The Leader - May/June 2008 - (Page 35)

M ul t i - G e n e ra tion a l Wor k For ce DesiG n: p ri ce W ate rHo us e co o p e rs o p e ns a ne W He aDQ uarte rs in ire l anD rooms. Walkways and bridges provide easy access to every part of the threeblock-sized building. The building’s many venues for formal and informal communication help people who were brought together from three separate offices located in different parts of the city, support PwC’s new, flatter organizational structure, and make mentoring easier. “Seeing people cross the bridges implies that people are communicating not only within their divisions but also with other parts of the building. It reflects the dynamic of the building, that this is a living building,” says Mullally. Early in their planning, PwC considered and tested open plan areas for entire departments, assuming that putting everyone in the open would foster more cross-generational mentoring. But they quickly learned that some people needed private space for more focused work, such as research, an important part of PwC’s business. People also needed places for private meetings, phone calls, or just to get away and refocus. Spencer Dock represents lessons learned. “We have some people in glass offices within the open plan, but they’re not removed from the team. Tea and coffee areas are located centrally, so they’re places where people congregate. It breaks down the barriers between grades. The camaraderie, the team environment, the atmosphere, it’s all fantastic,” says Susan Creedon, a member of the PwC business development team who was responsible for the communications part of the project. At PwC, the strategies for retaining a top flight work force – flattening the organization, encouraging more collaboration, involving people in planning the workplace – are intertwined and interdependent. Businesses benefit when they encourage strong social connections. Research shows that companies that do a good job at encouraging communication and fostering strong social connections – places where people make friends at work, not just colleagues – get a big bounce from those efforts. People have more interest in working together and helping each other, and they collaborate better. In short, productivity goes up. Informal gathering places throughout Spencer Dock are used by both groups and individuals. Transitional spaces are places where individuals and teams can reason, reflect, and rejuvenate, and release stress. People use them to work quietly in small groups, or individually. These spaces are another way for organizations to support the needs of different generations of people at work. While there are some enclosed workplace settings, they’re interspersed among open plan areas. Glass walls and visitor seating make them more accessible and support social networking. “The whole building is more open, more transparent. It’s a very egalitarian building and people are working that same way. Everyone is more comfortable approaching their seniors, or their juniors,” says Mullally. The open plan workspaces were planned with input from people at every level of the organization. They identified issues ranging from a need for flexible workspaces that supported different styles of working to providing for the security of client information. “It got people to think about what sort of space they needed to do their work,” says Mary Cullen, a member of the PwC Senior Partner team who was closely involved with the project. “Our people came up with ideas and suggestions, and worked with the architect on the design of the workplace settings. As a result of that involvement, there’s not been one single issue with those settings since we moved. Everybody is very happy,” says Cullen. PwC conducted a major communications process during the planning, design, and construction of Spencer Dock, employing a variety of methods, including: tHe le aDe r 35 MaY / j u n e 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - May/June 2008

The Leader - May/June 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Green Real Estate Work Without Boundries Building Flexibility Into the Business Strategy Multi-Generational Work-Force Design Work Force Longevity Analysis Wells Fargo's David Nelson Pennsylvania's Michael Rossman Globalization 2.0 Site Selection Consultant Directory The New York Report: A Core of Traditional and State-of-the-Art Opportunities Discovery Forum Findings Industry Tracker Young Leader Career Development Effective Leadership Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead In Our Next Issue Calendar of Seminars Index of Advertisers Executive Development Spotlight

The Leader - May/June 2008

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