Space Odyssey | STEELCASE 360

http://www.steelcase.com/insights/articles/space-odyssey/

Two years after we began reinventing our spaces, 

here’s a look at what we did and what we’ve learned along the way.

“This past year Steelcase reported its best year since we began to feel the impact of the economic downturn in 2009. We didn’t just survive the global recession—we came out of it healthier, stronger and ready for the future.

It may be tempting to use a recession as a time to hunker down, but instead we reinvented ourselves, accelerated change, and invested in our future. For example, we invested in our brand, globalized our product platforms and worked towards becoming a globally integrated enterprise.

At the same time, we were approaching our 100th anniversary and faced the same dilemma as many other companies: excess real estate. In some parts of the world major organizations took it as far as to ask, ‘If people can work anywhere, do we really need offices anymore?’

We knew the office was changing, but it wasn’t going to go away. While we had to free up excess space, we looked at the problem through a different lens. We believe that, more than ever, people need places where they can come together, feel connected and build a strong sense of purpose.

We challenged ourselves to use our real estate strategy to do more than just cut costs. We viewed it as an opportunity to optimize our real estate at our Global Headquarters campus in Grand Rapids, Mich., by activating space that as relatively unused before, as well as use our workplace strategy to accelerate the evolution of our culture.

It was a tipping point for our company. When our leadership team reviewed the real estate strategy and presented the financial argument, it was an easy decision on those terms alone. Real estate and costs would be reduced by half. From a numbers perspective, it was an easy call.

But as a leadership team we said we wouldn’t do it if it didn’t shape the culture of the company. It was the most important reason to do this project then, and it remains the most important one today. Employees are together on one campus where they can easily connect with their colleagues, their work and the organization. There is a buzz that just wasn’t there a couple of years ago. It’s undeniable.

Our new work environments have changed us as an organization. It’s obvious to everyone, including visitors to our spaces who tell us they can sense the essence of our culture and brand through the space. And they are just as interested in learning more about that as they are in our furniture.

This is how we did it…”