Key considerations for major fit-out projects
For any corporate, taking the decision to reinvent or relocate their flagship workplace has seismic impacts for the business as a whole.
Major fit-outs are often undertaken as a beacon to signal a large step-change within a company – in terms of brand, talent, location, product or service strategy. How can such high-profile and high-risk projects be navigated effectively?
A new landscape for fit-out projects
Major workplace projects are more complex now than they were in the past. Companies have to grapple with a much wider range of factors and need trusted advice from the early planning stages on which approaches to take.
External pressures on businesses are mounting. From the rising tide of global regulation and reporting requirements on carbon, to the heightened need for transparency on the diversity of the supply chain and the provenance of materials, businesses and the way they deliver projects have never been under greater scrutiny. Within a business, the goalposts are also shifting. Post-pandemic, companies are still grappling with the long-term impacts of hybrid working. They need to balance flexibility, collaboration space and amenities with more traditional fixed desk working environments to maximise productivity and support the wellbeing of the workforce. Increasingly, businesses need to make their core workplaces better serve a wider set of strategic outcomes in terms of sustainability, diversity, staff wellbeing, productivity and technological integration.
Why major fit-outs require a different mindset
We support a wide variety of clients across the world through the complex process of making a major change to their headquarters or large offices.
In recent years, we have seen a trend of corporates consolidating into larger central premises in which they can make targeted investments. For many, it’s imperative to create the right environment and amenities to attract top talent back to the office. A major project will go beyond finishes and furniture. It will often involve significant building alterations such as structural, exterior works and reconfiguration of internal stairs for example – adding many layers of technical complexity. However, the impact of a major project extends beyond the physical – it must align with a deeper rethink of business culture and operations. This top-to-bottom change must be carefully planned, managed and communicated. We understand the challenges and the unique approach needed for large fit-outs. Taking on projects that range upwards from 250,000 square feet puts many businesses outside their comfort zone. Fit-outs at this scale require use of a proven framework for major projects delivery and demand an enhanced skillset, in which a blend of technical know-how, soft skills and business acumen all come into play.
Optimising the delivery team structure
With all these threads to pull together, putting the right delivery team in place is key.
Major fit-outs will generally have complex design and construction teams with multiple architects, hundreds of suppliers, numerous contractors and work phases, and many different teams within the client business to consult. It is essential to have the right blend of skills within the delivery team to foresee the challenges and risks, set in place action plans, and carefully oversee every aspect of the build through to completion. By putting in place clear lines of communication, reporting and hierarchy spanning the different elements of the project, the business can have confidence that the whole project team is coordinated and working to the same vision and standards. At Google’s Bay View Campus in San Francisco, the company aspired to create a premium quality sustainable HQ with a focus on staff wellbeing and biophilic design. This aspiration was clear, but it took a multi-faceted delivery team working in unison to make it a reality. Complex elements included its all-electric design with ‘dragonscale’ solar power built into the fabric of its canopy, as well as the choice of healthy interior materials which aimed to improve air quality and wellbeing. We were at the heart of this conversation, coordinating with the various teams and implementing robust controls and reporting procedures to make sure all these elements could be brought to life.
Balanced stakeholder engagement
A complex fit-out project cannot simply be led ‘top down’. To set up for success, early engagement is required with diverse stakeholders.
Proposals must be thoroughly discussed with all key business service teams such as IT, HR, Risk, Compliance, and Legal. For these teams, the fit-out project may need to serve a different set of objectives to the C-suite and the real estate leaders driving it. The project team, including architects, structural designers, project and cost managers, need to have direct relationships with the wider stakeholder group to fully understand culture and ways of working. This will ensure the project delivers an asset that will function in practice. Buy-in will only be secured if all parties understand the opportunities and limitations set by the project budget and building structure.
Balancing corporate objectives with design implications
Understanding the implications of aspirations and decision-making is critical.
For instance, ‘more collaboration space’ may be a business objective, but this may require floors to be equipped to handle the weight of large crowds of people, which can have both time and cost implications. We saw this first-hand in our work on the fit-out of Salesforce’s new Australian HQ, across the top floors of a purpose-built high-rise tower in Sydney. To meet their desire for collaborative space, improvements to the structural support of the floors were needed. This required engagement with the building’s architects and changes to the tower’s own construction programme, long before the fit-out process of Salesforce’s floors would begin. Unlike a minor fit-out, these decisions have much larger impacts to the project cost, schedule and design. A robust approach to project controls will not only maintain project performance but also guide and inform the right business decisions.
Using digital to enhance decision-making
For a major fit-out, it is important to embed the latest digital systems through the design, construction and operation of the project.
For projects at scale, building information modelling (BIM) is now often adopted ‘as standard’ because of its proven benefits in clash avoidance and driving overall efficiency throughout the build programme and into the operational capacity. Using innovative digital tools enables a business to model different scenarios, test requirements and make informed decisions. A suite of options are available (see figure 1) but most will help drive improvements in productivity, efficiency, and costs through construction and into the management and operation of a workplace. The specific benefits realised for a project will depend on the tools used, and the preparation and planning put in place to define the objectives of using a digital solution before it is launched. As part of our engagement with Blackrock for an 850,000 square foot HQ fit-out in a new building in New York, we collaborated with all project stakeholders to create a BIM Execution Plan (BxP) ensuring the BIM process was tailored with the design team’s input to meet the clients requirements.
Through the design phase, we provided SME knowledge for BIM coordination and collaboration, hosting multiple 'how to' sessions to upskill the team. This, along with monthly clash detection and design management processes ensured the coordination of the design as it progressed, reducing high-risk items and leading to less issues on site during construction. On a monthly basis, we would run a clash detection report where up to 100,000 clashes were reviewed and prioritised for the design team to coordinate. The completion of the project created a BIM model that was ready for operational use by the building management team. This included all asset data that can now be utilised to populate their BMS to track assets and plan preventative maintenance (PPM) works. The model has since been updated with later changes to the building and now acts as an As Built and Live BIM model to be utilised for any future development.
Communication from the outset and throughout
Most often, a major fit-out will fundamentally change the way a business works day-to-day.
This cannot be sprung on teams when a fit-out is complete. A successful project needs to take the entire staff community on the journey. For the largest scale campus developments, the communications strategy also needs to factor neighbouring businesses and the surrounding local community. At WarnerMedia’s programme at 30 Hudson Yards, months of evaluation and consultation within the company were required to reach the decision to bring together all its brands under one roof in the tower. The shift involved a quarter of staff moving to shared workspace for the first time, so it was vital to inform and consult with teams impacted by this. A cultural change programme ran alongside the physical works to ready the teams for this new way of working, helping to introduce the benefits of cross-team collaboration and breaking out of traditional silos.
Turning vision into reality
The complexity of a major fit-out cannot be overstated.
Those businesses considering a shift must start first by looking inwards at what they want to achieve. Once a vision is developed, early-stage advice and support must be brought in to translate that vision into an achievable project.
Our top tips, in summary, are:
- Be clear and united on the wide variety of outcomes the project needs to achieve.
- Plan and manage sustained communications with all stakeholder groups.
- Carefully assemble the delivery team, bringing in experts with a major project skillset and track record.
- Put in place comprehensive and robust controls to guide decision-making.
- Take the time to define the objectives of using a digital solution before it is launched.
By taking these steps, a successful outcome and a true transformation for a business will be realised.
Figure 1: assessing digital technology solutions
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