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In the first of our portfolio of projects with Kantar, which has led on to include Kantar TNS at 6 More London Place, Kantar Worldpanel the leading consumer panel research company, wanted to introduce new ways of working, integrate departments and make their office space work smarter. Having worked with Kantar Group for over nine years, Peldon Rose had a good understanding of their business and needs so we quickly swung in to action.
Kantar share their Hanger Lane office building with other parts of the Kantar Group such as TNS. In total, they have 450 people occupying two floors in the London Westgate office, and 40 in their Epsom office. As this was an office refurbishment in situ, the whole project required very careful office planning.
The overall office design concept was to reflect the culture of the business, making it an open, inspiring place full of inspiration to help Kantar Worldpanel attract and retain the best people. Simple changes such as replacing solid partitions with glass featuring bright barcode manifestation help natural light flood in and create a more open and trusting office. We also introduced colour-coded signposting so staff could easily navigate around the building and feel more comfortable with their surroundings.
Working with an in-house team of ‘Change Champions’, we gathered some invaluable data and ensured that everyone felt part of the process and shared their ideas. The Peldon Rose project team visited regularly and conducted Q&A sessions where we showcased floorplans, mood boards and visuals. From these meetings we were able to ensure the whole project was well considered and met the needs of each team.
Working with Kantar we quickly identified that they have a lot of mobile employees and we could reduce their desk space by 40% by introducing hot-desking and storage lockers. The furniture team were able to use this space to introduce versatile agile and collaborative working areas. These areas would provide the perfect location for touch down points, quiet working, breaks and all those meetings that don’t need a meeting room. Kantar Worldpanel also integrated the commercial and operational teams throughout the office to help create new opportunities for conversations and relationships.
The location of the smart working areas was key to ensuring people could come together and teams could integrate. To achieve this, we moved the facilities to two key areas; the central corner point of each floor and a central hub on the longest stretch of the building. Through the clever use of furniture, the smart working areas create of a range of working environments for people to select from, be that beanbags, high stand tables, wooden bleachers, acoustic pods, comfy sofas or even a hammock. No longer do meetings need to be held in formal meeting rooms.
Also, importantly, employees no longer only have building canteen to have breaks and lunch. Instead with the introduction of open plan kitchens they are more likely to stay on their floor and spend time with their colleagues.
Tim Kidd, MD UK, Ireland and US of Kantar explains the importance of the refurbished office: “We have always had a culture of trust at Kantar Worldpanel and now staff have greater freedom from their desk to choose where to work from. This has resulted in new relationships being formed, teams changing how they work together and people having a greater appreciation and understanding of the role everyone plays in making Kantar Worldpanel a great and successful place to work. We are all proud of the new office design we have and as a result we have many more client meetings here – it’s a great place to show off”.
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