CREJ

21 / 24

December 2017 — Office Properties Quarterly — Page 21
FILM LIVE WITH COLORADO SYMPHONY
BRETT MITCHELL, CONDUCTOR
MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS
THU MAR 22 & SAT MAR 24
1STBANK CENTER, BROOMFIELD, CO
PRESENTATION LICENSED BY DISNEY CONCERTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH 20TH CENTURY FOX,
LUCASFILM AND WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC. © 2017 & TM LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“PRESENTATION LICENSED BY
Project Spotlight
location is somewhere our employees
want to be for business development
and recreation, as well as at a cross
section of the many different indus-
tries and submarkets that influence
our work.
2. Assess your staff needs for the transi-
tion as early and often as possible. If your
office staff size is relatively small, you
can survey people by simply walking
around or discuss real estate objec-
tives and strategy in all-staff meetings.
If your organization is larger, consider
using focus groups and online survey
tools to solicit your employees’ views
on key factors such as location, office
layout, dedicated or flexible workspac-
es, telecommuting, amenities, work-
flow and adjacencies, and formal and
informal meeting space needs. Also,
interview department heads and heads
of your corporate services departments,
such as human resources, information
technology, finance and facilities.
3. Make the best of the interim situation,
as long as it’s temporary. It’s often neces-
sary to rent temporary space while you
weigh your options. Fortunately, we
had some vacant space adjacent to our
offices and a good relationship with
our were able to remove a
wall and connect to the vacant space,
into which we brought temporary
workstations.
The modest temporary space pro-
duced close collaboration and a start-
up company feel, which was moti-
vational for the team, forging a new
camaraderie.Working in the unfinished
space also freed us up to think more
creatively about our needs for the new
discovered we really didn’t
need a formal reception area, and
instead added more informal collabo-
ration space that also can be used for
client events and other entertaining
opportunities.
4. Consider additional transition service
needs before committing to a relocation.
We always recommend incorporating
workplace design and project manage-
ment advisers from the beginning of
the process and following input from
employees and independent advis-
ers. These are important services with
time and cost considerations that
should be factored in before signing a
gave ourselves a little over
90 days for a pretty aggressive build-
out timeline. It can easily take 120
days or more, and we often advise cli-
ents to plan for delays due to furniture
or contractor lead times and to work
closely with a project management
team if able. In addition, in the Denver
metro area permitting is becoming an
extremely lengthy process. In some
submarkets it is taking as long as 16
weeks to secure a permit.
Chances are, your workspace and
technology needs have changed
since the last time you moved, so it’s
valuable to bring in workplace strat-
egy experts to help you assess your
operations and workforce needs. It’s
important to solicit design bids from
a wide range of architects, rather than
settling on the recommendation of the
landlord.
While evaluating and engaging tran-
sition services, communication with
your employees will maintain positiv-
ity surrounding the move and produce
valuable feedback. Build consensus
among employees from the begin-
ning around the shared goals of the
move, along with expected transition
challenges. Communicate the overall
benefits and progress of the move
at regular intervals to keep everyone
in a positive frame of mind.Weekly
conversations on the move with our
employees not only kept up excite-
ment about the transition, but also
influenced our build-out and moving
timeline.
5. Keep purpose in focus during the
design process. In our new Denver
office, we eliminated the formal recep-
tion area and repurposed that area
and others into “collision” spaces
where employees can spontaneously
meet to collaborate throughout the
day. The new space incorporates ele-
ments from the hospitality sector,
with comfortable sofas and high-top
tables in a flexible meeting area, and
smaller huddle spaces and phone
rooms, where people can talk without
disturbing standardized
dedicated offices at a size that can
function as conference rooms if neces-
sary. Based on our office’s operational
needs and client services, we opted
to keep the overall atmosphere more
professional, avoiding beer taps, baris-
tas, game rooms and other lifestyle
amenities that are becoming more
and more popular.
It’s tempting to incorporate the lat-
est amenity trends or office design
and culture of companies that inspire
you. For many businesses, these ame-
nities enhance employee productivity
and morale. However, we recommend
that clients implement an office
design influenced by workforce analy-
sis and brand identity. An office design
that supports retention and recruit-
ment of the best talent is one that
puts employees in the best position
to succeed. To identify that position
you must primarily analyze and solicit
feedback from your workforce, rather
than imitating others.
Change can be disruptive, but it also
can be energizing. As tenant advisers,
we have a close pulse on the emotions
and effect of major office relocations
on tenants, but the experience from
the client viewpoint always offers
new insight. In every situation, deci-
sion makers will benefit most by being
sensitive to the employees’ need to be
prepared for the relocation.
Study your workforce needs, reloca-
tion costs, business goals and market
availability with equal value. Once a
transaction is complete, keep employ-
ees’ attention focused on future ben-
efits rather than short-term inconve-
nience with frequent communication.
Build positive anticipation by sharing
photographs of progress in construc-
tion and site visits when possible.
Some clients need to be more discreet
about a move, but it’s important to
let employees know their input was
heard, even if they don’t all get every-
thing they want. s
We discovered we really didn’t need a
formal reception area, and instead added
more informal collaboration space that also
can be used for client events and other
entertaining opportunities.