Design With Impact

Everyone talks about how work is changing. Let’s talk about what to do about it. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the workplace. Our approach addresses the human needs of employees to improve their wellbeing, foster a sense of community and connection, and help organizations navigate, prepare and design for change.

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The Enticing Workplace

Has the Workplace Environment Reached its Potential? On the contrary, there’s still considerable need for enhancement and growth within these spaces. Commissioned by MillerKnoll, psychologists Dr. Nigel Oseland and Prof. Gary Raw conducted a research study aimed at comprehending the comparative desirability of office-based and home work settings. During this session, we will present the research findings, shedding light on how these insights can guide the workplace industry in creating captivating and enticing environments for all workers.

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Designing a Better Tomorrow
With work and life entering a new post-pandemic era, we have a historic opportunity to re-imagine the role of the modern workplace. This talk from MillerKnoll can help your organisation seize this opportunity while reinvigorating your culture, improving the health and productivity of your teams, and fostering a greater sense of belonging among your people.

 

Places to Belong: How workplace can help hybrid teams reconnect to each other and their organisation

The need to belong is a powerful and fundamental motivator of human behaviour. The connection between a sense of belonging and cognitive performance—as well as physical and emotional health and wellbeing—is well established. However, we are only now beginning to understand the toll that distributed work has taken on employees’ sense of belonging. With the physical workplace no longer the de facto location where all employees report every day, what can organisations do to foster a sense of belonging among their people?

Armed with the latest research from Future Forum (a consortium that counts MillerKnoll among its founding partners, which is dedicated to helping companies thrive in the new economy) we’ll illustrate opportunities to transform the physical workplace into a powerful tool for cultivating a sense of belonging.

 

Looking Forward to The Future of Work

How can we better understand the future of work and its impact on our places of work?

In this webinar you will learn about 3 important shifts our Global Research and Insights Team identified after a six-month virtual listening tour, entailing more than 160 conversations with leaders from a range of industries as well as real estate and interior design firms. It’s an opportune time for us to collectively elevate the conversation about hybrid workplace strategies and re-frame the value of corporate real estate. We will share insights about promoting equitable work experiences as well as creating belonging through inclusive workplace design

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Reinvigorating Individual Work - (Interactive workshop or Seminar)

Herman Miller's research team sought to understand the other side of workplace design—individual work. As organisations emphasise collaboration through the design of their spaces, the needs of the individual worker are becoming under-served. Through our research into individual work – we identified five of the most common states of mind users seek to cultivate when accomplishing individual work. For each state of mind, we outlined user needs and design opportunities for satisfying those states of mind.

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Enabling Focus In the Workplace

We believe the most effective organisations, put their people first. We know successful workplace design is about balance and choice. 

This is accomplished by offering a variety of settings, which best support focus or collaborative workstyles. However, as workplace design moved

towards an increase in density and a focus on maximizing collaboration, individual work began to suffer.  Today, we’ll discuss how enabling focus work is equally as important as supporting collaboration in the workplace.

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Technology Improvements for the Hybrid Workplace

How can the physical workplace do a better job of leveraging and accommodating technology for hybrid working?

With work becoming increasingly digitised and 58% of global knowledge workers already splitting their time between the office and home and places in between, the workplace needs to be designed to support seamless technology experiences.

Hear from MillerKnoll’s Global Insight Group as we discuss key considerations to help corporate and home workplaces to support productive and enjoyable technology experiences.

 

There’s no place like home… or is there?

In this interactive webinar we will examine the results from Herman Miller's 21,000+ responses to our global home working survey, along with other key findings on the changing sentiment towards home and office work.

Throughout the session we will dispel 7 myths of the post-crises workplace and explore the differing quality of working from home experiences. By the end of the webinar you will leave with a good grasp of what these learnings mean for you and your business, and what to expect from working policies in the future.

 

From Office to Everywhere - What's the Future of the Office?

The challenges of 2020 have precipitated many questions about the purpose of the workplace. Why go into the office when you can avoid the commute and stay comfortable and productive at home? Why maintain corporate offices when you can instead support distributed work and save money on real estate? Even pre-pandemic, organizations were asking these questions — and COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated the conversation. We’re excited about this course toward a more distributed model of work— one where the office will continue to play a critical role in helping organizations achieve their desired business results. In fact, we’ve been preparing for this new way of working for a long time.Now we want to help you further explore the shifting purpose of the workplace and gain a clearer perspective on why the office will remain relevant far into the future.

 

Workplace Experience and the impact on Workplace Design

How are the changes in the experience of work impacting workplace design and management?

We are running these interactive sessions with the real estate and design communities that are thinking critically about these ideas and the challenges they bring. We look closely at the areas of People, Process and Place - and how these 3 areas are being impacted by ongoing change.

 

The Tech-Healthy Workplace

This webinar provides an overview of how organisations can improve the fit between employee and technology and make employees feel better and stay healthier and more productive at work.

By providing ergonomic tools that support people as they use technology, by understanding some of the physical, social, and cognitive issues related to the use of these tools, and by designing based on the needs of people and their work activities early in the design process, organisations can improve employee health, engagement, and productivity.

 

Team Landscapes - Using design to support team working

Supporting team collaboration remains critical for leaders looking to drive optimum performance in their organisations.

Designing the best environments for group work begins with understanding the unique needs of different types of teams. The requirements of each team can (and should) be supported by bespoke combinations of sensory design elements which help to sustain energy levels and align with the tasks at hand - meaning teams are equipped to work to their best capacity!

Drawing on research conducted by Herman Miller, this seminar introduces four distinct team types and offers practical design considerations for supporting the dynamics of each.

 

The Resilient Campus

At a time when higher educational institutions are seeking unique competitive advantages, strategic initiatives informing space design, people, pedagogy and processes are critical to the success and wellbeing of staff and students. To remain relevant, the physical campus still needs to build culture and community, support individual focus, workplace readiness, sense of belonging for students, and facilitate teamwork whilst combatting isolation. This seminar will spark ideas for your “Living Campus” in a post pandemic world.

 

The Living Campus (RIBA CPD Approved) 

This seminar introduces the idea of the Living Campus: a vision for higher education campus design that looks at the needs for placemaking and purposeful settings, as well as design trends that we are seeing globally. This presentation focuses on considerations that will help you as you design spaces to best support the needs of tomorrow. Topics covered include how spaces impact learning outcomes, design considerations for social, learning and working environments, ideas for analysing the effects of design on students and the five elements of student experience.

 

Working From Home  

We know that working from home isn't the normal set-up for most. That's why we’re here to help everyone stay connected, focused, and engaged as they work remotely and stay healthy.

In this seminar, we will share ideas & inspiration for managing remote teams, how to practice self-care and reduce stress.

 

Personal preferences in the modern office - sharing the survey findings

The debate on open plan versus enclosed offices rages on, but it’s not binary, it’s not black or white, and it’s not a dichotomy. Office occupants clearly have different workplace preferences from the wide range of design solutions that are available. We need to understand what drives these individual preferences. Is it factors like personality, personalisation, flexibility, sense of belonging and familiarity that affect where people prefer to work? Or is there more to it? In this seminar we share the findings drawn up by Dr Nigel Oseland, environmental psychologist, workplace strategist and real-world researcher.

 

The Future Experience of Work

In this seminar we will look at indicators for the future experience of work and workspaces, focusing on:

1. People - Who is doing the work and why

2. Process - What the work is, how it will be done, and when is it happening

3. Place - Where that work is being done and how those places are created.

We will discuss the impact of each of these elements on the work experience, workspace design and management, giving actionable takeaways on how to respond to optimise the working environment

 

How to catalyse your workplace for growth

As part of our ongoing investigation into the connections between people, work, and the workplace, we conducted an experiment with 13 organisations around the world. To do this, we partnered with Leesman, a leading independent global benchmarking service. Our partnership allowed us to measure and validate our Living Office research by comparing it to Leesman’s data — the largest collection of workplace effectiveness data in the world. This vast pool of research shows that when it comes to creating workplaces that are primed for organisational growth, only unique, personalised, research-based environments will do.

 

New Metrics of Place - Measuring what Matters

Traditional workplaces don't support the way people actually work today. To find out what kind of workplace designs do, Herman Miller is studying progressive work environments around the world. This seminar summarises the findings of that research so far, including six emerging patterns of use and associated metrics that organisations can draw on to create, measure, and manage high-performing work environments that empower people to do their best work.

 

The Office is dead - Long live the Office

At a time when there is an increased focus on the digital workplace, what role does the physical workplace play and are its days numbered? What are the pros and cons of virtual and physical working? Is co-working here to stay and will it impact the way corporations consume space? We discuss this subject looking at internal and external research sources from around the globe

“The business of people talking to each other in offices is a very serious consideration. It is by far the most expensive achievement of offices: the grouping of people that allows conversational exchange" Robert Propst - 1968

 

Herman Miller History - A Heritage of Design

By the middle of the 20th century, the name Herman Miller had become synonymous with “modern” furniture. 

Working with legendary designers the company launched products that would become classics of industrial design.

This webinar will cover Herman Miller's history and design heritage and will also highlight the strong research based

approach to support product developments .

 

Designing for Cognitive Wellness

A workplace that helps people think better drives business results. Cognition is the way we acquire knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and our senses. A workplace that takes cognition into consideration in its design, including decreasing mental load and cognitive mapping, helps us feel better. And when we feel better, we work better. Herman Miller's Insights will introduce participants to cognitive ergonomics and its implications for office design.

 

Fundamental Human Needs and The Workplace - (Interactive workshop or Seminar)

In this interactive session we share Herman Miller’s point of view and ongoing discoveries about Human Dynamics + Work – all grounded in research and first-hand experiences. We explore fundamental human needs – purpose, belonging, achievement, autonomy, status, and security – and ask ourselves how are these defined? What is their priority? What are their implications for management methods, technology and tools, and places?

 

The Living Office (New Landscape of Work) (RIBA CPD Approved)(IDCEC CEU Approved)

In businesses around the world the workforce is changing. The expectations of workers are changing. How work gets done is changing. The tools of work are changing. The work itself is changing. There is a new landscape of work. At Herman Miller, we are working with the world's leading thinkers and designers to apply a greater understanding of people—how we think, how we are motivated, and how we create and collaborate—to this new landscape of work. In this seminar we will share our approach to how to manage our work, the tools and technologies that enable us, and the places where we come together to do it.

  

Wellbeing and Social Ergonomics in Workplace Design

A workplace that helps us initiate and regulate social interaction, and that takes into consideration factors like personal space, physical and psychological proximity, and territoriality, helps us feel better. And when we feel better, we work better. We will explore in workshop format how social ergonomics interacts with cognitive and physical ergonomics to create a full human experience at work.

 

Future Scenarios

Scenario planning is one way in which Herman Miller tries to understand and learn about the changes in the workplace in the future. Through formal research methods, protocols, and tools such as scenario planning, companies are better able to anticipate change, respond creatively towards those emerging user needs and problems, and be better prepared for the future. In this seminar we will share some findings from Herman Miller’s most recent Scenarios project

 

Learning Studios Design Workshop

In this workshop participants will gain an understanding of how traditional classroom design has not kept pace with the changing nature of pedagogy and the evolving expectations of students and faculty.

You will learn how new approaches to the design of learning spaces can effectively address these changes and then demonstrate their understanding of this through creative hands-on design activities.

 

The Office – a Facility Based on Change

“The business of people talking to each other in offices is a very serious consideration. It is by far the most expensive achievement of offices: the grouping of people that allows conversational exchange" Robert Propst - Published in 1968, this book, written by Robert Propst revolutionised the thinking about workplace design. In this seminar we will explore the key issues raised by Robert Propst, and discuss those that are still valid more than 50 years later.

 

The Science behind Making Employees Happy in the Workplace

We know office design affects behaviour. But to what extent? Does office design actually affect brain activity, as well as behaviour? This session explores findings from research with the Centre for Neuroeconomics Studies

 

The Psychology of Collaboration (RIBA CPD Approved)

Collaboration is much talked about today, especially when it comes to workplace design. As companies employ more knowledge workers, it is no longer just what you know, but what you do with what you know. Successfully designed collaboration spaces as well as an enabling culture are key to helping this along. With this in mind, Herman Miller commissioned Dr. Nigel Oseland, a psychologist specialising in workplace, to carry out a literature review of the psychology of collaboration and how that might impact workplace design. We will share these findings with you, as well as some observational research carried out by our International research team.

 

Agile Working (RIBA CPD Approved)

Agile Working means empowering employees to work where, how and when they choose, to maximise their productivity and deliver the greatest value to the business.

We would like to share with you some research carried out on our behalf relating to this subject. We will look at the benefits as well as the barriers to Agile Working, and then look at the implications for workplace providers and designers.

 

Social Capital in The Workplace  (RIBA CPD Approved)

Sociologists, governments and residential developers continue to investigate the intangible qualities which turn a group of individuals into a community, and what benefits this 'social capital' can deliver.

Today it is recognised that social capital is not only important at a civic level, but is a valuable asset within commercial organisations. The Workplace Intelligence Unit has undertaken original research to better understand how the working environment can impact 'Social Capital in the Workplace'

 

Creativity at Work (RIBA CPD Approved)

Innovation resides at the core of any thriving commercial organisation, generating new ideas to enhance business performance and help organisations stay ahead. 

Herman Miller has investigated how the creative mind works, finding four different ‘types’. This seminar explores the characteristics of these minds and the workplace design attributes that enhance their creative ability

 

3rd Spaces (RIBA CPD Approved)

Whereas some companies may see the ‘Third Space’ as the areas left over once the desks and meeting rooms have been mapped out –  other, more visionary organisations see a newly emerging role of the workplace, in which interactions are far less rigid and work is more dynamic both in terms of the quality of collaboration and with regards to the ease with which employees can move between different environments in a self-determined way. This is what the functional third space supports. The title of this research piece is The Third Space in a changing economic environment. We look at what the potential is for the Third Space, how organisations perceive its value and how economic recession may have impacted the pace at which companies are ‘walking the talk’

 

The Future of Work - How and Where we will Work in 2030 (RIBA CPD Approved)

The Future of Work is based on research carried out on behalf of the UK Government by The Workplace Intelligence Unit, which was founded by Herman Miller. The Seminar looks at 3 possible future global warming scenarios established by the Government's Foresight Team, and looks at what work could be like under those scenarios. The seminar is designed to create debate about Sustainable workplaces.

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For more information contact  mkinsights@millerknoll.com