Change Makers: A Closer Look at the Savills Change Management Team with Tonya Williams

A team is like a mosaic. Each piece is different but brings an essential addition to the whole picture. The Savills Change Management team is a group of individuals with unique experience and credentials. Together, they bring their clients a well-rounded perspective on navigating and implementing change. Learn more about our team and the Savills approach to change management in our series, Change Makers.

Tonya Williams: Showing clients the ripple effects of change

A change management professional who launched her career in interior design, Tonya Williams brings a designer’s eye to her work as part of Savills Change Management team. But it’s not just this vision that is valuable to Tonya's clients.

Working in the built environment since 2007, Tonya’s career has exposed her to varying interrelated perspectives — as a lead designer for corporate clients; a project manager on the owner’s side; and today, as a workplace strategist and change practitioner.

Having served on multiple sides of projects throughout her career, Tonya has developed a keen understanding of the intersections between space, policy, and human behavior in the corporate workplace. Describing herself as a “naturally visual person,” she helps clients see more than just a change on paper. She helps them comprehend what she calls the “ripple effects” of their chosen path before the transition takes place.

“The experiences I’ve had throughout my career help me to grasp all the nuances and moving parts within a transition — how one thing impacts another as well as the end goal,” said Tonya. “Having worn many different hats allows me to connect those dots.”

Learning about organizational change from multiple angles

Tonya began her career as an interior designer for an architecture studio specializing in corporate interiors, where she was involved in all stages of design, including construction administration and furniture specifications. In that role, she regularly presented to the C-Suite and held client interviews as part of space programming, honing her ability to ask educated questions and analyze gaps — a key skill in managing change.

Moving to the client side, Tonya became an in-house lead interior designer and project manager for a global energy company. As the main point of contact, she led development, design, and construction for a large, complex headquarters project which exposed her to a wide set of stakeholders both inside and outside the company.

Having witnessed two sides of built projects from the perspective of an outside, consulting designer as well as a part of an in-house real estate and facilities team gave Tonya valuable knowledge beyond the principles of design. The exposure imparted key lessons on the politics and relationships within an organization and the importance of alignment and building consensus to make change successful.

“Managing change was embedded in what I did as a designer, but never an exclusive focus,” she said. “Moving into change management as a practice was a natural progression.”

After being contracted as a Workplace Strategist and Change Management advisor to work with a Global Fortune 10 Company, Tonya joined Savills in 2021, delivering workplace strategy solutions for various clients. Now as senior director on Savills Change Management team, she provides a combination of strategy and change leadership. Possessing a deep knowledge of workplace strategy, design, and project management has allowed Tonya to bring valuable insight to her clients on managing change.

“There is definitely a distinction between workplace strategy and change management, yet they often complement each other. There may be areas where that line blurs, but it is always best when the two support each other,” she said. “When you incorporate change management early and not after the change you’re able to fill in gaps and ask questions that may actually influence workplace strategy decisions.”

Understanding the ripple effect

One of Tonya’s guiding principles in managing transitions effectively is to anticipate the ripple effects of the change before it happens.

“Leaders of an initiative can get so bogged down in the detail of what they’re doing, they unintentionally fail to see the impact they’re creating,” Tonya said. “And sometimes they can become detached from the reactions they’re receiving. This is where seeking an outsider's perspective adds value.”

Tonya believes that the success of a change is directly related to how it is managed. A key part of an effective change management process is taking the time to explore the multitude of effects a change may have and how they will impact different constituents. Gaining this perspective requires a certain level of neutrality.

“What our team is able to do, coming on board as an outside consultant, is powerful,” said Tonya. “We aren’t knee-deep in the politics of how any company works. We are open-minded and unbiased. And this is how we enable our clients to visualize and understand the impact of a change well beyond their target users or audience.”

Connecting the dots

As a change management professional who has experienced working from both the client and consultancy sides, Tonya prides herself on being a “dot-connector” — for both her colleagues and the organizations she works with.

For her colleagues, she can shed light on why there might be a delay or a conflict on the client side. For her clients, she can help them see how changing physical space may also require changes in workplace policies.

Because the nuances of how any company works are always organization-specific, Tonya recognizes the necessity of customizing a change management approach for every client.

“Every project is unique in its own right,” she said. “You might begin with an understanding and a framework that is consistent, but how you apply that to an organization is different from one to the next.”

Taking a proactive approach

What Tonya hopes more leaders will learn is that not all change is complicated, but every transition requires a thoughtful plan and full understanding of the short- and long-term ramifications of change. People are the catalysts that help influence the outcome of any change, and an approach that considers all variables, including stakeholders across an organization, the company culture, business goals, and its employees will yield the most successful results.

“People tend to ignore the necessity of a change management process. But the effects of changes can stack up over time. It can create fatigue and paralysis and really weigh on an organization,” said Tonya.

“Change can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be scary, as long as you proactively address its impact.”

Tonya Williams joined Savills Houston office in 2021 as Managing Director and specializes in developing and delivering workplace strategy solutions for clients globally. In this role, she helps organizations further the business’s purpose by creating the framework for an effective workplace strategy foundation. Tonya works with clients closely to understand their real estate needs, culture, work methodology, technology, and the business drivers and challenges to merge the art and science of workplace. Utilizing workplace data such as social physics, benchmarking and research, engagement in visioning and observation sessions, and programming and design expertise, Tonya executes a workplace strategy recommendation with data and thoughtfulness that is unique to each organization.

Get in touch with Tonya: tmwilliams@savills.us