In an era of accelerated change, businesses, people, workplaces and spaces are rapidly evolving. Today, organizations of all sizes and sectors must adapt to ever-shifting trends and the unprecedented pace of transformation. Whether it’s a shift in work location policies, a workplace culture or organizational assessment, an office relocation, a workspace restack or the integration of new technologies, ready or not, change is happening. Savills understands that the built environment is more than the physical space; it is about how people interact with and in the space, and with each other.
Change is a human experience, but without a clear strategy for managing and communicating it, workplace shifts can feel chaotic to employees in the near term and be damaging to your company over the long term.
Enter Savills Change Management: the expert team of “change makers” dedicated to helping clients implement transitions effectively while mitigating the risks of disruption. By providing cost-efficient and tailored solutions, we ensure seamless change that fosters employee engagement, sustains productivity and drives long-term success.
Savills Change Management prioritizes an organization’s most valuable asset, their people, by helping them feel supported and embracing change. Our team of Prosci and PMP certified professionals has extensive training and expertise in many areas, such as human resources, organizational psychology, design and construction, project and program management and corporate communications. Your company’s operational success grows when your people thrive during periods of change.
What is change management, and why does it matter?
Change management is an organization's approach to helping its individuals and teams transition from their current state to a future desired state. Nowhere is this more important than the workplace, where company culture is defined. As organizations transition, a gap often forms between the “old” and “new.” Effective change management bridges the gap, and with strategic objectives in mind, you can lessen the pervasive disruptions your employees may experience.
Proactively managing change directly impacts core business functions, initiatives and the bottom line. When change management is successfully integrated, benefits to both people and operations include:
- Undisturbed business operations to maintain productivity;
- Higher success rates on projects and programs;
- Strengthened agility and adaptability in the face of evolving market trends or advancements;
- Greater ROI on key investments such as technology and real estate; and
- Effective communication to eliminate ambiguity through consistent messaging;
- Increased awareness and consensus around the future state.
Our vision of successful change management unites stakeholders by creating positive momentum in a unified direction and an openness towards change built on commonality, not contention.
A people-centered focus and approach
We believe change is personal: every individual reacts differently to a transition. Savills Change Management helps organizations manage disruption by focusing on the employee. An organization’s interpersonal ecosystem is just as crucial as the built environment. Unlike traditional consultants who exclusively analyze the physical aspects of a space or the logistics of a transition, we look at the ways people are impacted, what they need to be prepared for and how they contribute to change and long-term stability. Leveraging our diverse expertise, we’ve developed a thoughtful approach offering clarity and empathy, ensuring employees feel engaged, equipped and empowered throughout the process.
We also understand that decision making is complex, strategic and impacts individual groups in different ways depending on title, job function, geography or the like. Our job is to partner with organizations to address these differences and make smooth transitions. To mitigate the psychological impact of change on an employee, for example, our people-centered approach fosters three key elements:
1. A sense of autonomy and control over aspects of a change through feedback opportunities or small decision-making moments.
2. Tangible impact so employees see that their contributions matter.
3. A feeling of being valued, respected and, above all, heard.
Our tailored framework for effective change
Savills Change Management charts a tailored path forward that meets an organization’s specific needs, knowing that strategic plans with intentionality have the highest likelihood of long-term success. The strategies and solutions we develop in partnership with clients come by understanding an organization’s day-to-day operations as well as its organizational structure, corporate culture and values. To help support our clients’ decision making, we utilize exclusive change readiness assessments, proprietary dashboards and data-driven insights.
As we tune into a company’s unique cues, we follow a three-phase approach that we can flex for any type of change.
In the first phase, we aim to understand the starting point or “current state.” We work with clients to establish goals and measures of success related to their desired “future state.” We employ a variety of tools and tactics, such as conducting leadership visioning sessions, gathering employee feedback through surveys and focus groups and analyzing workplace data to identify key transition challenges.
In the second phase, we focus on customizing a plan that can best achieve unique goals through consensus building and communication planning. We define the strategy, align with leadership on messaging and map out employee engagement and training programs. We support our clients’ decision making and further validate the strategy with insights and goals from phase one.
In the final phase, we dedicate ourselves to implementation. We help clients roll out drafted communications, training and support tools. Engagement is fostered through a platform of tailored tools, including town halls, workshops and office hours, while post-change initiatives such as surveys and employee feedback loops ensure individuals’ voices are heard and success is measured.
Driven by client success
Savills Change Management excels at unlocking the “people puzzle” through problem-solving and innovative programming, ultimately helping people to thrive. We have a strong portfolio of successful change management implementations. From supporting corporate headquarters relocations to evaluating employee workspaces within a global portfolio, our proven track record reveals how Savills change makers have delivered proven strategies to meet clients' evolving needs. For example:
- In California, we helped a global human resources consulting firm implement a new method of working as they moved over 1,300 employees into a new workspace fit out with less than 200 seats. In addition to the implementation of focus groups, targeted interviews and data analysis, we provided strategic counsel to the client’s leadership team, delivering a communications plan and tailored messaging that improved stakeholder alignment and eased the transition into new office space.
- In Rye, NY, Savills change makers supported the relocation of 1,100+ New York Blood Center employees to a 187,000-rsf, state-of-the-art headquarters campus. We guided NYBC leadership and stakeholders through the consolidation of office space, helping to strategically plan and minimize organizational risks related employee retention, business continuity and brand reputation.
- In Philadelphia, PA, we assisted the relocation and integration of 8,000+ Comcast employees into a new, five-building corporate headquarters campus. We partnered with Comcast’s internal teams to develop employee engagement and change management strategies, managing relocation teams and meeting user group needs and leading to the implementation of a five-year reconfiguration plan.
- For a Fortune 100 energy company, we continue to work closely with the client on various change management projects globally. We ensure continuity in the strategy, messaging and resources, and create data-driven success through the implementation of employee feedback.
Change management is end-to-end support
Change management is a critical part of the real estate life cycle and cannot be an afterthought in a transaction or negotiation. From site selection to post-move support, incorporating change management is integral to our client’s success.
After all, change management is about people and operations. As part of Savills integrated service platform, our team ensures we can help clients where they are now and where they will be in the future. This inclusive change management process helps ensure that people not only benefit from their companies' workplace decisions but also enable them to thrive in places as spaces.
Interested in learning more about Savills Change Management? Send us a note, meet the experts through our “Change Makers” blog series and visit us online for more research and insights.
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