Austin AECOM takes a holistic approach to designing and building interior office spaces that meet its clients' needs, explains Valorie Hargett, vice president and director of work place strategies.

Creating well-designed work places that enhance productivity and boost morale requires going beyond basic interior design and preconceptions. Austin AECOM takes a holistic approach to designing and building interior office spaces that meet its clients' needs, explains Valorie Hargett, vice president and director of work place strategies.

Although its name is relatively new, the company's expertise is not. In January 2005, Austin AECOM acquired the Southwest and Midwest regional operations of The Austin Co. and combined them with AECOM's McClier Corp. The organization includes 450 employees and is headquartered in Chicago with offices in Houston, New York, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco and Orange, Calif.

Hargett says competition is "intense." However, the company has established itself as one of the top players in its industry with a rare mix of design/build expertise, as well as architecture, consulting, engineering and construction management services.

"A lot of other firms are just design firms and don't offer program and construction management, but we can offer design alone or a design/build approach with a consistent team," she states. "We can save time in the schedule and with the budget. There is an overlap with design and construction contractors. When there is one team, the transition is smoother."

Austin AECOM's emphasis on niche markets gives it another edge, Hargett asserts. The company serves the life sciences, food and consumer products, newspaper and media, industrial, distribution, commercial and institutional, and R&D markets.

"Some high-caliber firms have more focus on high-rise clients in the Fortune 500," Hargett states. "We have those clients, as well, but we also have real specialties with industrial as well as food manufacturing plants, newspapers and other specialized facilities besides the corporate office."

The company has been involved in several notable projects, including some for the Chicago Tribune's headquarters and area offices. Hargett says a recent Chicago Tribune project was particularly rewarding because "the work environment had not been changed in close to 20 years."

The company performed work on the second and third floor of the Tribune Tower and also for its call center on the 10th floor. In addition, Austin AECOM was teamed with Perkins and Will to remodel the former press bay into an award-winning contemporary environment for Tribune Interactive, the online department of the newspaper.

"Often, we are remodeling offices for clients who are moving into a new space, but we have a lot of clients who have not redone their office in 10, 30 or 40 years," Hargett explains. "Some newspaper clients hadn't touched their space, yet technology and work processes have evolved dramatically. Their work environment has to catch up as well as adapt to future growth and change easily."

She says the company takes its clients through the whole planning process for their needs at present and for the future. "As it becomes more and more reality, you see the looks on people's faces and appreciation for the environment," she says. "That's the ultimate reward."

Austin AECOM takes a big-picture approach by developing a work place strategies group and improving its clients' understanding of the process and factors that could enhance their businesses. "Ideally, we ask them to consider their business strategy, culture, work force and technology goals and help them understand how these relate or need to relate to the work environment design solution," Hargett states. "As commonsensical as it sounds, many don't approach it this way. A lot of companies don't understand the inner workings that an outside person can come in and see. It's harder for a company to do for themselves."

Interviews with employees at all levels of the client company and information gathering are vital for creating a more responsive environment, she says. "The initial key is to really embrace that [discovery] approach at the very beginning before any design or pen hits the paper," she says.

Austin AECOM's trademarked "Workplace for the Future" concept is the first step, she says. "It sets the foundation and gets you to think outside the box," she adds.

This means talking to everyone from executives and middle management to administrative assistants and entry-level employees, she says. "Without fail, when a person says, ‘this may be a dumb question, but …' It [ends up being] pivotal," she says. "It's critical to get feedback across the organization. Everything can flow from there. Asking the right people the right questions, we probe and ask things different ways and investigate."

The company also has a methodology for selecting furniture for clients. Austin AECOM forms a group representing a cross-section of the client company and puts it through a Furniture 101 workshop where the team learns about industry terms. Then, the group will go on an "idea trip" to visit different work environments to explore possibilities for the office. "We find when they can experience work environments, it brings a whole other level of understanding, rather than pictures," Hargett states.

The bid package process for furniture dealers is thorough, with an emphasis on long-term partnerships, she adds. "We want to make sure the dealer takes care of the client long-term," Hargett explains.

Today, the major trend is looking at the whole environment and not just the furniture. Designing responsive work environments also means meeting other challenges such as supporting the needs of a multi-generational workforce and supporting virtual teams and offices that are connected across the nation and globe, she says.