How the corporate style makeover could help employers boost productivity

Employers could improve productivity by giving their workplace a makeover. Alan Green, New Accommodation Director at GCHQ will discuss how GHCQ designed a workplace to reflect the organisationís values and help their staff perform their jobs better, at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís (CIPD) Annual Conference 2005, on Wednesday 26 October.

Angela Baron, CIPD Organisation and Resourcing Adviser, says, Research suggests there is a strong relationship between the working environment and employeesí output. The more the workplace is designed to reflect the values and needs of an organisation the more likely it is that employees will also reflect these values and strive to meet these needs. For an organisationís vision and values to be effective and drive improved performance they need to be embedded, integrated and carefully managed.ì

Alan Green, New Accommodation Director at GCHQ, says, When we came to design the new GCHQ building we realised that we could make it easier for staff to do some of their tasks through the design of the workplace.

ìWe considered all aspects of the working environment, from building services to IT, and then managed them together as a single change programme to produce better organisational performance.

ìIt was important to think creatively about both the business requirements and employee needs in terms of what will help them do their job. We created a knowledge sharing culture through a combination of techniques, such as open plan spaces and IT systems.î

Alan Green, New Accommodation Director at GCHQ, will discuss how GHCQ designed a workplace to reflect the organisationís values, at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís (CIPD) Annual Conference 2005, on Wednesday 26 October. He will be joined by the following speakers:

Nick Wilson, Director of HR, Egg

Paul Wilde, Head of Organisational Capability, Egg

Professor If Price, FMGC, Faculty of Organisation and Management, Sheffield Hallam University.

Full details of the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition can be found at www.cipd.co.uk/annualconf-ex.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the conference or the exhibition should call the CIPD on 020 8612 6202.