GLG: Connecting Professionals in an ABW Environment
Aligning Organisational Purpose and Values
Case Study Overview
Case Study Overview
A new global headquarters in New York City
Organisation: Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)
Location: New York City, USA
Industry: Financial and Information Services
Key Concept: Scaling & amplifying 1:1 learning
The Back Story
The Back Story
GLG wanted to do something different to amplify the unique ways it scales one-to-one learning and brings professionals together.
Activity Based Working (ABW) principles were applied by the architect in the design of the new space, with inspiration to eliminate restrictions of traditional offices, and to enable people to work more dynamically and collaboratively.
GLG brought Veldhoen + Company onboard to help employees better understand the concept of ABW and build new habits to support better way of working.
The Challenge
From the beginning, employees had concerns with not having assigned desks and having to store personal items in lockers. People were reluctant to detach from their old way of doing things. Some were concerned about maintaining a sense of team in the new environment, others worried about the new space’s capability for confidential conversations and accommodation for introverts.
Veldhoen + Company was brought in after the space had already been designed. Unlike a typical ABW project where an initial vision and discovery phase lays the foundation for all subsequent work, the focus of this project with V+C was mainly on the behavioural and change elements. In other words, the project team was solving for the question:
- Now that we’ve dreamed up a modern work space, how do we prepare everyone so that they can realise the full benefits of it?
The Results
The post-move survey results showed:
- 77% of staff agreed that the new office design enables them to work more productively
- 97% reported that the new office is a place they’re proud to bring visitors, a huge increase compared to 13% in pre-move survey
- 92% (compared to 51%) agreed that the new office creates an enjoyable working environment