Integrating Cultural Change Management Program with Smart Workplace Transformation and Refurbishment Project Schedule

Amongst the current trends in commercial real estate and workplace solutions sector, smart, agile, or digital workplaces that provide flexible and smart working environments have become more important and preferred solution. Globally many companies have been transforming their workplaces into agile workplaces to exploit the benefits including, but not limited to reducing real estate footprint, sustainable & energy efficient operations, improving employee motivation & efficiency, and therefore reducing operational costs. The workplace transformation has a significant impact on employee performance and engagement due to the cultural change it brings along. This cultural change must be well managed across all phases of the project to ensure the success of the workplace transformation. This success criterion is an important performance indicator which, is generally measured as user experience upon completion of the project. To effectively manage this process, cultural change management activities should be integrated with the project, design & construction schedule and linked with the project activities. The objective of this research is to provide a framework program for the cultural change management activities that need to be managed as part of the office transformation and refurbishment projects and integrating them with the project schedule. A focus group study method has been conducted to achieve the objectives of the study. Detailed findings, key change management activities and the framework program have been provided in this paper.