Working from Home Case study (1)
Case study
The global investment bank that is
pioneering working from home
An investment bank customer is working to increase the flexibility, functionality and
efficiency of space across its portfolio with a global workplace innovation program.
Our Workplace Strategy team is working in partnership with the bank’s Real Estate,
Technology and Human Resources teams to develop and deliver the program.
This case study tells the story of one project within the program: how the
introduction of working from home and desk sharing enabled the bank to optimize
real estate, make cost and energy savings and create fully flexible, supportive work
environments for more than 1,000 people in one key department.
The working from home and desk sharing project has delivered:
Savings
Real estate savings: approximately one million Euros per annum
73% reduction in energy use
80% reduction in churn costs
Extremely positive staff survey results
95% of employees surveyed support the workplace transformation
70% say it has improved their work-life balance
50% say it makes the bank a more attractive employer
Challenge
Solution
Accommodate more
people in less space
Pioneer working from
home program, including
desk sharing
A critical support department of
1,000 needed to provide capacity
for an additional 140 employees, as
well as future headcount growth,
within two existing office floors of
7,000m2. The move was planned so
the bank could vacate six floors in
other buildings, part of a wider office
rationalization program.
The bank’s workplace innovation
program offered a clear opportunity
to help meet these accommodation
objectives: Introducing a flexible work
environment with desk sharing would
enable more people to work within
the same amount of floor-space.
However there was a recognition that,
given the population of predominantly
office/ desk-based staff, desk
sharing alone would not provide the
capacity required. Active support for
working from home was identified as
something that would provide added
flexibility and benefits for staff while
also allowing for a more comfortable
uptake of desk sharing.
The bottom line: the bank needed
to implement a successful desk
sharing and working from home
program in order to meet its ongoing
accommodation challenges.
70% of employees surveyed said the transformation
has improved their work-life balance. Commuting
time can now be spent elsewhere.
We designed a working from home
program, including desk sharing,
that would enable the bank to
accommodate more people in less
space while allowing capacity for
future headcount growth. Program
inputs included:
Working group. We engaged IT, HR
and legal representatives from the
bank to help develop the concepts,
policy and guidance of the program
and ensure all stakeholder
requirements were met.
Comprehensive feasibility studies.
Space utilization studies and
consultation with managers helped
determine an achievable desk
sharing ratio and estimate the
likely adoption of working from
home by employees.
Modelling. We modelled the
potential desk sharing ratio that
could be achieved through a
successful working from home
program to establish a crucial
success factor: staff participation
levels of at least 25%.
Communicate and
manage change
Our comprehensive change
management program helped
motivate employees to set up
and embrace their new working
environments: home and office.
Engagement activities included an
all staff Town Hall to announce the
program, over 50 manager and team
briefing sessions, and workplace
orientations. We kept staff informed
throughout the program with regular
newsletters, poster campaigns and
via a Champions Network, which
met weekly.
Communication continued long
after ‘go live’ to embed new
behaviours and measure attitudes
and opinions. Tools included a six
week ‘health check’ and staff survey
(see the positive feedback in ‘Results
and benefits’).
Results and
benefits
Transform the workspace
Two things had to change to
accommodate the additional
headcount and desk sharing concept:
1. The office environment
2. IT and telephony infrastructure
We wrote a brief for a fully flexible
environment that would support desk
sharing and transform the existing
7,000m2 space into a brighter, more
attractive place to work. It introduced
a rich mix of new furniture,
technology and work settings
including break out rooms, meeting
places, collaboration and quiet areas.
We worked with appointed architects
to ensure our brief and vision for the
workspace were realised, and with
the bank’s IT team to agree a strategy
that would enable desk sharing and
increase working mobility at home
and in the office. This included:
New thin client technology
to replace PC’s and allow
employees to access office
applications from any desk or
meeting room on site, or using
their own technology at home.
Unified communications system
to allow employees to make and
receive calls from home using the
bank’s telephony infrastructure.
The project is being used as a
blueprint for a key part of the
bank’s workplace strategy. The
introduction of working from
home and desk sharing has been
a great success. It has enabled
the bank to meet its immediate
accommodation challenge as well
as optimize real estate, make cost
and energy savings, and create
fully flexible, supportive work
environments for more than 1,000
people in one key department.
Employees:
More flexible ways of working
for employees: more than 90%
of department employees now
participate in desk sharing and
25% in the working from home
program. These results are right
on target!
Extremely positive results from
the staff survey
95% of employees surveyed
support the workplace
transformation
70% say it has improved
their work-life balance
50% say it makes the bank a
more attractive employer
Business:
Real estate savings:
approximately one million Euros
per annum
73% reduction in energy use
80% reduction in churn costs
7745f0513 © Copyright 2013 Johnson Controls, Inc.
All rights reserved. Any unauthorised use or copying is strictly prohibited.
The global investment bank that is
pioneering working from home
An investment bank customer is working to increase the flexibility, functionality and
efficiency of space across its portfolio with a global workplace innovation program.
Our Workplace Strategy team is working in partnership with the bank’s Real Estate,
Technology and Human Resources teams to develop and deliver the program.
This case study tells the story of one project within the program: how the
introduction of working from home and desk sharing enabled the bank to optimize
real estate, make cost and energy savings and create fully flexible, supportive work
environments for more than 1,000 people in one key department.
The working from home and desk sharing project has delivered:
Savings
Real estate savings: approximately one million Euros per annum
73% reduction in energy use
80% reduction in churn costs
Extremely positive staff survey results
95% of employees surveyed support the workplace transformation
70% say it has improved their work-life balance
50% say it makes the bank a more attractive employer
Challenge
Solution
Accommodate more
people in less space
Pioneer working from
home program, including
desk sharing
A critical support department of
1,000 needed to provide capacity
for an additional 140 employees, as
well as future headcount growth,
within two existing office floors of
7,000m2. The move was planned so
the bank could vacate six floors in
other buildings, part of a wider office
rationalization program.
The bank’s workplace innovation
program offered a clear opportunity
to help meet these accommodation
objectives: Introducing a flexible work
environment with desk sharing would
enable more people to work within
the same amount of floor-space.
However there was a recognition that,
given the population of predominantly
office/ desk-based staff, desk
sharing alone would not provide the
capacity required. Active support for
working from home was identified as
something that would provide added
flexibility and benefits for staff while
also allowing for a more comfortable
uptake of desk sharing.
The bottom line: the bank needed
to implement a successful desk
sharing and working from home
program in order to meet its ongoing
accommodation challenges.
70% of employees surveyed said the transformation
has improved their work-life balance. Commuting
time can now be spent elsewhere.
We designed a working from home
program, including desk sharing,
that would enable the bank to
accommodate more people in less
space while allowing capacity for
future headcount growth. Program
inputs included:
Working group. We engaged IT, HR
and legal representatives from the
bank to help develop the concepts,
policy and guidance of the program
and ensure all stakeholder
requirements were met.
Comprehensive feasibility studies.
Space utilization studies and
consultation with managers helped
determine an achievable desk
sharing ratio and estimate the
likely adoption of working from
home by employees.
Modelling. We modelled the
potential desk sharing ratio that
could be achieved through a
successful working from home
program to establish a crucial
success factor: staff participation
levels of at least 25%.
Communicate and
manage change
Our comprehensive change
management program helped
motivate employees to set up
and embrace their new working
environments: home and office.
Engagement activities included an
all staff Town Hall to announce the
program, over 50 manager and team
briefing sessions, and workplace
orientations. We kept staff informed
throughout the program with regular
newsletters, poster campaigns and
via a Champions Network, which
met weekly.
Communication continued long
after ‘go live’ to embed new
behaviours and measure attitudes
and opinions. Tools included a six
week ‘health check’ and staff survey
(see the positive feedback in ‘Results
and benefits’).
Results and
benefits
Transform the workspace
Two things had to change to
accommodate the additional
headcount and desk sharing concept:
1. The office environment
2. IT and telephony infrastructure
We wrote a brief for a fully flexible
environment that would support desk
sharing and transform the existing
7,000m2 space into a brighter, more
attractive place to work. It introduced
a rich mix of new furniture,
technology and work settings
including break out rooms, meeting
places, collaboration and quiet areas.
We worked with appointed architects
to ensure our brief and vision for the
workspace were realised, and with
the bank’s IT team to agree a strategy
that would enable desk sharing and
increase working mobility at home
and in the office. This included:
New thin client technology
to replace PC’s and allow
employees to access office
applications from any desk or
meeting room on site, or using
their own technology at home.
Unified communications system
to allow employees to make and
receive calls from home using the
bank’s telephony infrastructure.
The project is being used as a
blueprint for a key part of the
bank’s workplace strategy. The
introduction of working from
home and desk sharing has been
a great success. It has enabled
the bank to meet its immediate
accommodation challenge as well
as optimize real estate, make cost
and energy savings, and create
fully flexible, supportive work
environments for more than 1,000
people in one key department.
Employees:
More flexible ways of working
for employees: more than 90%
of department employees now
participate in desk sharing and
25% in the working from home
program. These results are right
on target!
Extremely positive results from
the staff survey
95% of employees surveyed
support the workplace
transformation
70% say it has improved
their work-life balance
50% say it makes the bank a
more attractive employer
Business:
Real estate savings:
approximately one million Euros
per annum
73% reduction in energy use
80% reduction in churn costs
7745f0513 © Copyright 2013 Johnson Controls, Inc.
All rights reserved. Any unauthorised use or copying is strictly prohibited.