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Strategic Partnerships in Workplace Design:
Critical Success Factors

By Daniel A Brathal

The first step toward assuring successful and effective workplace design is to carefully and thoughtfully select the appropriate integrator of the input gathered from various stakeholders. My bias suggests selecting the organisation’s facility manager, regardless of the formal title held by that individual, as the party that will have responsibility for overall management of workplace design.

In today’s fast-moving business environments, it is impossible for workers to take all the time needed to become well educated in a huge variety of disciplines. And such a condition is also very true of those professionals who are responsible for specifying, managing, furnishing, designing, and operating high performance facilities and highly productive workplaces. This reality reminds us that it is imperative for workplace design professionals to seek out and develop relationships with appropriate “experts” that can bring required knowledge and skills to the fulfilment of their responsibilities. Well-developed and effective partnerships are critical to both individual and organisational success.

Partners viewed as “suppliers” also take many shapes, forms, and descriptions. Some may be suppliers of systems, processes, equipment, supplies, furnishings, or interior finishes. Others may be suppliers of space planning services, workplace layout, structural design, construction management, and financial planning. In our book, ‘High-Performance Facilities Management’, my co-author partner, Dr Mark Langemo, and I reference 32 stakeholders (suppliers/partners) that are often involved with the development of totally integrated workplace design and management. And certainly, there may often be more or less than 32 appropriate stakeholders involved in workplace design. The complexity and the scope of the workplace development project will normally dictate how many stakeholder partners need to be involved.

It is important to realise that the input of various stakeholders must be integrated into the workplace planning process. But we must also anticipate that decisions made based on the input received from each stakeholder will probably impact the results anticipated by all the other stakeholders. For example, the type of floor coverings recommended by the interior designer will have impact on the acoustical plan provided by the acoustical expert. The type of furniture recommended by the interior designer will have influence on the layout plan provided by the design and furniture installation specialists. The construction materials recommended by the architect will have effects on the construction process and on financial planning. The ongoing maintenance of the facility will be impacted by the interior and exterior finishes chosen for the janitorial professionals and the structural specialists to maintain.

So, as we think about the ingredients that go into totally integrated workplace design and management, we must be conscious of the need to enlist and respect the expertise of many knowledgeable partners. And without question, the input gathered from workers that will ultimately live in the workplace being designed will also be an important component of the planning and implementation process. The collection of expertise provided by numerous stakeholders will also need to be analysed and integrated into the planning process by an impartial party that has the ability to assess all the data with an open mind and with a broad point of view.

Critical Success Factors

The first step toward assuring successful and effective workplace design is to carefully and thoughtfully select the appropriate integrator of the input gathered from various stakeholders. My bias suggests selecting the organisation’s facility manager, regardless of the formal title held by that individual, as the party that will have responsibility for overall management of workplace design. Successful workplace design projects in many organisations have been led by facility managers that possess a broad vision of how all the components of workplace design should be selected, integrated, installed, paid for, and maintained on an ongoing basis.

Facility managers normally are not influenced by an in-depth knowledge of the technical elements of architecture; construction materials; construction techniques; interior design; mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering; janitorial techniques; maintenance techniques; food preparation and cafeteria operations; environmental, health, and safety requirements; access control/security systems; and the many other specific elements of totally integrated workplace design. In other words, facility managers may not need to possess in-depth knowledge of all these disciplines, and their limitations, but they definitely must have the presence of mind to engage all appropriate experts in the comprehensive planning process. Facility managers normally are in a good position to ask why or why not something will or will not work.

Other factors influencing the success or failure of effective workplace planning and design revolve around timing, respect, and trust. It is critical that all appropriate stakeholders be identified as early as possible in the planning process. Early engagement of internal and external supplier partners will enable members of the planning team to start from the same beginning point. Specifiers, facility managers, furniture designers and suppliers, interior designers, and other participants are more likely to develop clear understanding of project scope, detailed plans, implementation timeframe, and expected outcomes when they are jointly involved in the project planning.

External supplier representatives should be and usually are solvers of problems. Their efforts result in creating and providing appropriate solutions for meeting their client and customer needs. External supplier representatives become key individuals in assisting facility managers and their other clients and customers to analyse available systems, products, and services alternatives and to select those that will have the highest probability of being successful solutions. Early involvement of external suppliers is also important for building trust and confidence within the planning team. It is often tempting to exclude external suppliers until late in the planning process. In my experience, it is more effective to involve all suppliers, internal and external, as early as possible.

Successful completion of projects and success among project teams will also depend on the willingness of stakeholders to compromise when appropriate. Each stakeholder will naturally argue strongly for the principles they know best. And those principles will relate specifically to the stakeholder’s area of training and expertise. Facility managers may argue for a number of recommendations that will relate to budget targets, functional efficiency, maintainability, appearance, efficient space utilisation, worker satisfaction, flexibility of layout, easy reconfiguration, durability, and perhaps many other general issues related to the full scope of the project.

But, the interior designer may be focused only on the appearance of the workplace, the maintenance stakeholder may be concerned only about the ability to maintain the workplace, the architect may be concerned only about the exterior and interior impression the structure portrays, and the furniture stakeholder may be concerned only about the flexibility, durability, ease of assembly, and the function of the furniture systems. So again it is obvious that someone needs to be capable of leading and viewing the project from a broad and holistic point of view. And the other stakeholders must be willing and prepared to compromise and “fit” their interests into the overall scope and objectives of the project team.

Whether it be the interior designer, the furniture supplier, the specifier, the architect, or any of the other stakeholder representatives, it is critical that each stakeholder earn credibility early in the series of team meetings. Stakeholder credibility can be earned by being knowledgeable about their discipline, by effectively articulating their understanding of the project objectives, and by thoughtfully presenting their recommendations in a fashion that respects the opinions and objectives of the overall project team. The credibility earned by each stakeholder will also earn additional trust and confidence in each stakeholder’s recommendations.

It ’s A Team Effort

In summary, designing today’s complex workplace is not a one-person job. And while one person should be the team leader, it is critical that all appropriate stakeholders be part of a totally integrated workplace design project.

So, as you approach your next workplace design project, think about the people you should recruit to serve on the project team. Think about the variety of issues and disciplines that must be successfully managed in order to attain a fully integrated workplace. Think about the mindset and the attitudes of the people that will provide the best opportunity for the team and the individual stakeholders to be successful. The stakes have never been higher than they are today. Successful management and effective utilisation of all material and human assets has never been more important than it is today for professional planners in the world of totally integrated workplace design.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

During his long career, Daniel A Brathal (jrebrath@pressenter.com) has been involved with the analysis, design, provisioning, operation, and ongoing management of high performance facilities and highly productive workplaces. Brathal was 3M's Corporate Facilities Manager for many years and was responsible for the management of more than 9 million sq ft of floor space within approximately 60 buildings that housed over 12,000 3M employees. In his current role as President of The Workplace Design Consortium, he leads a team of experienced professionals that identify needs, define requirements, develop recommendations, and introduce improved methods for optimising the value and the effectiveness of today’s complex workplaces. Brathal is the co-author of three books related to facilities management, information management, and integrated workplace design. Brathal has been published in numerous magazines and he has also delivered more than 70 presentations at colleges, universities, professional associations, and other organisations. The latest book, High-Performance Facilities Management, can be ordered directly from the author.