The Client – SIA Central Europe

SIA Central Europe handles a large part of Central and Eastern Europe’s central ATM and POS terminal transactions. Part of Nexi Group, and with a presence in over 50 countries, it specialises in the design, implementation and management of technology infrastructures and services for the finance and public sectors.

The Goal

SIA had two floors in their own building, with outdated design and furniture. They also leased additional space in another location. The refurbishment was driven by a corporate goal: to implement ‘smart working’ practices that complemented both office and remote activities – with an initial aim for 30% home working across the company. Another key objective was to cut out the need for additional leased space.

However, SIA also had a range of specific needs. Everyone needed designated spaces for effective individual work. The business also wanted areas that increased employee engagement and experience, and strengthened the company identity.

When they came to us, we talked through their needs and core issues, and together decided to break the project down into three phases.

In total, we held:

• 2 visioning workshops with the Board
• 20+ department top and middle managers interviews,
• 4 workshops with employees across the business,
• a group-wide survey
• Several reviews of the Bratislava office to ensure the plans would be perfect.

In the run up to the project, SIA had asked everyone to work from home 30% of the time. But with 330 people in a building that could hold 270 workstations at most, one of the key concerns from both employees and managers was that the new space might have a high density of people per sq m.

To tackle this, we examined the workstyles for each department, and then assigned a set number of workstations to each team – together with unique home working ratios. This more-balanced approach ensured everyone had the resources they needed – when they needed them. It was also easy for people to book desks, as SIA implemented Symbiosy’s Desk Booking system.

With the management team choosing to partially give up their private offices – and work open plan with their teams – we could give each team its own dedicated area. This also freed up space for us to create new, multifunctional areas for collaboration and hybrid working, and to strengthen engagement and the culture. The result? An office with a healthier, more spacious office density.

Onboarding plan

After getting employees engaged during phase 1, we created an onboarding plan that explained all the changes and included regular updates, system training and live-experiences of the new ways of working.

Interactive workshops for leaders

We paid special attention to leaders within SIA. As central figures within the business, it was important they understood the reasons behind the design, how it could increase their personal effectiveness, and what it could help their people achieve. We invited them to interactive workshops where we discussed the challenges around hybrid working and provided them a set of leadership tools to help them manage in the new set-up.

New company culture

In tandem, the company was rolling out a new vision and set of values. A team of employees discussed their use in everyday life, and we used their conclusions to form the basis of an internal launch campaign that communicated the new company culture.

The suite of solutions included Symbiosy’s meeting space booking application, Room Booking, which was fully integrated into Office 365. SIA’s people now also uses Symbiosy’s Desk Booking, to book desks from their mobile; and Catch a Space, to reserve the office’s flexible spaces.

Managers have access to Capacity Scheduler too, an online interface for managing desk capacities and bookings around the office.