After extensive planning and taking employee feedback into account, Colliers Winnipeg has enthusiastically relocated to their new office at 330 St. Mary Avenue in Winnipeg MB; an award-winning building and leader in energy efficiency. Inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation were some of the key guiding principles that LM Architectural Group were able to use to help the concept become a reality.
The decision to move an office is never an easy decision; making the decision to move and embarking on an entire floor buildout during a pandemic adds another layer of complexity to the equation. However, the identified need for growth, improving employee satisfaction by building culture and collaboration, wanting to provide a better work environment for staff, being client focused, responding to advancing technology and wanting to reinforce the Colliers brand were the catalyst factors in proceeding with the Colliers Winnipeg office move to 330 St. Mary Avenue. Engaging the expertise of Colliers Project Leaders to manage our schedule and construction challenges and partnering with LM on this build out lead to a success beyond expectations.
The Challenge
Previously, the Colliers Winnipeg office was located on multiple floors inadvertently causing silos both by department and by floor. A lack of common areas created difficulty for staff to discuss and collaborate ideas, along with minimal technology to allow clients to remotely video call in to boardroom meetings. The previous office did not reflect the strength of the Colliers brand and the office as industry leaders.
Strategy
The strategy and objective of the buildout was to strengthen Colliers’ position as an industry leader for our clients and our people. Using nine guiding principles to drive the design and based on employee feedback the following criteria was used by Colliers and LM to design the new space at 330 St. Mary:
1. Inclusive
2. Collaborative
3. Innovative
4. Strengthens Culture
5. Authentic
6. Client Focused
7. Technologically Advanced
8. Reinforce our Brand
9. Right to Light
Leveraging Colliers Workplace Strategy of interior office with similar sizing and workstations against the exterior walls; we believe our design has achieved an optimal layout balancing satisfaction, productivity, and collaboration. With Colliers guidance, LM created a design that fully delivered and aligned with the guiding principles and already has had a direct and positive impact.
The Result
The move to 330 St. Mary Avenue where the office is located on one floor has naturally broken down the silos created by three floors, and improved inclusivity which has vastly improved collaboration. The employee collaboration workspaces allow for those casual conversations or more formal discussions to occur where previously there was no space to do so. The cafeĢ has allowed for the ‘water cooler’ casual talk to occur allowing for staff from different departments/floors to become acquainted with each other and to absorb ideas from each other. The spacious lunchroom ensure staff feel comfortable remaining in the office to eat and allows for large number of employees to gather at one time.
From collaboration spaces, offices located on the interior of the space and workspace located closer to the windows, branding through-out the space, client focused professional state of the art spaces the design is the benchmark for office within Colliers Canada.
