The Lane Crawford Joyce Group has created new collective headquarters in a creative workspace set to facilitate innovative ways of engaging and recruiting talent
The Lane Crawford Joyce Group has brought its four companies together in a new headquarters in the stunningly beautiful and soon-to-be commercially vibrant setting of Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen. The new home marks the beginning of an era of collaborative growth within and across the companies fostered by innovative work practices which the new space allows. Creative teams have adapted their respective communal areas to represent each company’s ethos visually and generate cross-company alliances in a non-conventional manner. HR Magazine spoke to Jennifer Woo, Chairman and CEO, Lane Crawford Group and to those responsible for HR within each company to understand just what the space means for them.
Space and vision
Woo’s ambition was to build a community of individuals who could achieve a singular vision. “Our new headquarters is the hub for that community – this is a home where innovation, creativity and fashion lives.” The design brief was simply to identify what they did not want. “We wanted to take the word ‘office’ out of our lexicon…nothing expensive or foreboding…nothing monotonous or samey…we still needed the space to be functional, useable. We didn’t want to limit personal space…and we didn’t want anything to be a limitation or a hindrance to delivering excellence,” said Woo. The various HR managers commented that the new workspace brings opportunity to spark conversations and creative thinking that break formerly imposed boundaries of possibility. Eva Chow-Slaughter, Director, Human Resources, Pedder Group commented on the impact of the project in its current embryonic phase, “Whilst the true benefits of this plan and design have yet to be measured in business terms, it is clear that the staff enjoy and are inspired by their new environment.”
Space to re-define culture
The stimulus for the project came from the decision to reduce overheads in the recession of 2008 and at the same time re-define the environment in which work was done; with this came the huge opportunity to shift the organisation’s culture through physical space. Specifically the aim was to break down physical barriers and allow easier interaction – the antithesis of the conventional cubicles found in their former offices. The new environment meets this challenge, being fluid and democratic with a partition-free, wireless workspace that offers staff the freedom to choose communal or solitary areas based on their specific immediate needs. When asked how she envisaged staff working together, Woo replied that changes were already apparent, “Everyone has found their own groove in the new space…there is no formula.”
My space
The building is a mixture of industrial minimalism and specially sourced vintage and contemporary chic to reflect the various brand identities. While the basic materials are common to all floors, each company’s creative teams have customised their respective breakout spaces through the use of colour, store merchandise and furniture, thereby characterising their unique identities within the Group family. Tellingly, the zones allocated as breakout areas are those corners that afford the best views – areas monopolised by higher management offices in more bureaucratic business models. These spaces are open to all staff to meet socially, work or just relax and reflect the entire ethos of what the Group wanted the new headquarters to represent. All team members are encouraged to use these space: Joyce’s art-influenced, stylised library, ImagineX’s communal indoor garden, Pedder Group’s creative hot desk displaying the latest fashion, art and design periodicals or Lane Crawford’s lounge and bar and games room with vintage gymnasium equipment juxtaposed with Nintendo Wii system.
Creativity and innovation are not to be limited to break-out areas however but are encouraged throughout the building. The 29th floor, furnished with vintage pieces from schools and theatres, houses a communal dining area and table tennis and snooker tables to encourage social interaction. Business wise the building boasts a digital network connecting the headquarters to its stores, its China operations and international offices, a suite of multi-media and photography studios, multi-lingual call centre and retail academy for the training of talent to drive the next generation of business support.
Space for HR
ImagineX have been conducting interviews in their indoor garden for candidates applying for roles in merchandising, buying, interior design and even human resources. Kathy Li, Vice President, ImagineX explained that creating an environment that is open, relaxed and non-traditional during the course of the recruitment process definitely helps to showcase the company’s ways of working and culture. She added that a candidate’s reaction to the unconventional setting would give HR a feel of how that person might enjoy the working environment. Lane Crawford has a dedicated, purpose-built Human Resources suite which allows both group and one-on-one interviews. The design, colours, furnishings and even music playing on the iPod are all representative of the brand. Innovative recruitment strategies have included first-round interviews in speed dating format, allowing a large volume of candidates to be quickly assessed using a standardised set of questions as benchmark. In this way objective decisions can be made quickly before embarking on the next round. Pedder Group conduct their recruitment process in a range of settings, some formal and some on sofas with no tables, displaying to potential candidates their particular appreciation of design and style.
Emotional space
A multi-purpose wellness room provides a quiet zone for massages, kinesiology, group yoga, Pilates and tai chi classes, as well as meditation and deep relaxation. Woo commented that the creation of the room reflects the importance the Group places on employee wellness and explained that there is a schedule of activities on health of mind, body and spirit that is also encouraged. Woo summarised, “Happier, healthier and more balanced individuals can only bring positive benefits to any company and this programme and space reflects this.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
