Comment Comment
Comment on the blogs Log in here Become a member Register now
 
Lou Burrows

Lou Burrows

4 Apr 2008 | 17:32

(Maximum of 120 characters)
Articles more than one month old can be viewed only by CIPD members or PM Subscribers.

I was showing a couple of people around our various buildings recently because they had been asked to look into whether hot-desking could work in their massive company. I showed them the lockers, the desk areas, the hanging out spaces and the mess – ooh yes, that lovely mess. It’s a constant battle to keep it to the minimum and negotiate with people about what needs to go off site and what can stay.

They loved looking around and I loved listening to their concerns. What do you do with photos of your family? What about people’s plants? What if someone won’t hot desk? The best thing about showing people around is their interesting questions. They always notice things you have just taken for granted. These visitors asked me “How do you get everyone to clear up their cups and plates? Is that policy?”

We tell new joiners this is what we do – we treat the place as if it is our own home. We remind people who forget. And there was one time when someone in my team left their lunch stuff on the kitchen drainer and came back to find it all balanced on their laptop.

People just do it – it’s our culture and it’s totally ingrained. You go to New York or Shanghai and you’ll see the same thing. Nobody in the UK ever asked them to do that – they just exported the behaviour!

About ?What If!
?What If! is the world’s largest independent innovation company. It was set up in 1992 and made up of 300 people worldwide, with offices in London, Manchester, New York and Shanghai.

www.whatifinnovation.com

NEED HELP? Contact the website support team
 

About the specialists

Iain Mackinnon

Iain Mackinnon

Managing director of the Mackinnon Partnership and a public policy consultant specialising in the people side of economic development,...

John Philpott

John Philpott

Chief economist at the CIPD and visiting professor of economics at the University of Hertfordshire. He has been an adviser to numerous...

Lou Burrows

Lou Burrows

Global head of people at innovation company ?What If! Since joining in 2006 Lou has revolutionised the company's approach to recruitment,...

Peter Honey

Peter Honey

Founder of Peter Honey Publications Ltd. He created the Honey & Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire and has worked as a management...

Peter Reid

Peter Reid

European Employee Relations Consultant who has monitored employment developments in Brussels for almost 20 years. Peter also advises...

Want to be a CIPD member?

Get instant access to CIPD's fantastic member benefits

Join the CIPD today (Opens in a new window)

HRM in an economic downturn

A new section of the CIPD website with useful resources

View pages (Opens in a new window)
Links open in new window
 
People Management neither recommends, nor is responsible for, the content of external sites listed here.
Your link here: contact the PM sales team.