Category: Workplace Strategy

Workplace Strategy

When Holland America moves to its new lower Queen Anne offices about 18 months from now, Orlando Ashford will lose the great view of Puget Sound that he currently has from his spacious executive office.

But as president of the Seattle-based cruise line, Ashford says the reason for the move – shifting the company to an open office concept to help the more than 1,000 employees work together – is worth it.

Source: www.bizjournals.com

Holland America’s new workplace change initiative is off to a great start. When an organization secures leadership buy-in (or leaders act as the catalysts for change, such as in Holland’s case) a new workplace strategy has a much higher chance for success.  Conversely, when leaders opt to exclude themselves from an initiative affecting the rest of the workplace, the more likely that resistance to change will manifest.

Individual contributors tend to mimic their leadership, and strive to obtain the career, status, and perceived perks that come with being a higher ranking official within the organization. If company executives can maintain their private offices with the stunning views, there will be little motivation for the rest of the workforce to transition to and work in an open-environment, for example.  The belief that space can and should be used as a currency, or as a reward, is still prevalent in many companies today.

Stegmeier Consulting Group views leadership behavior as an incredibly important Critical Influence that has the potential to make or break a new workplace strategy.  And while it may be difficult to approach the C-Suite from within the organization regarding this, our team is well-versed in conveying business cases for new ways of work to individuals at all levels.  Let Stegmeier Consulting Group help put the “lead by example” mantra to work for your company.

Workplace Strategy

Culture is the soul of your company; it’s intangible but not nebulous. In fact, it’s all around you. While you can’t quantify culture like a headcount or swipe it like a touchscreen, you can feel it. It can be the difference between an open office space and rows of beige cubicles. It can be the sound of employees collaborating or heading to lunch together. It can be an animated GIF sent in a company-wide email and the barrage of playful responses it generates. It can be giving employees the license to be themselves.

Culture is much more than a place and its perks; it’s about creating an ethos that empowers, inspires, and, ultimately, attracts. And if you do it just right, you will be known for it.

Source: mashable.com

Workplace Strategy

2015 is the year of fine-tuning the open office design.

Source: www.fastcompany.com

So you have modernized your office design complete with open layouts, casual working spaces, and new strategies that encourage collaboration and mobility.  Great!  The problem?  The new approach just isn’t catching on in the office, and the investment your company has made in this change doesn’t look poised to yield a promising return.

If this situation has your organization perplexed, you’re not alone. There are several factors (or, Critical Influences as we here at Stegmeier Consulting Group refer to them) that our research shows could have caused this disconnect between the intended results of the workplace change and the actual results.  Rest assured, however, that there are a number of things that can still be done to get your workplace initiative back on track.

Whether it is through training, surveys, focus groups, or other forms of employee engagement, Stegmeier can help your organization pinpoint and overcome whatever hurdles may be in the way.  Don’t settle for the status quo and assume your endeavor is a lost cause.  Contact us to learn more about the 15 Critical Influences that contribute to the success of any workplace initiative, and to learn more about how SCG can assist in making your office a destination that employees can’t wait to visit.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

Office Hoteling helps companies maximize real estate cost savings while providing greater employee productivity and collaboration.

Source: www.rmgnetworks.com

Even if members of your workforce do not travel 80% of the time as the individual in this piece does, your organization still maybe able to take advantage of the concept of hoteling.

For instance, if your employees are simply using their desks as “touchdown” spaces where they recover from and prepare for their next conference room meeting, perhaps that dedicated workstation is simply wasting space.  The same goes for desks of employees that have the ability to work remotely from a home office.  Companies that have moved to a hoteling structure have realized that a 1:1 desk to employee ratio can be inefficient and even costly.

How ready is your organization for a shift to a new, more efficient and less expensive workplace strategy?  Contact Stegmeier Consulting Group and let us help you conduct a change-readiness assessment of your company.  From there, we can help guide and train your people to successfully adapt to your workplace change.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

“I feel like I’m being not only demoted, but punished. Every day I walk in and think, I must be being punished for something.”

While so many companies are moving to completely open floor plans, there’s bound to be some discontent, especially among those who previously held offices. I recently experienced this drastic change at my company, the result being that our CEO sits in a cubicle the exact same size as mine. Seriously. Prior to the move, people were undeniably antsy. On the first day in the new office, everyone looked positively shell-shocked.

Source: www.fastcompany.com

This article offers some great insight from someone who has had to learn to adapt to a new open-office environment.  The shame is that these ideas and suggestions (along with many others) could have been introduced to this workplace long before any kind of change took place.

What is your organization’s plan to avoid employees from being “shell-shocked” when a new workplace layout or strategy takes effect?  For many companies, there is little to no plan to transition from a traditional office to the open-office, or to a new culture of team members working remotely.

Reach out to Stegmeier Consulting Group early in your company’s change process and we can help prepare and train your workforce for the new work environment that will be introduced in the upcoming months or years.  Let us share our over 18-years of knowledge and experience gained through researching and assisting change initiatives with your project team. Stegmeier Consulting Group will help put your organization in the best possible position to reap the intended benefits of the change to your workplace.  

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

New school and office workspace designs created by a group of Penn State engineering students are intended to allow users to share space and materials while maintaining their own work areas—a dual purpose the researchers say has been neglected.

Source: phys.org

Stegmeier Consulting Group applauds Penn State University and their engineering students for their hard work and years of study on continuous improvement of shared workspace environments. 

In 2002, the General Services Administration (GSA) began the Workplace 2020 initiative which was a project that sought to research what workplaces of the future may look like.  It was back then when the administration noticed the workplace becoming “increasingly more team-based and collaborative.”  Two of the “Hallmarks of the Productive Workplace” they identified were spacial equity and comfort: two areas this Penn State research program has worked hard to master since 2010!

Continuing to push the frontier on how organizations can work more efficiently and collaborate better is a passion we share as well.  We have worked with several clients across many industries who have successfully transitioned their employees away from confining and isolated work areas to open, more team-oriented settings.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change