A prestigious move for Halliwells - PFM (July 2008)

"The Electrak system effectively gives Halliwells a grid of power distribution under the floor and they can add or move power access points as and when they choose without having to disrupt the business or incur the cost of any re-wiring.” This article appeared in the July 2008 issue of Premises & Facilities Management.

In the fast-paced world of commercial law, location matters. Not just because having the right address is an integral part of projecting the right image and maintaining the firm’s status at the head of its field, but because productivity is business critical. In this environment slick and professional service delivery depends upon effective communication between colleagues and departments, and an ability to respond quickly to clients’ needs. Often, that means adopting a flexible approach and anticipating each individual client’s requirements, adding value in order to stand out in an extremely competitive sector.

For leading law firm, Halliwells, the move of its entire Manchester-based professional teams and support staff to 3 Hardman Square in the city’s prestigious Spinningfields commercial district last year answered all these requirements. Spinningfields has been heralded as a world-class business quarter for Manchester, designed by globally renowned architects, 3 Hardman Square’s designer, Norman Foster, and occupied by a who’s who of blue chip companies, including RBS, Bank of New York and Deloitte. Just as important as the impressive address for Halliwells was the opportunity to unite staff from five disparate offices spread across the city centre under one roof for the first time.

Explains Pam McKay, facilities manager at Halliwells; “Previously the spread of personnel across a number of different offices had been very challenging. We had support departments in different buildings to the fee earners who relied upon them for service delivery and people engaging in similar legal roles sitting across town from each other. The situation made maximising productivity and reducing turnaround times difficult, it also impeded cross-selling and made it more difficult for teams to share ideas.

“As a result, moving into the new offices in Spinningfields presented us with a massive opportunity to create a layout that would underpin the firm’s commercial objectives. We consulted staff on how they wanted the layout to work and built in enough flexibility to be able to evolve the working environment quickly and easily in line with any future changes to the business.”

Pleasant and Productive

In total, 850 Halliwells staff moved to the firm’s new eight-storey building in Spinningfields and the facilities team opted to keep the cellular layout that had been in place at the company’s previous sites. All support departments, including accounts, IT, post & print, human resources, facilities and archiving are based on the fourth floor, which allows better integration of service delivery and a central port of call for all fee earners’ support service requirements. A goods lift accessed from the loading bay enables the support departments to accept deliveries on a 24/7 basis, which ensures fast and efficient delivery throughout the building, helping to maximise productivity.

On the remaining floors, office areas have been designed to provide a spacious and productive working environment with state of the art secretarial and support workstations to ensure that fee earners have everything they need at their fingertips. The departmental layout has been designed to offer maximum integration of related departments to encourage cross-selling with enhanced meeting rooms and informal break out areas to provide ample opportunity for colleagues to share information and ideas.

“The idea was not just to make our Spinningfields office a productive place to work, but to make it a pleasant place to work too,” Pam continues. “The spacious feel of the layout means that the professional staff can have the space they need to do what is often a very challenging and intensive job but, with informal break out areas and our on site restaurant, Café Vista, it can also be a very social environment.”

Flexibility has also been built into the space, allowing visiting colleagues or clients to hot desk and enabling resident colleagues to work side by side on a temporary basis if they should need to. A client suite was created as part of the office’s interior design, enabling visiting clients to make the most of their time on site without having to tie up a meeting room to check their email or make an important telephone call. There are also telephone- and video-conferencing facilities on site to enable staff and their clients to hook up remotely for meetings.

“Everything has been designed with ease of use and speed of delivery in mind,” Pam continues. “This is a very high end, professional business that welcomes VIPs to the office on pretty much a daily basis so the office environment needs to be geared up to offer them whatever services they require quickly and with no fuss. With colleagues able to log on to any PC or phone in the building, hot desking is not just for visitors but is a genuine option for any member of staff whenever they choose to take it. In practice, that means that if they’re in a meeting on the fifth floor when an important document comes through, they can check their emails there and then without having to go back to their desk.”

Future-proofed Flexibility

The universal log on facilities is just one way in which the internal layout at Halliwells has used cutting-edge technology to build flexibility into the offices. IT Director, Dean Rowe, specified Electrak’s modular busbar system throughout the building, with around 1,500m of underfloor track being installed. This ‘plug and play’ power distribution system was not only quick and easy to install when the building was fitted out; it also provides both current and future flexibility. Factory-built, the system provides power outlets every 300mm and these are connected to grommets which simply plug in on a five metre. What this meant for the facilities team was that the layout of power access points could be changed and refined even after installation of the power distribution system because grommets could be moved simply by lifting a couple of carpet tiles and unplugging the flex. As the company evolves and its needs potentially change, this flexibility will remain; new grommets can be added at any time simply by plugging them into the busbar as required, and existing grommets can be moved quickly and simply.

“Futureproofing the building as much as possible was all part of the brief” explains Electrak’s Paul Clarke. “The Electrak system effectively gives Halliwells a grid of power distribution under the floor and they can add or move power access points as and when they choose without having to disrupt the business or incur the cost of any re-wiring.”

In all, 954 Electrak grommets were installed throughout the building. These circular socket boxes are secured quickly and simply by pushing down the spring-loaded screws and rotating the unit a quarter turn. Once the grommet is installed, the user simply needs to lift the handle to remove the lid so that the equipment can be plugged in and the lid then pushes closed again, keeping cables tidy and providing a neat, enclosed power outlet.

These grommets were used in combination with 954 Rotasoc desk modules, which carry power from the floor to above desk level, attaching to the desk to provide sockets exactly where they are needed. Once again, these have been designed by Electrak to offer a plug and play solution and, for Pam’s team, this delivers the instant flexibility that Halliwells was looking for.

“The Rotasoc system provides sockets that can turn 360° making it easier to plug in equipment from any position on the desk,” Paul continues. “It enables Halliwells to keep large amounts of cables neat and tidy and ensures staff can plug in a laptop or a phone charger using a socket on their desk without having to look for an outlet on the floor. What’s more, because it’s a modular system, if there is a requirement for additional sockets at any workstation the end user can simply attach an additional module to the existing Rotasoc unit and the extra sockets will be safe and ready to go.”

Planning for the Future

The success of the whole relocation programme has been down to effective planning and staff consultation, with extensive resources ploughed into creating such an impressive environment. For several years running up to the move there was a continual meeting process in place to consult with staff about the style and layout of the new offices to ensure that the result matched both the culture and the commercial requirements of the organisation. The facilities team also worked closely with the architects and heads of departments to ensure the space was well-planned both for present and possible future requirements.

“Designing the layout and services around employee feedback was essential,” comments Pam “and we created workstation mock ups to allow people to trial the new work environment and new furniture. We also did staff familiarisation tours of the new building and appointed ‘super-users’ to trial the new technology before we moved.”

Pam’s team worked hard to ensure that personal and obsolete items were not moved to the new building by completing a ‘clear and cleanse’ programme before the move took place. The purchase of new computers and phones for all staff also helped to reduce churn, with old furniture and IT equipment distributed to other regional offices or donated to charity as appropriate.

“This move is an extremely important step in the company’s history and a thorough approach to ensuring that every element of the move and the building’s fit out reflected Halliwell’s corporate culture and reputation was essential,” Pam concludes. “Several months in, the response from both staff and clients demonstrates that the look, feel and flexibility of the space is working.”

Read more about Electrak Power Track, Floor Boxes, Floor Grommets and Rotasoc desk modules…

Note to editors: For further information contact our PR agency: Clare Moody, Clare Communications Ltd on 0161 707 0992 or email clare@clarecomms.co.uk.