InFocus: News and views from the GPA (December 2023)
InFocus brings together news and views from across the Government Property Agency.
WELCOME TO INFOCUS, December 23
Yvette Greener, Client Director
As our transformation continues, these past three months have seen new members join our senior leadership team, important milestones achieved in our workplace services and property technology, and our Capital Projects programme continue at pace.
We have said goodbye to Steven Boyd after over four years leading the GPA and welcomed our new interim CEO Mark Bourgeois, who brings great leadership experience to our organisation. Lisa Commane has also joined us as our new COO. And Roma McLoughlin is our new Chief Security Officer.
And we have successfully implemented key milestones in our Workplace Services Transformation Programme, including the go-live of our new regional FM contracts and the national roll out of our facilities helpdesk.
We continue to put in place building blocks to support the Government’s One Estate technology vision: 96,000 civil servants are now using GovPass. And the occupancy data we collect extends over 770,000 square metres of office portfolio offering us greater strategic insights.
Our refurbishments, relocations and new builds continue at pace including the submission for planning of the new European Medium-range Weather Centre in Reading, and new cafe opening at Peterborough’s Quay House following customer feedback. More recently, the new guidance on 60% office attendance has led to many questions from departments across government. We are working with many of you to support this transition, adapting workspaces, and ensuring we continue to deliver great places for you and your people to work.
Looking to the new year, I am pleased to confirm we will be hosting our first client conference in early February. This will be hosted by a mix of GPA and industry experts, and together we will look at trends in the Civil Service and wider workplace market, with an opportunity for you to greatly influence how the GPA moves forward, contribute ideas and provide feedback.
We have achieved many great successes this year. We do still have some way to go and continue to work hard on service improvements and customer satisfaction. Your continued engagement ensures we acknowledge pain points, understand resolutions and identify the best solution to achieve them, in partnership with you.
On behalf of our executive and client teams, thank you for your continued support. We wish you a great holiday season, and look forward to new ventures and improvements in 2024.
In this issue:
- Two more milestones successfully achieved within our transformation programme
- We continue to strengthen our leadership team with new appointments
- Occupancy monitoring powering strategic property decisions
- Many ways to join the smarter working community
- Supporting HMRC with outstanding customer insights
- Cafe and hospitality service now available in our Peterborough Hub
- Our Manchester Hub nears completion of structural steelworks
Two more milestones successfully achieved within our transformation programme
In our last InFocus update, we updated on the awarding of our facilities management contracts and the transition activities that will follow in the lead-up to go-live.
We are pleased to confirm that our new facilities management contracts and the GPA Helpdesk were successfully launched and are fully operational. These milestones mark significant steps in our transformation of how the Government’s office estate is managed and operated, and our promise to you to enhance your workplace experience and deliver quality services with operational excellence. These new contracts build on our recent successes, including our enhanced security services contracts that were successfully launched on 1 October.
Dominic Brankin, Workplace Services Director, shares his thoughts:
This is an important step towards transforming our workplace services that have been four and a half years in the making. I’m grateful for the extraordinary hard work of many people across the GPA, CCS, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to get us to this point. I also appreciate your patience during the more challenging periods and your support and encouragement. I’m pleased we have secured contracts with a group of organisations as focused as the whole of the GPA is on providing great places to work.
Helpdesk utilisation
Your impressive uptake and engagement with the helpdesk continues to drive our commitment to enhancing our customer service. The positive response and utilisation signifies your trust in our services. Please continue to log requests through the helpdesk. The information captured there ensures we can respond quickly and continue to enhance our service delivery.
Our aftercare team
Our aftercare team, with roles focused on assurance care, governance reporting, operational response and risk continues to work on risk mitigation, minimising disruptions associated with mobilisation activities ensuring a seamless transition and reducing the impact on customer experience.
We continue to strengthen our leadership team with new appointments
Lisa Commane joined our executive committee in November as our Chief Operating Officer (COO), strengthening our senior leadership team as we continue to deliver a transformed, shared, sustainable and value for money government office estate.
As COO, Lisa will be responsible for coordinating the delivery of our ambitious programme and overseeing corporate services support.
Lisa was the Chief Operating Officer of Ofwat and has over 20 years senior experience in public, private and not-for-profit sectors leading multi-disciplinary teams to be highly performing.
We also welcomed Roma McLoughlin in November as our Chief Security Officer (CSO). With over ten years’ experience across the public and private sectors, Roma will ensure that our services are delivered securely and that security remains embedded in our customer-first culture.
Roma has developed an in-depth knowledge of government security, working on a number of high-profile projects across the Civil Service advising Ofsted, Ofqual, Ofwat, ORR and the FSA. She is also a passionate advocate for women in security.
Occupancy monitoring powering strategic property decisions
As the Government’s leading body for the implementation of property technology across its office portfolio (as appointed by the CSOB), we are capturing, analysing and reporting on occupancy levels for greater efficiencies and strategic decision making.
The benefits of doing this are becoming more and more evident as our dataset continues to increase at pace. By collecting and aggregating occupancy data - on how buildings are used rather than individuals attending (attendance monitoring) - the Government is managing its buildings much more effectively, seeing when and how they are being used, improving efficiency and lowering its carbon footprint. And safe occupancy levels are monitored to give civil servants a better working environment.
This data also enables better-informed, strategic decisions about portfolio planning, estate rationalisation, building management and budgeting, as well as tenancy structures, workplace optimisation and space planning.
As part of our planning process for the next financial year we have published an overview document that clarifies the current scope of the programme and outlines areas that could form part of future plans.
This ensures we are achieving the best value for you, and deliver the most effective and productive spaces for our customers. All while saving costs for the taxpayer.
If you would like a copy of the document please contact your Client Manager in the first instance, or email Proptech@gpa.gov.uk
Supporting HMRC with outstanding customer insights
We recently supported HMRC in conducting Leesman surveys across its estate, delivering an in-depth analysis report to help it understand its employee workplace satisfaction.
Our Customer Insights team has developed an unparalleled understanding of employee preferences and needs to shed light on the path toward improved workplace experiences.
Working closely with Leesman, the world’s leading workplace experience benchmark, we apply data-driven precision to our planning, empowering our clients to make well-informed decisions that improve workplace environments, enhance service delivery and boost employee morale.
One of the standout qualities of our service is our ability to unearth truths through data and insights. This was evident in the feedback from HRMC, who scored our service five out of five, and found our narrative approach particularly valuable as it helps them gain a deeper understanding of the information presented.
Feedback from HMRC included:
Thanks GPA colleagues, the analysis has been great. Thanks for all your hard work - certainly given us some great food for thought… and has been insightful.
This is great data and insight for us to use, thank you for pulling it together
In terms of workplace experience, the insights so far give us some real pointers as to which groups of people are having the more favourable/ less favourable workplace experiences. Helps to focus action.
Clients rated the quality of the data and insights and the layout of our reports as a perfect 5 on a scale of 1-5, highlighting our commitment to clarity and effectiveness.
In summary, HMRC would recommend our services with confidence, and also looks forward to the prospect of working with us again. Our Customer Insights team consistently delivers unparalleled value, and we’re dedicated to maintaining this level of excellence for all our clients.
Start your workplace experience improvement journey by getting in touch with our team today at customerinsights@gpa.gov.uk
Many ways to join the smarter working community
Put simply, smarter working empowers us with choices about how, where and when we work. Underpinned by culture, ethos, process and technology, smarter working is about optimising ways of working and enhancing working environments to generate greater productivity, simplify processes and realise cost savings through efficiencies.
We have been leading the Civil Service transformation since 2018 by supporting government departments to implement smarter working practices. And there are various routes available to anyone wanting to join the smarter working community.
Smarter Working Live returns for three more years
We have agreed a new partnership with GovNews to host three more years of our Smarter Working Live Conference and Awards.
First held in 2019, Smarter Working Live is our yearly showcase of the latest research, thought leadership and practical tools to support public sector organisations through their smarter working journey. It celebrates innovation through community, collaboration and creativity. You can view last year’s sessions on demand here.
Our renewed partnership with GovNews demonstrates our continued commitment to promoting smarter working practices across the public sector, creating happier and more productive working environments for civil servants.
The Smarter Working Live Conference will take place over two days in September 2024, with the first day online and the second day being held as a hybrid event at the Vox Conference Venue in Birmingham. Register your interest in attending now to be kept up to date.
The Smarter Working Live Awards will take place in November 2024, with entries opening in the new year. Visit the Smarter Working Live website to see the previous winners.
The Smarter Working Community of Practice
We also continue to grow our Smarter Working Community of Practice - a thriving group of public sector thinkers who collaborate, connect and share experiences on all things smarter working, including through our monthly online events.
The community is open to everyone in the public sector and the next 45-minute session will take place at 11.30am on Tuesday 30 January, focusing on how we can respond to the latest civil service workplace trends. Get in touch to join our Community of Practice.
Cafe and hospitality service now available in our Peterborough Hub.
A new cafe opened at Quay House earlier this month offering a range of refreshments following feedback from those using the Hub.
The diverse menu includes Fairtrade items and gluten free offerings and uses locally sourced ingredients to freshly prepare food on site.
The service provided by ISS has been welcomed by all and has helped to bring the reception area to life and has created a great meeting place for colleagues.
When the building opened, a cafe facility wasn’t available at the time, but taking into account what building users needed, the Capital Projects and Workplace Services teams worked together to develop the cafe which now delivers a better workplace experience.
This project demonstrates the importance of having a transitional period when a building is in use so that we are able to gain further feedback to continue making improvements.
Our Manchester Hub nears completion of structural steelworks
We are taking great strides with the development of our Manchester First Street government hub as part of the Government Hubs Programme.
Over the summer a tower crane was installed on site to complete the structural steelworks and since then our delivery partners have erected around 1,300 tons of steel.
The building will sit nine floors high. In the new year we expect to reach the highest point of the building, completing the installation of the structure with a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony.
Once open, the building will accommodate approximately 2,500 civil servants, from over 10 departments and provide high quality digitally-enabled office space which facilitates smarter working practices, and nurtures inclusivity, flexibility and accessibility.