Government Department NSW – Coffs Harbour Branch

The Brief:

Morale was low; the office was cluttered and staff were overwhelmed by excess paperwork and cramped conditions. An office renovation had taken place in 2008 whereby glass dividers were erected partly remedying the excess walkway noise. All contents had been removed and replaced in piles after construction was completed.

What I did:

• Consulted with each individual in the space to discuss organisational bottle necks – ie what worked and what didn’t?
• I organised, as the third party, a 4 hour period of time when everyone stopped work and concentrated on removing clutter and excess.
• A fresh but subtle lime green colour was painted on two small but significant feature walls.
• Each workstation had a fabric covered pinboard created and screwed into the divider. The purpose was threefold – to absorb more noise, to create individual privacy and to add a bright fresh place for information to be pinned. Staff were encouraged to put things that inspired them in this space also – ie their photos, prints, animations and favourite quotes.
• Large leafy hardy potplants were purchased/collected – most of which were growing in water environments. Every monitor now had a large plant on an elevated platform, behind it.
• The Main pinboard which was located in a tight walkway was painted the same fresh vibrant green rather than the previous dark purple, which immediately opened up the area, making it more inviting.
• OH&S Pinboard was created in the walk way for appropriate information and policy adherance.
• LIBRARY – Typically there are at least 16 copies of EVERY document in ANY office. 2 Libraries were created – one for the 80 Care Workers and one for the 6 Case Managers. All the major documents – awards, procedures etc were all collected from each station and one primary set was then assembled, collated and colour coded for each group to use.
• Organisational tips and checklists were created for each workstation. I worked with each Case manager individually to reach a set place whereby they felt and could see, an enormous difference in their environment.

The feedback was overwhelming:

“You have done an awesome job on the office! It was unbelievable to leave it Wednesday pm and walk in this am with a totally different look and feel. Everyone loves it!” 
Karen

“…I particularly like the plants and the green stripe dividers are nice and soothing…”
Jillian