Workplace Transformation Perth
Most workplace transformations start with a trigger event. A lease opportunity, a change in headcount, or a push for new ways of working now that working from home is established in your organisation. Whatever sets it off, what lands on someone's desk is a project that touches property, technology, people and the way the organisation works, all at once, and usually on top of their actual day job. That someone might be the COO or CFO, or a team from Property and Facilities, People and Culture, Transformation or ICT. Wherever you sit, when a workplace transformation lands on your plate, bringing in a partner who does this for a living is often exactly what you need.
Work Future leads and delivers workplace transformation projects across Perth and WA. We define it simply. Workplace transformation uses the workplace as a catalyst for physical, technological and cultural change that improves the experience for everyone who uses it. Sometimes that means an office relocation into a newly fitted out workspace. Often it means taking the space you already have and making it work properly. If you want the full breakdown, I have written about what is workplace transformation in detail, along with the top ten benefits of getting it right.
What a workplace transformation actually involves
Most people picture a fit out. The build is the visible part, but it is one stage in the project. A workplace transformation runs across three functions, space, technology and people, and the people part is the one that decides whether the whole thing works. A project can land on time, on budget and on brief and still fail, because if your employees do not buy into the new workplace and use it the way it was designed to be used, you have potentially wasted your time and money on a beautiful office that nobody likes to use.
What makes up a workplace transformation: the Work Future Pyramid Model.
How we work
Our cornerstone offering is comprehensive project and program management, where we oversee every part of the journey on your behalf, acting as your in-house project manager and partner, so you get what you want at the end of the project. We lead the project team of internal specialists and external consultants, set up a governance model that gives the project a backbone, and run it through to handover. As part of that, we help you appoint and manage the consultants a workplace transformation project needs, such as construction project management, cost management, interior design, technical services, the builder, workplace technology specialists, the move providers and more.
A typical workplace transformation project runs across five stages: establish and gather evidence, interpret that evidence into strategy and a business case, design from concept to final, implement through the build, engagement and go live, and close out with handover and a review of the lessons learnt to support future projects.
How we deliver: the Work Future managed project lifecycle, five stages from establish to close out.
Early involvement, less risk
The single most useful thing you can do on a workplace transformation is bring the right expertise in early. Construction has a term for this, Early Contractor Involvement, where the builder is engaged at the start to shape the project rather than inherit someone else's decisions. We run the consulting equivalent, you could call it Early Consultant Involvement. Engaged at the front, we shape the brief, stand up the governance, and de-risk the expensive decisions while they are still cheap to change. The cheapest time to fix a problem is while it is still on paper. The most expensive is once it is built. Our track record is testament to this approach.
The pieces, and how they connect
A full transformation pulls several disciplines together, and we deliver each of them as a service in its own right. The thinking is set by workplace strategy. Moving the organisation is office relocation. Bringing people with you is workplace change management. Knowing how the space is genuinely used is office occupancy analysis, and the tools people touch every day are workplace technology and experience. On a complete transformation we run the lot. On a smaller brief, you choose the piece you need.
Why Work Future
When you engage us, you work directly with the person delivering the project, not a junior team running a process off a template. We have over fifteen years of workplace transformation delivery behind us, across Australia and overseas, for organisations ranging from single sites to large multi-site portfolios, including a recent accommodation strategy and transformation for a government-owned essential services organisation with several thousand staff. A workplace transformation is a serious endeavour, and for many organisations it will be the most talked about and exciting change they go through for years. Do it right and it leaves a lasting legacy. Transform your workplace, and transform your legacy.
The Work Future Framework
The Work Future Framework is a proven, four-layered model that consistently delivers excellence in workplace transformation projects across any organisation. The four layers nest inside one another, from the environmental factors that have to be in place around a project, down to the engagement at its core.
The Work Future Framework, four nested layers from environmental factors on the outside to engagement at the core.
1. Environmental Factors
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A genuine transformation agenda within the organisation, one that showcases a sincere appetite and desire for change and transformation.
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Sponsorship: a project sponsor, single-minded and clear in vision.
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Funding: access to meaningful funding to support project progress and delivery.
2. Project Governance
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The establishment of project control through project management discipline.
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Defined scope, especially through the three lenses of people, space and technology.
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Clear roles and responsibilities for all involved and impacted.
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Meeting purpose and structure to define strategy, drive progress, and unblock issues.
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Other governance items: Planning, RAID Management, Actions, Decisions, Reporting etc.
3. Delivery Model
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A 5-stage project lifecycle delivery model: 1. Establish & Gather Evidence, 2. Interpret inc. Strategy Development, 3. Design, 4. Implement / Build / Fit out, and 5. Close out.
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Appointing the project specialists in the right order, to maintain project controls.
4. Engagement
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Across all key stakeholder groups such as the C-suite/Executives, middle management, employees and contractors, customers, the community, and other interested parties.
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Investment in timely Change Management, Communications, and Training.
Frequently asked questions
What is workplace transformation?
Workplace transformation uses the workplace as a catalyst for physical, technological and cultural change that improves the experience for everyone who uses it. It covers the physical space, the technology and the people, along with the new ways of working that tie them together. The trigger is usually a building, a lease or a way of working that no longer fits.
What is the difference between workplace transformation and workforce transformation?
Workplace transformation uses the workplace as the catalyst for physical, technological and cultural change across the organisation. Workforce transformation focuses solely on the human capital or workforce, and does not touch the physical workplace or its technology.
How long does a workplace transformation take?
It depends on the size and complexity of your organisation and portfolio. A single site moves faster than a large multi-site program. Where the data is accessible, your stakeholders are willing, and you are working with someone who does this for a living, it moves faster than most people expect. Tell us your timeline and we will be straight about what is realistic.
Do I need a full transformation, or just a fit out?
Both exist for a reason. A fit out is the build. A transformation is the whole change, including the strategy that sets the brief and the change management that gets it adopted. If you only need part of it, you take the part you need. If you are not sure, tell us what is in front of you and we will point you the right way.
Do you only work in Perth?
Perth and Western Australia are our home ground, but the discipline is geography-agnostic and we work with clients across Australia and overseas. We deliver on site where it adds value and remotely where it does not.
Who will I be working with?
You work directly with Peter Stansfield, Founder and MD of Work Future. He leads every engagement personally and has delivered workplace transformation projects for organisations from single sites to large multi-site portfolios.
Start a conversation
If you have a lease event, a people growth question, or a workplace that no longer fits the way you work, the cheapest time to think it through is now, while the options are still open and still on paper.
Email hello@workfuture.com.au, call +61 0435 824 305, or use the contact form below.
We are based in Perth, Western Australia.