TWEP - Episode 18 - Is The Post Occupancy Evaluation Process Dead?

The Workplace Experience

"is the post occupancy evaluation process dead"?
It is my opinion that it was dead before the pandemic hit. Why? Well it goes a bit like this. The post occupancy evaluation was never given enough kudos as it identified the short coming of the workplace design and functionality after a new or an existing workplace was occupied. So often project teams are in denial that not everything is right. You add to the fact that the project team is fatigued, know that the project is ending or they have another project to go to and they know they will not be around and therefore - "POE? what?
The POE traditionally addressed the performance of the built environment with a high focus on building services, in more recent times looking at the furniture solutions and workplace settings, the way the workplace facilitate people to do their job and what worked and didn’t work from the workplace design, ITC infrastructure and other facilities.
Only brave senior leaders encourage and support doing a post occupancy evaluation. These leaders are realists and provisions for risk mitigation and rectification costs that is such a small part of the overall project budget.
The majority of leaders are to concerned to ask or investigate with their people about how much of a success or failure the new workplace is. Their attitude is let sleeping dogs lye. The only problem here is that often sleeping dogs have flees and flees spread and multiply.
This never resolves the shortcomings or the problems in a new or modified workplace.
No new workplace is ever prefect so the understanding of what is not working is critical.
Remember the workplace is a eco-system of its own. It is the built environment, with various work settings, services, the technology and the connectivity.
The workplace eco-system is also now a lot broader with workplace extending out to other locations and settings.
It is often the little things that create the toxicity in the workplace and impacts the workplace culture.
The post occupancy evaluation should identify and measure the various risks that come from all parts of the workplace that are not working either in terms of functionality, comfort, suitability and utilisation.
Low utilisation of certain parts of the workplace is often directly associated with one of the forementioned not performing as occupants would expect.
Often the rectifcation work is only tinkering to the solution, where something may have been overlooked or a furniture solution swapped out as it doesn’t meet the needs of the business unit that predominately occupies the that part of the building..
Now post the pandemic many organisations looking to get their people back into the office, a detailed post occupancy evaluation will assist management in understanding what is not working in the workplace and for it to create the basis of informed decision making by management on the best way to resolve some of the issues.
The evaluation provides the basis for management to communicate with their staff on the course of action that is being taken in regards to the workplace environment, in particular for issues associated with hard services and soft services or the workplace design and facilities.
These reports also provide great insight into where the gaps maybe on the people's knowledge on how properly use the services and amenities that are provided in the workplace. This often means people are not maximising the full benefits from the functionality of the facilities.
The POE also identifies issues that can by managed by expert change management. This can often include certain organisational workplace standards, policies and protocols associated with the office, working from home or working from public locations, so more broadly the organisations&