Heart of the office

UK workers spend just over half the week in the office(i), yet nearly two-thirds(ii) of employees are still in the same workplaces they were in pre-pandemic. Overhauling workspaces to suit employees’ new hybrid behaviours is now a hot priority for many businesses, particularly as they strive for more in-person collaboration in the office.

Insurance giant Admiral is one of those businesses. When Admiral decided to reinvigorate its Ty Admiral building on David Street in Cardiff and encourage a return to the workplace for its 9,000 + strong workforce – it knew it required a highly creative and people-focused solution.

Calling on the support of nationwide interior design and fit-out business Claremont, Admiral is now undertaking an evolutive workplace transformation project to boost productivity, staff wellbeing, and its sense of community.

Claremont’s Creative Director, Ken Bundy, who’s delivered statement interiors for Flutter, TalkTalk and abrdn, is the visionary behind the Admiral project and is leading the design and refurbishment across all floors and a 2,088 sq. ft roof terrace.

Bundy said: “Any business that prides itself on community, collaboration and a supportive culture needs a workplace that delivers on every level. Admiral is founded on those values and beliefs, so unsurprisingly, that came through strongly in their brief.”

For Admiral’s senior leadership team, the project was about more than redesigning the spaces in the building. It was about celebrating their culture and creating commute-worthy workplace experiences.

Bundy added: “This whole design and fit-out process has allowed them to capture the magic of their culture and offer the memorable, on-brand and highly social workplace experiences that hybrid workers are looking for. They’ve seized the opportunity.”

PHASED DELIVERY

Due to the scale of the building, the team’s occupation throughout, and Admiral’s desire to ‘test’ spaces before rolling them out, the office enhancements project is being delivered in a series of phases.

Claremont’s design and Admirals’ in-house facilities teams have worked collaboratively throughout. The project’s first phase, which included the first floors of Admiral’s Cardiff and Swansea buildings and a test plan for the lift lobbies, has just been completed. It will act as the foundation for future changes and give a flavour of how the building will look, feel, and operate in the future.

Huw Llewellyn, Real Estate Director at Admiral, said: “We decided to design and refurbish just two floors initially so that we could capture our employees’ feedback and be sure we were creating desirable spaces before refurbishing other floors in the building. It was a vital step and has given us the confidence and employee buy-in to continue.”

A WORKPLACE WITH HEART

Many organisations are keen to encourage a return to the office, but as people can work remotely and often have more choice and control over their homeworking environment, it’s not always an easy sell. According to Claremont’s Bundy, it requires more than just brilliant facilities. Workplaces must have ‘heart’ too.

“The modern workplace has to give workers the feelings and experiences they can’t get elsewhere – many of which focus on face-to-face collaboration, community and socialising. That means offering authentic experiences beyond simply helping people do their work.

“An organisation’s culture, working methods, and people determine the pulse and rhythm of daily life. We call this ‘the beat’. Every workplace should reflect that organisation’s ‘beat’ so people can thrive.”

In a hybrid world where many employers want a return to the office, organisations must overlay cultural practices and positive social experiences onto the key unique moments that make up their operations. Bundy added: “When organisations offer extra reasons to visit, perhaps for wellbeing or social activities with colleagues, they boost culture and occupancy, too. Admiral does this exceptionally well and knows the power of its organisational culture and workplace together.”