R&R Insurance
R&R Insurance recently purchased and renovated a 60,000 square foot former medical facility to turn into their new headquarters. As a long-term client of Creative, R&R knew we would be the best to tackle this large scale design, build, furnish project.
We determined project scope by initiating our Change Engagement service. This process defined the needs for workplace change and the logistics of change. This is a strategy designed to achieve evolving business goals and to accelerate the adjustment process while minimizing the disruption to normal workflow. Establishing a Change Management plan early on eased anxieties and reinforced behaviors and practices desired in the new environment.
Creative and a “Champion Team” of R&R executives developed tools to facilitate communication and share documentation that would support a consistent message for the several months-long move process that employees could embrace and share. Not only did this help prepare team members for new work styles and behaviors but also for the consolidation of offices from Waukesha, Oconomowoc, and Menomonee Falls to the new Waukesha headquarters.
Tools used to prepare and communicate to team members included verbal and non-verbal information, drawings, 3D renderings and on-site walk-throughs. Whenever possible, R&R Champions modeled the new work behaviors and addressed team member questions right away to diffuse any obstacles.
Key project drivers included improved employee retention and attraction, support for the changing demographic of the workforce, and fostering employee health and wellness. In the end, we created a variety of work and gathering areas to support a culture of flexible work, collaboration, conversation, and social activity. Unique elements such as a fitness center, multiple wellness rooms, and access to natural light and greenery helped encourage and promote employee wellbeing.
Demolishing the interior of the former medical facility, designing plans for 60,000 square feet of space, and furnishing each area may have been the easiest part of this project. During the renovation process, Creative provided Move Management services. R&R Champions and Creative came together again to prepare team members early on for a “what to expect” during the relocation process. Guidelines were developed several months in advance of the move that assisted in cleaning and purging existing individual work areas as well as shared areas. Team coordination assisted in a very successful relocation experience.
Jack Reisch, Owner and Executive Vice President of R&R Insurance, shared that he will never forget the experience of watching employees’ faces and excitement as they walked into the new building on their first day after the move.