We couldn’t resist catching up with Coca-Cola to pick their brains about their stunning new headquarters and recent office move. We spoke to Brenda Hoffman, Director of Procurement and Wimpole Street Project Manager, and Andy Francombe, IPM Director and Head of the Good Eats Team, at Coca-Cola, to find out how they engaged their team to create an amazing new workspace.
Stepping into the headquarters of Coca-Cola, home to about 300 employees, you are instantly hit with an amazing ball of positive energy; there’s a real buzz about the workspace, people are talking and laughing. It’s a New York loft style inspired space, with a roof terrace, café, alcoves and quiet spaces scattered around, funky furnished meeting rooms, graffiti type art decorating the stairwells and the most amazing Coca-Cola bottle chandelier.
At the heart of the main space is a large restaurant, where food and drink is readily available. According to Andy this is the hub of the office: “We had a vision and wanted to provide a café/restaurant for people to meet and congregate at any time. The idea was to provide comfort, a little like your own kitchen.”
The restaurant does just this – it’s always busy and there’s a lovely atmosphere about the place. Brenda says, “Every time we bring someone into the restaurant they are amazed at the high energy and positive vibe that resonates throughout the space.” So how did Coca-Cola succeed in creating such an inspiring environment that the team love and that encourages creative thinking and more social connectivity?
Inspiring work environments
Well Brenda had her work cut out for her, with just five months before the big move she was asked to take over as lead on the project to ensure everything went smoothly. Five years into the project the big decisions had been made, in terms of location and office, but there were a million little decisions that hadn’t even been thought about.
Brenda couldn’t walk along the hallway without being bombarded with questions: “Will our security badges enable us to print?”; “Will we still have access to a gym?”; “Will we have parking?” Then there was the big decision over who was to provide the catering. The list was endless.
Brenda said, “The questions from staff were inevitable. To them it was the big unknown.” In a bid to make the move a positive experience and create some excitement she set up a number of smaller but impactful project teams, involving staff across the business, aimed to engage everyone, take them on a journey and ensure the move was a success. These project teams included the ‘Make It Work Team’, ‘Excite Team’, and ‘Good Eats Team’.
Moving from Hammersmith to Central London was a huge change for the team at Coca-Cola – they had been based in Hammersmith for years. Brenda set up the teams to help enable the change, turning negative emotions around the change to positive emotions, creating a huge buzz and building excitement. She says, “Around one-third of employees across the business were involved in our different project teams, they got to know our suppliers and they were involved in decisions around the move.
They were involved in the move, which enabled us to address any concerns and create lots of positive momentum in the lead up to the move.”
The team created a mock space to bring everything to life before the move, where employees could see the fabrics being used in meeting rooms and artist sketches. They also organised a walk to work day, where employees met at their train station, walked to the new office and later grabbed a hot dog and drink at the local pub. The aim was to demonstrate how easy the commute would be, showcase the local area and get people excited about the new, vibrant location.
The move didn’t necessarily all go to plan and there were a few last-minute problems, with 150 desk-tops going missing the night before the big day. In fact Brenda describes it as the ‘most challenging move ever!’ but it sounds very positive at the same time; she says, “Everyone pulled together to make it work, from the suppliers to employees. It’s this collaboration that made it such a success, and this continues today.”
Everyone, from the move team to suppliers and contractors, continue to work together to innovate and ensure the space and facilities in the building evolve as the business evolves. It’s this that has helped create the perfect workplace, where the creative buzz remains alive.
To read more about how Coca-Cola used food to transform the workplace visit our blog
