Since its creation in 1979, Action Against Hunger has strived to provide an effective and sustainable response to food crises. This humanitarian organisation, present in more than 45 countries, implements programmes aimed at preventing, treating and eradicating malnutrition with a global team of thousands of dedicated professionals.
In a constantly evolving world of work, Action Against Hunger has rethought its work environment to meet a dual objective:
To do this, in collaboration with Deskare, the organisation opted for a flexible working approach known as flex office, a situation in which employees no longer have an assigned workstation. This way of working promotes organisational agility, resource efficiency and the optimisation of office spaces.
The following case study examines Action Against Hunger's successful transition to flex office, thanks to feedback from Mejda Ben Slama, Quality of Life at Work Officer and Céline Vermersch, IT Project Manager.
Action Against Hunger is an NGO that is evolving from an association model to that of a multinational company. In recent years, its ways of working have also been transformed with:
A flexible (remote) work policy: the employee can request up to 100% remote work and return to the site a few days per month
Easier work-life balance: quality of life at work is understood in the long term
Ambitions in terms of the work environment: moving and switching to flex office simultaneously
Background:
The perpetuation of remote work and the end of the lease of the old headquarters have allowed Action contre la Faim to become the owner of new offices by reducing the need for space. By moving from central Paris to the inner suburbs, the objective was to make savings by adapting the spaces to new practices related to hybrid work.
Action Against Hunger has switched to flex office with an ambitious occupancy rate of 0.5 (i.e. 1 workstation for 2 employees). The new head office had to offer optimised spaces adapted to the activity. But how do you get the whole company on board with such an ambitious project?
"With flex office, it is necessary to pay attention to the collective to avoid the fragmentation of teams and maintain good communication. We have adopted a risk prevention approach and a hybrid work logic based on being on site to see each other and be together." - Mejda Ben Slama, QWL Officer
Clear and transparent communication on the objectives, benefits and methods of flex office is essential to ensure a common understanding and minimise resistance. The involvement of employees, HR managers and executives is crucial from the earliest stages of the project. Active participation will foster acceptance and buy-in to change.
NB: Flex office is still not widespread but appreciated
The advantages according to the employees who practice it (source: Parella):
The occupancy rate of 0.5 is a mixture of three elements:
In the end, Action contre la Faim halved the number of workstations, except for departments that are not 100% remote work compatible.
To go further: visualize your office occupancy with Deskare
Action contre la Faim took the time to prepare for the transition to flex office. A survey of needs upstream of the project and anticipation of risks were carried out, taking into account the different functions and working methods of each team. This essential step determined the resources and space required (more details in the next section).
"The teams, regardless of their department, all work together. We have therefore chosen to favour hierarchical rather than functional zoning, in order to maintain the link with their primary team while taking into account the interactions of the departments with each other." - Céline Vermersch, IT Project Manager
The staff representatives were involved in all stages: from the search for premises to the implementation of the flex office. The project's risk prevention approach reassured the CSE.
To develop the common framework for this new organisation, the project team and the CSE co-constructed a flex office charter. With all stakeholders aligned, this crucial step facilitated the deployment of a flex management solution.
Confidentiality space, storage, equipment... Each department completed a questionnaire on the desired space layout. This made it possible to distribute the needs in the space according to the activities.
Employees were involved in the evolution of practices through various direct solicitations:
"We were sufficiently aware of the impact of this type of change to anticipate it correctly. We were very careful to involve employees at all levels. It paid off!" - Mejda Ben Slama, QVT (Quality of Life at Work) Officer
Gathering needs allowed Action contre la Faim to meet the teams' expectations in terms of work activities, limit their fears and guide the rest of the project. The challenge was mainly in managing the return to the office by department, mandatory twice a month, given that the number of available spaces was halved!
"Deskare gets great feedback on its ease of use. We've avoided all the pitfalls we could have fallen into with flex office!"
A multidisciplinary team worked on the project to find the tool that would meet all the requirements:
Such a change in office organisation must take into account the support of managers towards new hybrid team management practices. In addition to our chat which helps managers in difficulty, we regularly make resources available.
Discover our 9 tips for good hybrid management!
Mental burden
Managing office reservations via Deskare reduces the mental burden on General Services. The tool manages allocation conflicts, leaving them more room for tasks with higher added value.
Time
Employees now have access to an interactive map where they can reserve a space and settle in for the day. This saves a lot of time when they come to the office.
"Deskare saves us a lot of time and energy, especially in terms of change management. It represents 2 days of full-time work per week." - Céline Vermersch, IT Project Manager
More visibility
More agile teams, fluid exchanges, adapted workspaces, flex office improves office organisation. With Deskare, everyone can see at a glance the days of presence and the occupancy of spaces. No need to travel or fill out an Excel file to see who is on site.
Square meters
The flex office project ensures better management of the work environment and optimisation of real estate costs. Reducing unoccupied workspaces can decrease these expenses by up to 30%.
The transition to flex office brings changes in the way teams work and interact, which makes change management essential. We therefore support our clients during the transition:
Advice: support from our experts in the reflection phase upstream of the project to ensure a smooth transition to flex office
Acceptance and buy-in: involvement of stakeholders from the start of the project (information, response to concerns)
Communication: anticipation of resistance, identification of factors of concern and implementation of strategies to address them (practical demonstrations, videos, chat, workshops, webinars)
Continuous evaluation: monitoring the impact of flex office on employees and the organisation, identifying any adjustments to be made, collecting feedback from employees and administrators and proposing improvements to optimise the adoption and benefits of flex office
"The complete integration of Deskare into Microsoft Teams ensures the successful adoption of flex office. With automatic reminders, it's quick and practical, people know which space to reserve. That's what was expected of the tool, so it's a success. We reached our goal on time, even ahead of schedule, so it's perfect!" - Céline Vermersch, IT Project Manager
Different aspects of the office are impacted, but managed with Deskare:
Employees at Action contre la Faim responded to a satisfaction survey on flex office and gave Deskare a score of 4.49 / 5!
Discover their reviews:
"Deskare has great feedback on its ease of use. I'm happy we avoided all the pitfalls we could have fallen into with this new organisation, and the user feedback is good, that's mainly what gives me the temperature!" - Mejda Ben Slama, QVT Referent
But also:
Anticipating risks and taking the time to study the remote work amendments to know everyone's rules helps to size offices effectively. It is also important to take into account a possible move, which may change office attendance habits.
"How do you reserve a workstation when you only have 1 for 2 people? We realised a little late in the project that we would need a management tool, but we quickly caught up with Deskare. The key is still anticipation!" - Mejda Ben Slama, QVT Referent
Step 1: Assess the needs (flexibility, collaboration, use of space) and determine the objectives (productivity, property costs)
Step 2: Analyse the data of use of existing spaces, meeting rooms and equipment to identify the needs of the teams
Step 3: Search for and select a flex office management tool by evaluating the functionalities (HRIS and Microsoft Teams / Google integrations, space reservation, schedule visualisation, social aspect, data)
Step 4: Inform the teams of how flex office works (flex office charter, training on how to use the tool, space reservation, etc.)
Step 5: Deploy the tool (with or without POC), monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the system and make the necessary adjustments
Step 7: Perform regular monitoring and analyse the data collected by the tool to regularly optimise spaces
The deployment of the flex office project and the move to the new head office were decisive steps for Action contre la Faim, which noted a significant improvement in collaboration.
The flexibility offered by the flex office makes it possible to maintain a flexible remote work policy, to work more autonomously and to manage schedules effectively.
Employees now have the possibility to choose the workspace that best corresponds to their current tasks. The practical aspect of the flex office has made it possible to optimise the use of space and its costs.
Action contre la Faim aims to continue analyzing the data provided by Deskare in order to refine the organization of its workspaces to respond ever more precisely to the needs of its employees and their actual use of the offices.
We are delighted to support Action contre la Faim in its journey towards better management of its work environment. If you would also like to discover how Deskare can improve the efficiency of your spaces, we would be delighted to discuss your specific needs. Don't hesitate to contact us to explore the opportunities available to you together!
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