Hírek
What is workplace strategy and how have we managed to live without it?
Every now and then, new concepts emerge in the real estate and office market - last year, one of the key words was clearly workplace strategy. We asked Aron Láncos, an expert in the field and head of the ML2C business division, to explain not only what the term means, but also the different processes, working methods and new approaches it represents.
Let’s start with a recent news: the BOSCH Campus won the best office park award in the Office of the Year contest. Do you think this would have happened without workplace strategy?
When awarding the Bosch Campus, the jury not only appreciated the spectacular design, but also the whole process of rethinking and optimizing the way we work and use the office - the workplace strategy. Offices have become colorful, visually striking spaces focusing on user experience, but let’s not forget that they should also be very functional. The money invested in office development must pay off - while the results can be visible in work efficiency and employee satisfaction. In the case of an office investment as large and long-term as the 90,000 square meter Bosch Campus2 building, which will provide offices for 1,800 highly qualified engineers, proper preparation and strategy were highly essential.
There is no Hungarian term for it, and a definition is also missing: what does workplace strategy mean?
Yes, it has become a trendy buzzword these days meaning slightly different things to everyone. As we understand it, this is a complex process of analysis, coordination and planning, where we explore the organization’s operations, its current state and its vision for work in the future. In the analysis we highlight current weaknesses, conflicts and opportunities to be exploited. These are summarized in a coherent, detailed and feasible action plan. This is what we call a workplace strategy.
At what point and how is workplace strategy integrated into the overall planning and construction process?
Ideally, this is the first step, which precedes the planning process. We need to define exactly the size of the office we need, the size and layout of the spaces, who will use it, how it will be used and how regularly. How much change can the organization tolerate? How much flexibility and adaptability are we planning to build into the new design?
These decisions have serious cost implications and consequences when you consider our ever-increasing construction, operating and energy costs. It is worth setting aside 2-3 months for this process before planning starts.
What are the stages in the strategy and how can you customize it?
It’s important to have a good understanding of the organization, its work processes, and the ways of working and collaborating between and within departments. We need to understand the direction the company is trying to take and the challenges the management is seeking to address by transforming the office. It is important to understand the extent to which the company is open to change. The focus of the research will be based on these aspects.
Data will be collected through questionnaires, interviews, field observations and workshops. The raw data and results of the questionnaires are analyzed and interpreted by the project team.
Based on the data and criteria extracted, we develop several possible strategies and scenarios for the development or reorganization of the office. Further analysis and testing of the alternatives will result in a final winning strategy, which will be implemented in a very thoroughly drafted design and floor plan. And then the interior design can start.
In Hungary, MádiLáncos was the first company to have the opportunity to apply the strategy to a project as large as the new BOSCH campus. Who were your international partners and what knowledge and experience did you gain from this project?
Because of the scale of the work and the ambition of the organization, we decided to work with the Dutch consultancy Veldhoen+Company, who are major players with high-profile projects around the world. They developed the concept of Activity Based Work (ABW), which revolutionized the design of single-space offices. Basically, this practical approach was applied to the Bosch project with the support of Veldhoen. Based on the analyses and workshops, we identified the different workflows and activities, and assigned them to equipped space types with appropriate size. This is what ABW is all about! There are many different types of activities in the office, which cannot be well represented and supported by one type of desk and 2-3 different sized meeting rooms - this is why traditional single-space
offices don’t work well. In the case of Bosch, we have planned at least a dozen different space types.
Another key element of the concept is the appropriate zoning of different functions and activities, which minimizes movement and noise between workplaces. It is important to note that our analysis shows that the most significant disturbance in single-space offices is movement and noise.
All in all, we managed to develop a very unique and forward-thinking strategy with the Veldhoen and Bosch team, which we have implemented in the interior design.
With regard to the BOSCH project, you and the client have repeatedly mentioned that the design was preceded by a pilot project of unprecedented depth and scope in Hungary. How did this contribute to the project as a whole?
The management of the Bosch Campus2 project has put a very strong vision at the heart of this investment, which is itself of unprecedented size and complexity. Instead of a department-based silo operation, they envisioned a structure optimized for a fully project-based operation, able to respond flexibly to the new challenges of an ever more rapidly and radically changing business environment. The project team was able to experiment with specific elements of project-based operation in practice, in a renovated office space of more than 1000m2 with real numbers of employees. Here they could test desk sharing and its different ratios. It was possible to observe the operation and success of different new types of spaces. We continuously monitored user feedback and integrated the lessons learned into Campus2’s plans. The pilot project also proved to be an excellent educational tool, allowing staff to try out and learn about the elements and operation of the new office.
Can you give an example of how the strategy works in case of a smaller project?
We work in exactly the same way and with similar tools as we would in a large project. Perhaps the only difference is that we are able to work and think together with a higher percentage of employees in person, but the problems and challenges are no less. Allen&Overy, a law firm, was a finalist in two categories at this year’s Office of the Year Awards, a smaller scale project in which we were involved from the very beginning of the process right through to the handover. Our workplace strategy analysis, which focused on returning to work after the pandemic and hybrid working, was used to determine the ideal size, space structure and equipment of the new office. Once the office had been chosen, the planning could start, based on the strategy that had been previously outlined. We managed the fit-out, furnishing and LEED certification of the new office as part of our project management service. Since its handover, the office has been well utilized, which is the real success for us.
What are the biggest benefits of using workplace strategy that can be seen by the client and employees?
It is an age-old truth that a good design requires a good design schedule. You need to take the time to identify the real needs, future changes, risks and opportunities. When preparing an office project, the management has to make long-term strategic decisions with serious cost implications. We can prepare, support and justify these decisions with our workplace
strategy consultancy. Good strategic decisions have resulted in an office that is cost-effective to build and operate, of optimal size, with no redundant, underused space or furniture. An office where employees are happy to work and meet each other, because it serves their needs and does not hinder them from working effectively.
Workplace strategy is a very exciting process. What do the employees of MádiLáncos enjoy about it?
Indeed, it’s always an exciting journey to discover a new corporate culture, to get a glimpse into the operation of an organization, to meet inspiring people and to learn about their daily work. Relying on our 20 years of office design experience and research, we are often able to provide our clients with new ideas and solutions, looking at the company’s operations from the outside, in ways they would never have thought of from the inside. It’s a creative process of thinking together that leads to a real flow experience.
