Transform a Workspace in 5 Easy Steps

Hi, I'm Bob Peck, commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service. As manager of more than 362 million square feet of real estate, the U.S. General Services Administration provides workspace for more than one million federal employees. Newly constructed or recently renovated workspace is executed in conjunction with GSA's interior design program, which ensures the highest standards in design and construction. In fact, the program's focus on quality interior design and environmental sustainability was recognized by the American Society of Interior Designers, which awarded GSA its Patron's Prize in 2010. Many GSA clients don't have the opportunity to improve their workspaces through construction or major modernization projects. To meet their need, GSA chief architect Les Shepherd and interior design program manager Dianne Juba launched a new initiative called Workspace Transformations. Requiring just a modest investment of a few thousand dollars and several days' work, Workspace Transformations is helping our tenants change their existing workplaces dramatically. Workspace Transformations is based on five principles. One, de-cluttering your workspace. Two, letting in maximum daylight. Three, making necessary repairs and repainting your walls. Four, creating a consistent look. Five, taking pride in your workspace by mounting artwork and other features that highlight your mission and enhance the professionalism of your office. If you use multiple principles, you'll find that one reinforces the next. Over two months, we assembled a small team to perform Workspace Transformations projects, applying these simple principles to three problem offices. The team started at GSA, knowing that even our own organization has spaces we'd like to improve. First, we worked with eight employees of GSA's chief information officer. Their systems furniture looked great, but the office was disorganized. MAN: We moved into the space. about a year ago, and we were kind of the foster children, that we took whatever was available, so we were living in space that had been a holdover from the prior design. Employees and managers added that, rushing toward the end of the fiscal year, they had ignored the clutter that was building up. The mess also was holding them back. Here, the problem wasn't so much the furniture but the supporting elements. Storage, water cooler, printer, copier, and recycling bins appeared scattered along a wall. One early decision was to move that equipment to the back of the office. Adapting to change is always challenging, so the design team talked through our recommendations with employees and managers, who responded positively to the feedback. The way it was set up originally, you know, I was happy. The space I had was extremely large. The person before me had actually moved some of the partitions over, and I wound up with a larger workspace than the rest of the coworkers, and everybody else was sort of squeezed in those areas. So we're just sort of all over the board, varying sized cubicles. And I think we just realized we'd have to do something to try to space it out equally. That allowed us to reconfigure six equally sized stations and place them all against the office's window wall. The conference area shifted slightly, too. By aligning the meeting table with the long axis of the room and placing smaller chairs around it, we had freed up enough space to install partitions. It is now a room of its own. After moving office equipment and cubicles away from the corridor wall, we could arrange new chairs and a table against that wall to create a welcoming entry. In this reception area, you'll also see that we replaced faded, mismatched art with historic building posters. By simply rearranging the parts, the whole worked better. PRAHM: It's more efficient. I think it's cleaner. Certainly, the cleanup that was done on an individual basis for the various folks in the office, both the federal people and the contractors, was useful just in terms of organizing things and having better access to materials. The folks that are on the staff are a little bit happier to be there, I'll say, just based on it being a nicer environment to work in. Visitors feel welcome in the new reception area, employees enjoy better access to daylight, and the overall cleanup improves efficiency. We accomplished all of these long-term benefits in a little more than a week. Our second pilot project took place in the security office at the Department of Labor headquarters. At certain points of the day, the office may be overwhelmed by walk-in requests for I.D. badges. The office staffers take turns operating the badge stations. The heavy rotation resulted in no one taking ownership of the badging area. The 2,500-square-foot office suite was terribly cluttered, too. Mail cartons crowded the entry, and knick-knacks gather dust on tops of file cabinets. Supplies were everywhere but the supply room. Wires were tangled and exposed. WOMAN: They have moved us, I want to say, in two years, five times. This has been our home now for about a year and a half. And when we got it, it was nice. It was much better than the basement. [Laughs] But through all the moving, we just kept boxes, because we didn't have time to unpack them, and we didn't know if this was really going to be our home. Because the lunchroom was rarely used, we transformed it into a storage room. We installed new bulk shelving and clearly marked each slot for binders, coffee cups, and supplies that are unique to the security office. The naming system helped things get organized. In addition, that lunchroom table is no longer sequestered. It sits among the workstations. THOMPSON: The smallest thing of moving a table has changed our office now. She moved the table from one space to where it is now, and I'm like, we've used this table more now than we've ever used it before. We forgot we had the table. This transformation benefited security office visitors, too. THOMPSON: We're more efficient. Now when clients come in and ask for something, we know exactly where to go find something. She's making us more responsible, and then when we do bring new things in the space, we know it has a home, and we put it there. So it's just made us all more organized. Lastly, we changed the staff's and visitors' aesthetic experience. When I first walked into my new space over at DOL, the security center, they didn't have anything up, no pictures, and it was rather cluttered. I thought, "Wow." It was kind of bleak. We enlivened the corridor by mounting photos of local buildings. And once you step over the threshold, a panoramic photo and decorative arrangement greets you. In total, these dramatic changes cost just $5,000. We had no pictures on the walls. It was just space. That's all it was, it was space. She came and suggested pictures on the wall, just making things look more friendly for our clients. Third, the Workspace Transformations team completed the health unit at the headquarters of Housing and Urban Development. Imagine going to the health unit probably because you don't feel well. Now imagine arriving there and staring at a giant 1980s-era automated file server. Our first decision then was to get it out of sight. For that, we shifted the server into a storage room directly behind it, a task that required demolishing and rebuilding the dividing wall. Doing that was a bit more costly than normal, but the move was worth it. In place of the file server, we were able to create a reception area that can accommodate as many as six people. Previously, patients had to sit in chairs placed near individual exam rooms. And the receptionist was hidden in a cubicle. After brightening the walls with a fresh coat of paint, We hung a collection of colorful photographs of HUD projects. Employees and visitors were very impressed by the new look, especially by the photography. WOMAN: That "wow" effect is what it's all about. I often encourage agencies to use themed artwork to relate to their mission or identity. We also replaced room numbers with neatly printed signs displayed behind $1 photo frames. That improved wayfinding for folks who may be distracted by their symptoms. The friendlier atmosphere in the health unit overall has people feeling better about their care. Because we spend many hours in our offices, our workspaces should look great and feel even better. But you don't need a professional interior designer to take on a workspace transformation of your own. Our pilot projects demonstrated five common sense strategies. First, de-clutter. Embrace the paperless office. Also get rid of items that go unused over time. Make sure you have adequate storage for files and objects that remain. Second, let the light in. Remove heavy window treatments and arrange furnishings to maximize daylight. Third, repair and repaint. To keep things fresh, repair hardware and furniture, clean carpets and paint walls. If you are repainting a space, keep the colors light to make it seem larger. Fourth, create consistency. Mismatched furnishings, photos, and signs feel cluttered. Limit design styles and personalization. Consistency increases an office's professionalism. And fifth, celebrate your agency's mission. Hang art that promotes the work that you do. Because consistency is key, be selective about the items you choose. We all want to be excellent at our jobs, and a well-designed workspace boosts productivity and morale. Workspace Transformations is making sure that GSA's commitment to design excellence and the quality and leadership of GSA's interior design program is evident throughout our office inventory. If you're interested in transforming your workspace, visit our Web site at... Or contact...