Global Workplace Strategy

Challenges

‍A Global Fortune 200 technology leader entered a period of intense organic and external growth marked by several large acquisitions. In a highly competitive and fast-moving industry, the company understood that their human capital was both extremely valuable and highly vulnerable.

Altanova was tasked with finding ways to formalize and quantify various stages of the real estate life cycle, from site selection and comparison of building choices, through adherence to the continuously updated Design Guidelines, through measuring operational efficiency in these spaces and ensuring occupants are satisfied and healthy as they use them.

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Approach

‍Altanova structured its approach around three pillars: the base building, the interior design and fit out, and operations.

We began by formalizing a Sustainable Site Selection Survey(S4) to be deployed any time a new site is being considered, either as an expansion or to relocate to another nearby site at the end of a lease. This survey can be completed by a prospective landlord and helps especially when comparing multiple possible sites. We focus on aspects of the location that cannot be easily changed, like access to transportation, or buildings positioned with enough daylight exposure for occupants.

As a consultant for the creation and updating of International Design Guidelines, we focused especially on making sure HVAC systems can handle appropriate ventilation rates and filtration to support the best possible indoor air quality. These guidelines have evolved over time to support the company through shifts to activity-based and smart workplace design practices, encompassing indoor comfort, lighting, water efficiency, waste reduction, biophilia, and sustainable materials selection, among others.

Over time Altanova has leveraged healthy building frameworks such as Fitwel and WELL, and during the COVID pandemic was able to work with the company to formalize and deploy building policies and practices in line with Fitwel’s Viral Response Module to sites worldwide. These frameworks help to ensure that sites are operating with the full health and wellbeing of the occupants at the center.

Indoor air quality sensors are deployed globally to continuously monitor conditions to ensure that actual environments are operating at the standards set. Periodic workplace satisfaction surveys are also conducted to gather feedback on how spaces are being experienced by its users. This combination of quantitative readings and qualitative feedback helps to collect actionable insights into these spaces. Altanova has also developed software tools to help manage these types of portfolios, keeping track of information described above as well as how sites are performing against environmental targets, and measuring value impact to support the business case for investments into these spaces.