Workplace-Transformation: “The decisive dimension is people.”
Hagen Moerbel, Head of Workplace Management, is responsible for the ‘Smart Working Plus’ transformation concept at Boehringer Ingelheim at their site in Ingelheim, Germany. Mobile, digital, sustainable and flexible – the pharmaceutical company’s new working environment is based on these four building blocks and is now also being rolled out successively at the Ingelheim site. Our change and communication experts are supporting Boehringer on this journey and ensuring that all employees are taken along. Hagen Moerbel on the role of the office in the hybrid working world and the company’s campus strategy.
Hagen, what does an inviting, inspiring working environment look like for you personally?
If I could wish for anything, it would be a room with a lot of height, interesting views and a layout that invites me and other people to engage in dialogue. I once had an exchange with a New Work company in Berlin. They had used a former factory building, which I really liked. High ceilings, deep windows, in the middle of a neighbourhood where you could feel this creativity, this spirit – it was great.
In times of hybrid work, what significance do you think the central office (still) has for a company?
A very important role, where people come together and can interact with all their senses. This is a completely different quality to online meetings. It’s not always necessary, but more so than I’m currently seeing.
Return to the office: How do you view the trend among many companies to instruct their employees to return to the office?
This instruction is an intervention that can be made. I prefer other ways to emphasise the importance. But yes, if other measures don’t work, then such an approach is understandable.
At Boehringer Ingelheim, you are in the process of rolling out your new campus strategy of a smart working environment to your sites in Germany. What is behind this?
We want to adapt the spaces in the existing buildings to better reflect the changing needs, especially after the pandemic. We see a balance between open and closed spaces, as well as small and large rooms. We rely on the ‘neighbourhood concept’, i.e. a team is provided with a defined area with the above-mentioned building blocks. It’s like an ecosystem that offers different spaces for different activities, based on joint sharing.
What is so innovative about this concept?
Not much really – it’s just the consistent realisation of the ideas behind New Work, which were developed back in the 1970s. I would rather use the term ‘sustainable’, because the new concept and the adaptations mean that the existing buildings can be used sustainably and thus make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.
How do you bring your innovative campus strategy to life in the company?
We opened the first Smart Working building around eight years ago, so many employees are familiar with these spaces. We also invite them to various events, for example we have created a ‘test space’ in one building that can be used by employees so that they can experience for themselves how the spaces affect them.
What role do the perspectives play here: space, culture, technology and service?
All of these dimensions are needed, but the decisive factor is people and culture, and this is what we focus on in our activities.
How do you guide those involved through the change? How do you ensure that employees feel understood and supported?
We work with the designated ambassadors, who are the multipliers for us and know their teams and colleagues very well. We try to realise their individual needs as far as possible, but at the same time we also implement defined standards.
Specifically: What do your employees want from their workplace? Do they have design options with you?
We can be flexible when it comes to design, whether it’s the colour scheme or special furniture. The architecture and the surfaces, that comes from us. There are many other details, but that would go beyond the scope of this article. It is important to me that we have a regular dialogue and that all points are heard first. We want to understand what our colleagues want and what ideas they have.
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