Following the arrival of a new Chief Executive Officer, Littlewoods wished to reduce occupancy costs, improve team performance and change from a hierarchical to a flat organisational structure.
Working in partnership with the in-house team, Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) was appointed to conduct a review of Littlewood?s headquarters premises which comprised of five buildings (offices and data centre) in the centre of Liverpool accommodating 2650 staff, which led to the development of a strategic master plan.
The plan involved the extensive upgrading and refurbishment of two buildings, the conversion of another and the immediate release of a further building.
It was recognised that a key component required to bring about the intended changes to the business successfully lay in effective changes to the culture of the organisation and its working practices.
Consequently, a key part of the process was the high level of staff participation in interviews, workshops and focus groups, facilitated and led by AWA. The strategic plan also included a migration plan. This set out how occupation of the buildings should be phased from the existing configuration, through the initial consolidation, to the eventual operation of flexible workplace settings within the new accommodation. In producing this plan, activities included the following elements:
- Space Planning Review
- Workplace Effectiveness Appraisal (AWA?s Workplace satisfaction tool)
- Space Utilisation Studies
- Working Practices Interviews
- Business Planning Review
At the conclusion, we made detailed recommendations to Littlewoods that have subsequently been implemented by their own, internal team.
