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Taking the first step is easy: contact us at workplace@gsa.gov, and our team will start a conversation about the resources you need to plan, design, purchase, and implement your new workplace.

Furniture is easy; change is hard(er)

New space designs and strategies can transform an organization seemingly overnight. And the benefits are clear: increased utilization, reduced costs and less wasted space.

This is not an easy change to make. We know; we've lived it here at GSA, and we’re here to pass on what we've learned, from adopting policies that address and maintain a people-based organizational culture to purchasing the tools you need to make the transition seamless.

We transformed our workplace at our historic headquarters in Washington, DC, taking the opportunity to consolidate our central offices into a catalyst to something bigger and better: we have profoundly changed where and how we work—while saving the taxpayer money. 

12 guiding principles of workplace strategy

The following are lessons learned for anyone evaluating a workplace strategy transition:

1. Be good stewards of the American taxpayer’s dollar.
2. Leadership must clearly support the goals and objectives for its workplace.
3. IT devices, infrastructure, and applications should be updated to support new ways of working.
4. HR policies, training, and practices should be updated to support new ways of working.
5. Employees/unions should be involved in the change process.
6. Try, modify and adopt via labs and pilots.
7. Where appropriate, move from a traditional office environment (high concentration of offices along the window wall), to an open-plan that provides views and access to daylight for all.
8. Right-size individual, collaborative, and support spaces.
9. Assign space based on the work being performed--not hierarchy.
10. Consider desk-sharing where/when appropriate to support internally and externally mobile staff.
11. Provide the correct mix of individual and collaborative spaces to support employee work patterns.
12. Create flexible designs using modular furniture to reduce churn costs.

Charles Hardy

Chief Workplace Officer
Director, Total Workplace Program Management Office
312-886-0205
 

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