CHICAGO—JLL recently signed a new long-term lease on its global headquarters in Chicago's Aon Center and has decided it's time to transform the office into a showcase for the latest thinking on what makes a truly productive workplace. The move comes at a time when Corporate America has begun to rethink or at least refine the open office concept and may be looking for guidance from their providers.
The company has already gone through extensive consultations with employees in the office, and just chose the architectural firm Gensler to take all those ideas and turn them into actual plans, JLL's Steve Stratton tells GlobeSt.com. He co-leads its tenant representation group in Chicago, oversees the Midwest tenant rep practice and leads the firm's headquarters practice group.
The plans are “morphing as we speak,” he says, but “we expect to be through our design process in the next 60-90 days,” begin construction in the third quarter and unveil the new six-floor space at the end of 2016. “We will have the ability to show clients and prospects how we thought this through.”
JLL last did a big headquarters redesign about 15 years ago, Stratton says, and ended up with few private offices and a lot of open space. A lot has changed in the intervening years. JLL itself grew about 400% across the globe, and in addition, many have decided that although the open office concept is vastly superior to the old cubicle model, it may have gone too far.
"There is sensitivity about having more privacy,” he adds. JLL does not have any set plans, but based on all the conversations the company has had with employees, Stratton anticipates seeing a variety of spaces that will allow privacy to those who need it to be productive, and another set of social spaces “where people can work together with their teams” or get together in a club environment with the whole company to celebrate a great quarter.
A 100% open environment with just a few dedicated private spaces “is not where the world is going.” And JLL needs this redesign to show clients “that we get it.” In addition, potential recruits also need to see a workplace that will provide whatever they consider a productive environment. Finally, the new headquarters will also function as an example for JLL offices around the world.
And the renovation will involve more than moving walls or desks. JLL plans to outfit the new spaces with advanced technology so groups of people can view and work on documents on massive screens. “That's going to be the heart and soul of how we work as a team,” Stratton says. In addition, through the use of proprietary software from Google, clients will be able visit locations remotely and even tour individual buildings. “They can actually see things in real time.”
The new system will mean that many in the new office will go 100% virtual and accomplish their work without generating any paper. But in keeping with the company's philosophy to accommodate the needs of all employees, no matter which generation they belong to, Stratton says the office won't go paperless. “There are a lot of folks who can live and work that way,” but others will always be more comfortable working with actual documents. “We want to embrace people. We're going to have a very thoughtful balance.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
