrid work policy.
We need a space that better aligns with our culture and values.
Our leadership team isn’t aligned.
We want a flexible, kit-of-parts workplace, adaptable over time.
We’re considering a new way of working (hybrid, agile, etc.).
If you’ve heard any of these remarks above, let us know. We’re happy to explain our process and describe how we can provide clarity to the real estate and design process. We’ve also attached an example brief of what our final deliverable looks like for a straightforward workplace strategy scope.
