THE CHALLENGE

We partnered with a regional council as it prepared to transition staff into a new purpose-built headquarters.

The new building was designed around activity-based working principles and would bring employees from multiple sites together into one shared workplace. While the physical move was significant, the bigger challenge was behavioural. Staff were not simply relocating to a new building; they were being asked to adopt new work patterns, use space differently, and collaborate in new ways.

Operational readiness for the move had been well-managed internally. What the organisation needed was targeted support for the cultural and behavioural shift that would help people make the most of the new environment.

Middle managers had a particularly important role to play. They needed to help their teams understand what the new ways of working meant in practice, respond to questions and uncertainty, and support continuity of service during the transition.

With the move date approaching, the challenge was to help the organisation build shared understanding, align expectations, and support staff to move into the new workplace with greater clarity and confidence.

THE SOLUTION

We designed and delivered a targeted change program that focused on the human side of the workplace transition.

The work began with leadership alignment. We worked with the Executive Leadership Team to clarify the rationale for activity-based working and define the principles that would underpin the new ways of working. This helped create consistent messages about why the change mattered and how it connected to the council’s broader direction.

We also worked with appointed Change Champions to understand organisational readiness and equip them to support their colleagues through the transition. Their role provided an important connection point between the project and the people experiencing the change.

A key focus was middle manager enablement. We facilitated sessions with managers to explore what the new workplace meant for them and their teams, how they could lead through the transition, and how they could help people take advantage of the opportunities created by the new environment.

To make the desired behaviours more visible and memorable, we developed a series of visual designs for the different neighbourhoods within the new headquarters. Each design captured what that neighbourhood wanted to be known for and was displayed on screens throughout the building.

This created a practical reinforcement mechanism inside the workplace itself, helping connect the physical environment with the behaviours and ways of working it was intended to support.

THE RESULTS

The project helped the council support staff through a significant workplace transition.

As employees moved from multiple sites into the new headquarters, leaders, managers, Change Champions, and teams had clearer messages and practical tools to help them navigate the shift. This supported a more consistent understanding of why the move was happening, what activity-based working meant, and how people could work together in the new environment.

The focus on middle managers helped strengthen the support available to teams during the transition. Managers had structured opportunities to consider how the change would affect their people, what questions or concerns might arise, and how they could lead in a way that maintained connection and continuity.

The neighbourhood visuals also provided a distinctive and lasting way to reinforce the desired behaviours. By translating each neighbourhood’s aspirations into visible prompts throughout the building, the workplace itself became part of the change process.

Together, these elements helped create a clearer foundation for collaborative and flexible ways of working in the new headquarters. Rather than treating the move as a purely physical relocation, the project helped the organisation connect the new building with the behaviours, routines, and expectations needed to make the space work in practice.