MovePlan are the experts in managing change
The challenge
ESB Group (Electricity Supply Board) has been Ireland’s foremost energy company since 1927. The Group’s property function manages its nationwide property portfolio, with approximately 100 properties, including office buildings, depots and yards.
Driven to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040, ESB is committed to providing clean, affordable and reliable energy and this target drives its business initiatives.
For over five years, MovePlan provided a variety of workplace consultancy services to support the company’s headquarters in Dublin. Initially brought in to undertake workplace surveys and file and storage consultancy, support broadened to include move management, communications and change management support, and business readiness.
What we did
The most recent project saw MovePlan support ESB in its move into redeveloped sustainable headquarters in Lower Fitzwilliam Street in Dublin. The refurbished building placed environmental initiatives at its core.
The premises’ sustainability features include biophilic design, incorporating nature into the design process, which has been proven to enhance people’s wellbeing, creativity and productivity. The design has also ensured that the space is fresh, open and flexible for future needs.
With the site being a “near zero building” specific examples of the environment being at the forefront of workplace design include the building being fully electric, with hybrid air conditioning, low water sanitary fittings, rainwater collection and well water collection, and solar PV. Finally, the roof has been turned into a sustainable habitat, complete with ESB’s very own bees supplying its canteen with homemade honey.
Employees impacted (approx)
Net zero target year
For the next phase of work, MovePlan developed a programme which enabled a smooth transition to the redeveloped premises. This involved both move and change management elements, with business readiness at the core.
The programme considered how to ensure leaders were engaged and knew what the change entailed, engaging and supporting ESB management to ensure a smooth transition, and ultimately minimising risk to business productivity during the move.
Katherine Lawson, Senior Workplace Project Director and a lead on the project: “We considered a thorough programme to ensure that ESB’s management and employees were transitioned in a way that ensured business continuity.
We undertook a business readiness assessment which informed a variety of deliverables to support the employee move, including a thorough communications plan, workshop sessions, checklists and monitoring.”
Another key element of the programme was to ensure that all employees were bought into the move, after experiencing a few years of disruption to their working location.
“Building tours became an important part of the staff familiarisation strategy, and were a great way of bringing teams back together whilst also covering the health and safety induction requirements too”, commented Katherine.
Further, the technology in the new building played an important role in enabling not only a smooth transition and limited business downtime, but also the flexibility for employees to access the company’s system at all times and wherever they are based.
Senior Workplace Project Director
The latter has also seen further support from the MovePlan team with regards to a space utilisation study demonstrating how the building is being used.
After a lot of disruption due to the pandemic, working from home became very normal for employees and the new premises, designed to drive collaboration and team spirit, needed to be used in an effective manner.
Analysis of this data was key and informed right-sizing and other important decisions: “Optimising space is often core to a successful workplace strategy and by understanding how people want to use a space, the implementation of new working ways or revision of existing ones can make the difference between a thriving workspace and an ineffective one.”
“It was a real privilege to be part of a project of such importance to Dublin’s historical landscape. ESB’s commitment to creating a fit-for-purpose environment for their employees was clear and it was great that we were able to help them right from the beginning of their redevelopment journey, from their filing and storage reduction programmes, move preparedness and business readiness right through to the occupation and post-occupancy studies,” commented Katherine.
MovePlan delivered a thorough transition programme for ESB in Dublin.
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