- Roz Groves (DSA’s Head of Estates and Facilities)

As with the well reported stresses of moving house, workplace relocation can be one of the more difficult challenges that an organization faces. What is important is that organizations develop an enlightened approach to managing change if they are to make the transition for relocated workers as straightforward as possible, with minimum upheaval. The benefits and objectives of relocation are typically financial, cultural or based on a need to reengineer the business in response to growth or change. Most likely all three factors are involved.

This was certainly the situation that faced the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) when it came to look for new premises following expansion and changes to its organization. The primary catalyst for the proposed move was that the DSA had been expanding and changing rapidly as a result of the government’s Driving Safety Forward campaign. The evolution of the business meant that the two premises it had previously occupied in Nottingham were no longer adequate. The decision was therefore taken to move to a new mixed use scheme at The Axis, a redevelopment of a former Co-Op department store in the city centre. The DSA now occupies some 5,000m² of space on two floors.

While growth may have been the initial driver for the relocation, Roz Groves, the DSA’s Head of Estates and Facilities, believes the move has transformed the organization. ‘We saw the need to move as an opportunity to be a catalyst for change in our business culture – new ways of working in the widest sense,’ she explains. ‘The old building suffered from a lack of investment, which in turn impinged on our productivity. Now, there’s a complete change in business culture, which can be seen in a number of different ways. The biggest thing is a huge improvement in communication. We’re talking to each other. There’s more of a community – people can now put faces to names of colleagues with whom they had regular dealings but never met. The central atrium area for relaxation and informal meetings gets people away from the desks from time to time and aids productivity. Everybody knows everybody. The open plan layout, laid out in clusters, has also been a major benefit. The visibility of directors is high, part of the open plan. Hierarchy exists, but people are approachable now.’

Openness is the recurrent theme of the building. Herman Miller was employed in partnership with a dealer to provide workstations throughout the building. The choice of Abak Environments workstations was ideal for the DSA’s new approach, not only because they provide the right balance between openness and a sense of ownership of space, but also for their ability to meet the DSA’s specific business objectives in terms of sustainability and return on investment.

Abak Environments met the DSA’s rigorous standards for sustainability and also demonstrably met the objective that everything specified for the fit-out should work with the fifteen year facilities management plan for the building. Spread over those fifteen years, the cost of Abak Environments workstations is very low and helps the DSA to meet its objective to occupy a cost neutral workplace. ‘It’s cost neutral because we calculate the lifecycle costs, the rationalization of the building estate and the IT, says Roz Groves. ‘It’s about improvement so naturally we made a business case.’

In doing so, the DSA provides a textbook example of how an intelligent approach to workplace design and management coupled with the right choice of suppliers and other partners can yield substantial business benefits. These include adding to the bottom line, winning the hearts and minds of employees and transforming the culture and feel of the entire organization.

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