Finance and Well-being Client
A well-being and finance provider recognized that their current locations in the greater Toronto were under-utilized, lacked collaboration areas and that, overall, the physical space did not reflect their vision and brand.
As a result, in 2019 they embarked upon a detailed workplace strategy, change management and communications project that involved the transition of 1,700 employees spread across three sites in the greater Toronto area with over 200,000 square feet into a single location with 120,000 square feet in downtown Toronto. The company also decided to use this opportunity to create a future focused approach to how they worked by moving from a traditional, assigned seating model to a new managed hybrid workplace model.
The workplace transition plan was made up of:
- A change management and communications strategy including:
- A dedicated workplace transformation website
- Change management workshops for leaders and key influencers
- Monthly champion engagement sessions
- Bi-annual employee town hall meetings
- Monthly project updates using an employee newsletter and leadership messages
- A workplace strategy including:
- Delivery of a customized employee survey via JLL.
- A three month sensor utilization study for all sites via the JLL utilization team.
- Leadership Interviews, discovery and vision sessions
- Moderate to progressive test fit space modeling to determine the seat ratios, proposed stack and neighborhood design.
- A technology strategy including:
- Technology oversite – to empower a seamless employee experience.
- Implementation of a workspace and conference room scheduling and measurement software solutions
- Training programs – both virtual and self directed
HIVE Consulting, in partnership with JLL Brokerage and Collective Culture and Communication, led the LifeWorks in-house workplace strategy and change management and communications program for the project.
Working with the LW project team, HIVE, JLL and Collective focused their efforts on:
Key workplace strategy components such as:
- Increased productivity by creating environments that foster innovation and collaboration
- Improved employee attraction and retention, engagement and well-being
- Enabling a workplace culture that is ready to adapt to the changing nature of the business
- Improved internal collaboration and growth
- Becoming more agile to accommodate the future needs of how and where employees choose to work
This project is set to ‘go live’ in October of 2021, in accordance with local COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines.