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Global Management Consultant
Designed to attract and retain talent and foster a sense of belonging
Balancing form and function to deliver a brand experience
Project Overview
Unusually, this project started with an open-ended brief with no headcount data or specific requirements given – the client sought creative responses in respect to how their workplace design could be. Ultimately, Sennex was selected as their workplace design and build partner based on the strength of our conceptual vision for the client’s office.
Design Thinking Approach
Following our appointment, Sennex’s Strategy and Design Team began to formulate a return brief using a Design Thinking methodology – a process for creative problem-solving. It begins with people and their needs, to frame challenges and inspire fresh ideas by determining what people truly require. This was achieved through a combination of observation, interviews, hackathons, extensive persona building, and desk-top research, all of which allowed us to look beyond obvious solutions.
An environment designed to foster a sense of belonging whilst addressing the organisation’s functional needs & business challenges
- User experience and needs programmed into the office space design with dual function spaces used to enhance space utilisation and user experience.
- Flexible & adaptable spaces deliver organisational agility whilst a full suite of space typologies underwrites activity-based working
- Client dedicated co-working space promotes more effective on-site collaboration whilst preserving organisational confidentiality.
Sennex successfully translated the client’s business needs into an ABW solution that integrates Singapore’s architecture, urban planning, culture and heritage elements with workplace experience.
Crafting a Sense of Belonging
A pivotal insight was that consultants who spend a large proportion of time working away from the office, fail to develop a strong attachment to the company. Since there’s a definite correlation between “attachment’ and ‘retention’ we wanted to create a memorable and engaging workplace environment for consultants which promotes their ‘sense of belonging’. To elicit an initial sense of familiarity and a sense of being at home, local design features specific to Singapore were introduced.
Local design elements unique to Singapore were introduced to evoke an immediate sense of familiarity and, feeling of being at home. To this end, Singapore’s urban planning framework inspired – different living typologies were identified with each one representing a separate space and function within the office such as; ‘City Living’ which is embodied in the sleek & sophisticated front-of-house design; ‘Conservation Living’ in the form of the heritage trail circulation pathway which connects each Satellite Town or, a self-contained neighborhood which is symbolic of ‘Suburban Living’.
Function Into Form
Designing Function into Form was achieved by collaboratively working with the client to understand the workstyles of the company, the pain points and under utilised spaces within their existing office. Traditional under utilised spaces, such as partner’s offices, were created with dual-use in mind where the new workplace optimises space utilisation and provide inherent flexibility. In this regard, partner’s offices are firstly designed to be shared by partners and, have all been equipped with lockable storage and enabling technologies, allowing the rooms to simply convert into meeting spaces when the partners are not present. This increases the availability of meeting rooms and, enhances the utilisation of partner’s offices.
Whiteboards have been provided in all collaborative spaces to facilitate discussions, as well as curtains that can be drawn easily and fast to provide visual privacy. Consultants value privacy, thus phone booths and lockers were installed along corridors, with meeting rooms serving as a buffer between open work areas and phone booth sections allocated for confidential conversations – all booths can be closed for privacy and act as alternate work points.
Client Co-Working Lab
Another planning innovation was the inclusion of a Q-lab, a co-working area for clients that encourages more productive on-site collaboration without jeopardizing the confidentiality of the consultants and partner’s work area. It also gives clients an insight into how the organisation works and its culture.
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