You are here: Home | Our Work | Client Interviews | LV=
An interview with...
Keren Shaw, Project Manager, Liverpool Victoria, LV=
LV= weren’t always planning to completely refurbish their Bournemouth headquarters. Originally, project manager Keren Shaw was tasked with replacing all the furniture in the two head office buildings. But the project soon evolved into the refurbishment of 150,000 square feet of occupied office space.
We asked Keren how she's managing the extensive refurbishment in occupation project, with 2000 employees to keep happy.
What prompted your office refurbishment?
For a few years before our refurbishment we’d been planning a ‘desk and chair replacement’ exercise at our Bournemouth head office. By early 2008 we had reached the planning stage and discussions on the scope of the works had started. We were asked to supply, on top of the basic work (desks, chairs and storage), a ‘shopping list’ of other work we could do at the same time (e.g. meeting room furniture, replace the breakout areas), with the view that the selection of additional items would be made by our Group Executive team. However, when it came to it, the whole list was selected and we ended up with a full refurbishment project.
What were some of the biggest challenges of the project?
The two biggest challenges both relate to our people – (1) refurbishing buildings with 2000 people in occupation, and (2) trying to meet the differing opinions and requirements of 2000 people! When you refurbish in occupation, there’s not only the logistics of making that work to contend with, but you’re also working in full view of everyone during that time, so there is little room for error!
What advice would you give someone starting an office refurbishment project?
The two biggest things for me would be to absolutely make sure you are really clear on your scope – what is in and what is out. But at the same time ensure you understand that something will always change along the way, so make sure you build in a change process and contingency for change into your planning.
What things would you have done differently?
Not a huge amount actually. On reflection, however, the main thing would be timings. I would have allowed more time for agreeing all of the space planning with the various business areas before we started implementation. And I am sure that the Morgan Lovell team would agree that we did not always have a handle on our scope and changed our minds a few times on the way! So I would definitely have firmed this up more.
How did you come up with the design ideas?
I think we were fortunate that the Morgan Lovell team had worked on a couple of our other offices, so they were in tune with the kind of look and feel we wanted, as well as what we are about as a company in terms of brand and values. The ideas and finishes we were looking for were translated for us by Morgan Lovell into concept ideas, which we then refined until we got to designs we were happy with.
Did you try to change the company culture / way of working through this project?
Yes. Having rebranded in 2007, we were keen to bring more branding into the internal environment, thereby supporting the culture we want. More practically, we introduced / reinforced ‘clear desk’ policies and recycling habits, and standardised the size of everyone’s desk. I think people had become lax about how we treated our environment before because it was in bad shape, so we wanted to ensure that this would change.
What were some of the design ideas that really worked?
There are two that stand out for me. Firstly, the creation of huddle rooms, where we removed some ‘formal’ meeting furniture from rooms and replaced it with low-level seating and coffee tables. It sounds a simple thing to do, but it can really change the feel of a room and how comfortable people are. And secondly, the replacement of break out areas - we already had the concept in place but the new, modern and funky design really stands out and looks great. They are even more popular now!
What took longer than expected?
As mentioned previously, getting the space planning agreed with all of the business areas took more time than originally anticipated. Then there were really more practical things like landlord permissions and the amount of man hours required to move 2000 people around a building.
What went faster than expected?
The actual fit out itself! The Morgan Lovell team worked in week-long phases in our main building, and it was incredible to see what could be achieved in 5 days - an area seating approx. 80 people could be taken apart and stripped, with old furniture removed, then decorated, with new furniture brought in, all put back together and ready to move into! Given the time of year and bank holidays sometimes it was 4 days!
How did you go about choosing a design and build company to help you with this project?
At the beginning, when we were not sure about what our scope would be, we talked to a number of suppliers, including directly to furniture manufacturers and our existing furniture supplier, and a number of companies that had either worked with us or approached us in the past. Once we firmed up the scope and knew we required design and fit out as well as the actual product, it was down to proposals, ideas and beauty parades! Morgan Lovell came out on top!
Did you involve employees in the design process? If so, how?
Throughout the process we had a number of channels in which employees could be involved. However, the main way was an employee group with nominated representatives from all our different business areas / departments / teams – this totalled about 30 people. This group met every two weeks and got to see all of the proposals from different suppliers, view the designs and concepts, prioritise items for the scope, and try and select different furniture options. In addition, we have our own in-house relocation team and, on a business-as-usual basis, they will move people and furniture fairly regularly so they were very keen to try the new furniture to see how easily things could be dismantled, moved etc. They did a furniture tour and made recommendations on which ranges they would be happy to work with. This helped us shape our shortlists.
How did you keep track of the costs during the project?
A combination of ways. For the Morgan Lovell costs, a payment plan was provided and this enabled us to plan out our spend during the course of the project. However, there are obviously other costs to keep on top of including change costs, internal costs, resource costs etc. The two key parts for me, as project manager, were a robust change process where change requests were reviewed and analysed in terms of impact on costs before approval, and a cost tracker document, where all costs (including future) were fed in and provided a running total of costs to date, future costs and the totals against the budget. In addition, regular cost reports from Morgan Lovell, and discussion on these, helped us keep control especially in the change spectrum.
How did you keep senior management informed throughout the project?
Most of the senior and middle management were engaged early in the project as part of the space planning process, and from then regular meetings were held with them and their teams right up until their area’s move-in date. For areas that impacted everybody, e.g. meeting rooms, we used the internal intranet to keep everyone posted. At an Executive level, a monthly status report was issued to our Project Sponsor and Chief Operating Officer. The COO shared this with the rest of the Executive team and fed back any questions or concerns.
Were sustainability or 'green' issues important to you on this project? If so, how did you incorporate them into the office design?
Yes, they are important to us. We had already completed a number of initiatives in-house, e.g. we have been binless for nearly a year. However the refurbishment gave us the opportunity to design some great recycling pods. It was important to our employees that our old furniture did not end up in landfill and we are really pleased that all of the old furniture has either been reused in our offices, reused by other organisations or recycled, both of which were arranged for us by Morgan Lovell. The other important factor was with the furniture that we were purchasing, that it would be recyclable once it came to the end of its life with us in the future.
How have staff reacted to the new space?
The reaction so far has been fantastic - the areas that have been completed are so much brighter, cleaner and more modern. The new tea points have been received brilliantly and the new break out zones are even more popular than before. Comments such as ‘it looks like a completely different building’ and ‘I love the new space’ are now common occurrences and we have also had great responses from external visitors.
What was the best moment during the project?
I am hoping it is still to come, as we are only halfway through - I hope the end result will be the best bit! But on a personal level, every week when a group moves back into their new environment, the feedback is just brilliant and it’s great to work on a project that has such a positive impact on the whole group!
How can you work while we work?
In short, however you want to change your office, just give us a call and we’ll work around you. Not ready for that? Then check out our office refurbishment checklist for some step-by-step advice.
Get in touch