Willis is one of the worlds leading Insurance Broking and Risk Management organisations. To help them consider how to make best use of their world headquarters comprising 20,000 sqm of office space in 2 buildings in central London, Willis appointed AWA to conduct a review of their accommodation and how it was being used. Willis wished to establish how well the buildings, which accommodated 1500 staff, were meeting the current needs of the business, the extent to which they would meet their future needs and how the levels of use of the building could be improved.
In conducting the review of the premises and the workspace layouts, AWA carried out the following activities:
- An introductory workshop attended by senior managers of each business unit, was held to explain the process of the review and to seek their input and support;
- Structured interviews were held with 50 representatives of the 11 business units and central services functions, to establish their detailed workplace needs and forecasts for future developments in the business;
- Utilisation surveys were conducted over six weeks to establish the pattern of use of the workspace during a ?typical? week;
- The buildings and their workplace layouts were observed in-use;
- 63 working practices questionnaires were completed by staff representing each business unit and functional group; and
- Measured surveys of the workspace and its layouts were conducted.
AWA analysed the findings from which a strategy for use of the buildings was developed which satisfied the current and future needs of the business by maximising the building?s capabilities, comprising the following:
- Consideration of options for the location of Willis operations and for the development of their existing premises;
- New criteria were proposed for allocating workspace, for workplace groupings to support collaborative styles of working, for the provision of meetings spaces and for a rationalisation of document storage;
- A range of occupation scenarios based upon different styles of working and hence different ratios of workplace provision to headcount, each of which would provide different numbers of personnel who could be supported by the building and its infrastructure.
The proposed strategy for use was presented to the senior management of Willis together with recommendations for the actions they should pursue and the process that they should adopt to bring about successful implementation and effective on-going management of their workspace. Willis are currently rolling out the strategy which will result in a 10%-15% improvement in real estate use.
