Helping your employees accept change within the office.

In design, our business IS change.

We transform a space for any number of reasons: it’s ugly, it’s inefficient, or it’s too small.  Sometimes we need to modify a space because there is a change in organizational structure or process at a company.  We need to alter the office to make sense.  To most designers, change is necessary, expected, exciting, and the logical next step.   But many people fear change.  What can you do to make a workplace shift happen with as little resistance as possible?

Inclusive Decision Making

Many people view change as losing control of a situation.  If you involve employees in the planning of your transition they will regain what they have perceived they are losing.  You will have to make the big decisions (you don’t want to put them under too much pressure), but you should allow specific decisions to be made by your employees.  Often times in an office upgrade, we are asked to present two different design options so that employees can vote on which scheme they like better or voice their opinion about certain design aspects they prefer.  A little bit of control can go a long way to satisfy your employees.

Communication

Another reason people fear change is because it is the uncertainty of the future.   Talk your employees through this experience.  What can they expect to see?  How does this pertain to them?  How will daily activities be impacted?  Why is this change necessary?  If there is open communication, there is less confusion, less stress, and less fear.

Some of the first people you should talk to are those in the human resources department.  These professionals have a better understanding of what employees like and dislike and they can better gauge how a change will affect the workplace.  By consulting HR, designers can use this information in proposing an appropriate plan.  “Change” is a good thing when it gives the employee an ergonomic chair to reduce back pain or when it addresses his or her concern about acoustical privacy, workplace temperature, etc.

The more dramatic the change or the quicker it needs to happen, the more important the tactics of inclusive decision making and communication are.  These factors are a vital part of design that we consider with every project.  We thrive on change and we’re ready to help guide you through your workplace evolution.

Is your office space in need of an evaluation?