Staff Engagement in Office Refurbishment
Running a successful office refurbishment can often feel like a constant balancing act. Quality vs cost, speed vc cost, speed vs quality…. the list goes on. One thing that often gets overlooked is the people element – the part your staff have to play in your project. After all, they’re the ones who will work in this space every day. Their performance dictates whether your project is a success or a failure.
Studies show that involving employees in major company changes leads to a 30% increase in job satisfaction. At Zentura, we’ve seen firsthand how employee engagement can make or break a successful refurbishment. When your staff feel involved, they’re more likely to support and adapt to the changes, ensuring a smooth transition.
This article will walk you through key steps to get your employees on board and keep them engaged. By the end, you’ll know to involve your people in your project, helping you make your office refurbishment the success you need it to be.
1) Early Communication
You might want to keep your office refurbishment plans private for as long as possible to minimise distractions for your people. However, it’s important to communicate your plans early. This doesn’t mean your staff have to know everything, but a high-level plan along with an explanation of the “why” behind the project is crucial.
Early communication prevents rumours and improves transparency. This removes the fear of the unknown and builds trust between you and your people. 65% of employees prefer to be informed about company changes well in advance.
To communicate your plans to your staff, hold a company-wide townhall or virtual meeting. You could also do it via an internal announcement. If your staff know what is happening, why, and what the goal is, you will have far more support and engagement with the project.
2) Survey Employees
Telling your people what is going on is crucial, but getting their input is no less important. The best way to get input from all your staff is to conduct a multi-round online survey to understand their workspace preferences, needs, and pain points. An online survey ensures all staff have an opportunity to contribute rather than a vocal few.
By collecting quantitative data directly from your staff, you’ll gain a detailed understanding of how they work and how to support that through your office refurbishment. A space that suits how your staff work can improve your overall satisfaction and productivity by up to 25%.
Use an anonymous online survey platform to ask questions about how they work at the moment, what frustrates them about their current space, and what would make them more effective. Topics to consider include desking layouts, breakout spaces, noise control, and amenities. As a result, you’ll be able to base your design around your specific needs, rather than guesswork or best practices.
3) Create Staff Focus Group
While surveys can be effective for gathering insight from all your people, focus groups will gain more detailed insight from a smaller group of your people. You could include different personality and departments. It doesn’t have to be a formal committee, but it could be.
Using focus groups to inform your office design and refurbishment will enable a more detailed, collaborative feedback approach than is possible with online surveys. This will help improve your office even further.
You could either invite volunteers or nominate a selection of staff to join the group. Regular meetings with this group should cover design requirements, planning updates, and progress insights. This group will also be very helpful to inform and involve staff beyond the group itself.
4) Communicate Often
Possibly the most important part of involving your people in your office refurbishment is to communicate regularly. This should include key milestones and timeline changes. By keeping the communication open, you prevent unhelpful rumours, build alignment, and remove the anxiety of the unknown among your people.
This level of communication should be maintained throughout the project – not just at the start and end of the project. This builds trust and keeps employees engaged, reducing anxiety about disruptions. Projects with open communication are 50% more likely to finish on time.
How best to do this in your refurbishment will depend on how you communicate internally. You could use email bulletins, posts or messages on your internal chat platform, or even regular staff update meetings. Keeping staff updated will improve transparency and trust, reducing resistance to your project.
5) Celebrate Together
Finally, it’s critical to involve staff in celebrating the project. This is important throughout the project, but especially when it’s time for staff to start using their refurbished workspace.
These celebrations will create a sense of occasion and excitement amongst your people, helping to maximise the impact of your project. Celebrating together boosts morale and builds excitement. Teams that celebrate success together see a 31% increase in collaboration and motivation.
The most obvious thing to do is to organise an opening event. This doesn’t have to be a long and complex event. However, bringing your people together to celebrate and tour the entire workspace in small groups will build excitement, as well as giving you an opportunity to train staff on how to use the space.
Involving Your People in Your Project
Getting your people involved in your office refurbishment isn’t just good practice. It’s an essential move that can significantly improve the impact of your project on your business.
By following these steps—communicating early, surveying employees, establishing focus groups, providing regular updates, and celebrating milestones—you’ll create a workplace that not only reflects your company’s looks great but also meets the needs of those who use it daily.
The result? Less resistance, less disruption, and more engagement. As you successfully involve your staff in your office refurbishment, the project will have a much bigger, more tangible positive impact on your business performance.
To take the next step, get your copy of How to Plan an Office Refurbishment. It’s a 7-step guide to take you from defining your brief right through to signing the contract! To learn more about managing your people through your project, read 6 Steps to Successful Change Management in Office Fit Out.
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