Case Study
BT Group
Host Experience Services
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Alliance Director
Transformation Director
Overview
Telecommunications giant BT Group has steered the growth of communications across the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846 as the Electric Telegraph Company, BT Group was the world’s first telegraph company and has since expanded into one of the globe’s leading communications services companies.
With the rapid evolution of telecommunications over the past few decades, one aspect of BT Group was left behind—its workplaces. That changed in 2018, when BT Group announced “The Better Workplace Programme,” the largest workspace consolidation programme of its type ever undertaken in the United Kingdom.
“The way we work has changed significantly,” said Sarah Morrison, Senior Manager Workplace Proposition for BT Property & Facilities Services. “The Better Workplace Programme is our way to create work experiences to reflect that. We looked at a number of our properties and realised they had grown tired. Many hadn’t been touched since the 1960s, and this was a real challenge for talent attraction and attrition of colleagues.”
People became the key focus of the massive shift in BT Group’s footprint. The transition included moving a significant number of employees in a transformation that consolidated of more than 300 locations to around 30, including corporate offices, contact centres, and specialist sites.
The company embarked on this workplace evolution to provide a better experience for its people, and then came the task of merging disconnected teams into one BT Group community. Employees required support through the transition, and BT Group’s leadership wanted to spark pride for the new workplaces among its colleagues.
The Role of Host from CBRE
BT Group chose Host from CBRE to manage workplace experience for the transition, including reception and concierge services, workplace services, and meeting and event services. These teams worked together with CBRE facilities managers to serve as a holistic and strategic partner to BT Group through its dramatic workplace transition. Success depended on a new approach.
“BT really had to evolve its entire approach experience and facilities,” said Paul Byatt, Better Workplace Director for CBRE. “The old way of thinking about this was to have your facilities manager hidden out of the way, and that meant they were doing a good job. For this kind of transition, you need to see the people who are going to help you, who are going to keep your office working every day. They’re part of your community, so we helped BT through that shift in mindset.”
BT and CBRE used extensive employee surveys and data to inform their plan. Hosts work together with workplace teams like security, cleaning, catering, and additional facilities services to offer one unified approach to the transition.
Host workplace experience managers greet all arrivals at office openings in 'Happy to Help' t-shirts, provide colleagues with city guides to connect to their new location, and re-enforce a sense of community with events calendars and contests. The feedback has been so positive that Host teams now manage inductions and onboardings at many of BT Group’s new offices.
“Our (workplace managers) are part of our community,” Morrison said. “Host is that person to make you smile during your workday, which is exactly what we needed for this programme. We needed that energy and enthusiasm in each workplace to help bring our colleagues in, make them feel welcome, and to carry a sense of pride for where they worked.”
By the end of 2021, BT Group had drastically reduced its footprint of locations and buildings, with Host supporting thousands of colleagues through the change. The transition will continue to the end of the programme, but not without maintaining the work that’s already been performed.
“We emphasise the importance of pride in these spaces,” Byatt said. “Many of these are brand new buildings, and we work with BT to make sure our teams support that pride. It needs to look like Day 1, all the time. The Hosts get involved with that. They pull up blinds, arrange chairs, clear desks, and keep it fresh so that employees get to experience it like new every time they come to work. That’s a place that will keep them coming back.”
The Solution & Result
Our experience services experts created an engagement strategy to support BT to seamlessly transition its employees to each new location and create a welcoming workplace:
- Create a warm welcome: Establishing enthusiasm and a clear understanding of support is integral to each new BT location. The Host team is the first point of contact when employees enter the BT buildings, providing personalised welcomes and administrative support to foster a sense of community. The team develops an 'A-to-Z packs' for each location that serves as a complete guide to new space and the new surrounding area, with notes on such things like local attractions, gyms, and cycling spaces.
- Develop continuous improvement: Iteration is built into BT’s support strategy. The programme includes pre-move and post-move surveys to improve the process for future office moves. The feedback allows our teams to both engage and learn from the experiences we create at each location. The Host team also utilises tracking for all interactions to log tasks and report on customer experience.
- Drive behavioural change: Each Host team member works to instil BT’s culture and community through their employee engagement. This drives behavioural change to help colleagues get connected to their workplace. Host offers return-to-work bonuses and theme days to energize each space, while also encouraging BT colleagues to utilize collaborative spaces away from their desks.
- Support moments that matter: Host anticipates needs for successful office meetings and events, building relationships within each workplace to help colleagues focus on work. This includes managing events every step of the way and advising internal teams on approach to ensure success.
- Establish Host as a cultural ambassador: Host sits at the centre of BT’s service partners, bringing together groups like security, cleaning, landscaping, and mail to keep all groups focused on overall workplace experience. By establishing a service mindset across all functions, colleagues benefit from hospitality regardless of need or activity.
Host makes a critical difference for our workplace experience. We’re a tech company, so the easy thing for us would have been to say, ‘You've got an automated bot.’ But we wanted Host to be our first point of contact for any site. If our people have a problem or need to speak to someone, they can tangibly go to a person. They’re part of our community, and that makes a significant impact for bringing people into each new site.