The Italian atmosphere was broken by Bond and his special agents. The walls are decorated with hand-made graphics, inspiring memories from distant corners of the world, as well as trinkets that make us feel closer to home. Matylda Grabska from Olivia’s HR department talks about the project known within the company as “We design our office”, which has become the best way to integrate the teams of Olivia Business Centre.
What was the assumption?
Matylda Grabska: There were several. First of all, we wanted the team to create a place in each room that would best show their character and interests. In addition, we wanted to give our co-workers the opportunity to design and then arrange the room so that they feel as comfortable as possible and feel at home. It was also supposed to bring out their creativity and commitment in creating a common space. The last assumption was broadly understood integration, not only in our own teams, but also with other employees of the company. It also made it possible to get to know each other better, because everyone wanted to see what the others were doing, ask for ideas on how to make certain elements, and it also showed features that are sometimes difficult to see at work on a daily basis.
Do we design differently than usual?
At Olivia Business Centre, the arrangement team designs and supervises the implementation of hundreds of square meters of office space on a daily basis. We have experts in this area who create projects for many well-known brands and companies, so it is part of the business profile. At the same time, there are our great interior architects who know ergonomics and style. We, as a team, decided to arrange the rooms ourselves, and invited interior specialists only for minor consultations, room tours and evaluation of the effects.
What happened behind the doors of the third-floor offices?
Each department received its own budget, calculated along the outline of the walls of the room so that the chances were as even as possible, and two weeks to think about how to use this amount as part of the dream interior design. These were not large sums of money – from 160 to 360 zlotys for individual rooms, so creativity, invention and heart put into ideas were what counted. After that, the HR department had three weeks to purchase all the necessary items and tools, which were only distributed on the day of the event.
A race with prizes?
Especially with the time that everyone had at their disposal. We decided that it would be optimal to take two hours to prepare the office according to the concept, without disturbing the normal rhythm of work. Our colleagues were informed that there would be a prize for the winning room, but they did not know what exactly it would be. We wanted it to be secondary, so that they would focus primarily on the project itself.
Didn’t anyone break the rules?
Most of the participants treated the initiative more as a game, but there were also cases when some considered it a very serious matter. There was even an anonymous report that one of the rooms was decorated before the day of the Housewarming Party, and that the person should therefore be disqualified.
Was there going to be a revolution?
There are concrete pillars in the office rooms and these are the ones that the employees most often wanted to decorate, because to be honest, they are not particularly phenomenal. Unfortunately, this element was the only one that was supposed to remain unchanged, so painting or forging was out of the question. So whoever still wanted to do something with this element had to come up with a completely different way of arranging it and it turned out to be really interesting.
Where did the idea come from?
First of all, we wanted everyone to feel involved in creating the space that surrounds us, to kind of really like the place where we spend so much of our day. I also think that the work environment itself should be conducive, and this is often forgotten. We engage in duties in a completely different way if we feel at home. And this is where the idea came to individualize and adjust the surface, equip it with elements close to us so that we feel as good as possible in it.
Are we designing with a housewarming party?
Yes, after two hours of hard work on the arrangements, the time has come to feast together. Everyone was asked to bring a small snack, but the commitment exceeded our wildest expectations. At the same time, the committee was tasked with selecting the winner. The composition of the evaluators was not accidental – from each independent department, people were selected who were completely unrelated to individual rooms. We wanted it to include people holding very different positions – from our President to colleagues from the construction department. It was really interesting to watch.
Was it easy to pick the best?
This proved to be an extremely difficult task. The winner was the IT department, which created a classic men’s room with a James Bond theme. On one wall, shadows from the intro of the 007 movie were created. On the other, the boys painted the women of Her Majesty’s favourite with their own hands. Everything is complemented by helmets and vinyl records. The second place was won by finances, creating the atmosphere of Don Corleone’s mafia family. A white hat hanging over the director’s head and a group photo of the department in disguise reminds us that there are clear rules here (laughs). But I really want to emphasize at this point that in each of the rooms you can see the great contribution and work done by our co-workers.
What was at stake?
Until the very end, we kept it a secret what the prize was. Above all, we cared about internal integration, winning was in the background. The winners from IT went to Kolibki Adventure Park. There were quads, jeeps, shooting with air rifles and, as they reported, great fun.
Interviewed by: Dagmara Rybicka, Olivia Business Centre
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