Workplace evolution: A year in review

In the ever-evolving landscape of their industry, our customer has become well-versed in navigating dynamic changes. Yet, one hurdle persisted: aligning their physical environment with the ever-changing needs of their employees. How could they effectively respond to the fluid demands while operating within the confines of a static office space? Seeking a solution to this challenge, they turned to the expertise of both spaciv and NORNORM, aiming to create a workplace that embraces adaptability, continual user needs assessments, and flexible adaptations as the new norm in modern work environments.

Assessing needs (3 months in)

After embarking on the evolutionary journey with our customer, it was time to assess the performance of the working environment and determine if it fulfilled the needs of its users. To accomplish this, employee feedback was collected through a crowd review integrated with spaciv to ensure a near real-time experience. 

The initial iteration, revealed that employees desired more informal meeting spaces and were not utilising the focus pods as anticipated. These insights made it apparent that the focus pods needed to be replaced with informal meeting spaces. NORNORM promptly implemented the changes by replacing the unnecessary focus pods with furniture that would facilitate these needs.

(left) The initial analysis revealed the underutilisation of focus pods and the need for more informal meeting spaces. (right) Prompt changes to the space mix improved user satisfaction significantly.

Adapting to growth (6 months in)

Three months later, our client experienced substantial growth, necessitating rapid adjustments to accommodate the expanded workforce.

Fortunately, our customer had foreseen this possibility and incorporated future growth scenarios into their planning process, leveraging spaciv forecasting to include buffer space into their office environment. Thanks to the flexible furniture subscription with NORNORM, our customer could respond swiftly and upscale their furniture solution effectively. NORNORM promptly delivered additional workstations, and adjustments were made to optimise the density of the office space. By optimising existing space and leveraging forecasting, costly office expansions were deferred while meeting employee needs effectively.

Due to increasing demand, the held buffer space could efficiently be utilised as additional workplaces, postponing the need for an even larger office.

Responding to shifts (8 months in)

Following a significant change in team size and work activities, the dynamics of our customer’s work environment underwent a marked shift. In response, another spaciv crowd review was conducted to evaluate the current performance and changing needs of employees.

The review revealed a noticeable change in activity profiles, leading to increasing dissatisfaction as the office space failed to meet the needs of the new work activities. Through densification, the review provided valuable insights, highlighting the problem of noise and insufficient focus zones. Our customer was keen to respond rapidly to the declining satisfaction levels and ordered single focus pods to address the issue. However, thanks to the insights provided by spaciv, which additionally demonstrated the need for space for small meetings without disturbing colleagues, NORNORM recommended switching to a two-person chatbox. This solution met both requirements simultaneously, saving the customer money and space.

Changing user activity profiles and needs lead to a shift in demand for quieter and more focus-oriented spaces.

Fine-tuning (12 months in)

Data collected through the spaciv crowd review revealed a noise problem and insufficient focus zones following the densification. Our customer was keen to respond rapidly to the declining satisfaction levels and ordered single-focus pods to address the issue.

However, thanks to the insights provided by the spaciv platform, which demonstrated the need for space for small meetings without disturbing colleagues, NORNORM recommended switching to a two-person chatbox. This solution met both requirements simultaneously, saving the customer money and space.

Driving workplace evolution

After a year-long journey with our customer, we’re excited to confirm that the vision of spaciv and NORNORM is highly complementary. Our partnership has created an easy, sustainable and cost-efficient process that drives employee satisfaction and increases organisational effectiveness. With spaciv’s platform providing the essential insights to develop effective strategies in addition to NORNORM’s expertise in workplace planning and flexible furniture subscription models, our customers and we are continuously striving to improve workplaces, being ahead of change by combining two powerful visions.