New
headquarters
exceeds expectations
- TIEDOT
- PostNord
- Helsinki
- Work environment
- Insight
- Co-creation
- Spatial design
- Graphic design
- Workplace Awards Winner 2022
- Planet Company Planet Act
The most important objective of the cooperation was to understand the needs and wishes of PostNord employees concerning the functions and location of the Helsinki headquarters. In addition to analysing needs and designing the space, we helped the client understand the different requirements of the re-design project and took part in negotiating a profitable lease agreement that serves the client’s needs. The end result is an appealing and stylish office in an excellent location.
Award-winning
new office
The Planet Company community has selected PostNord’s employee-driven head office re-design as a Planet Act.
The project also won the Workplace Awards in 2022, in the Physical Work Environment category.
Dive in – read the full project story
Towards easier days at the office
The starting point for developing the working environment was to create an appealing head office that reflects the personalities and wishes of employees. PostNord is currently implementing a thorough change strategy, and it is important for the company to maximise the motivation of its existing employees and find the best new talents through recruitment. The project was also driven by the working life transformation caused by the pandemic, which PostNord grasped boldly and at an early stage.
The project started with a thorough needs analysis. The purpose of that was to gain a thorough insight in order to find the elements that affect the design and eventual location of the PostNord head office.
We collected employee insight by interviewing representatives from different teams and reviewing the results of PostNord’s personnel survey. We also analysed the amount of work done remotely and at the office, the inter-dependencies between teams from the point of view of presence and examined ways of working and their impact on the design.
This insight was deepened in a workshop where the participants discussed how the office space can help make daily work smoother. Also, the employees were involved in the development via regular info sessions throughout the spatial design process.
Based on the needs analysis, the desired experience was to be:
- Modern
- Appealing
- Sustainable
- Energetic
“A user-centered approach has been an important element in our cooperation since our first discussions. The Rune & Berg team exhibited a strong professional vision in their field, and they truly listened to us and our needs. The entire project was employee-driven,” Katja says.
“We have served as the guiding light in this project, steering the team away from pitfalls and in the right direction. The high-quality process yielded high-quality results, and it was rewarding to have discussions with such a well-informed client,” says Raija Mattila, Account Manager at Rune & Berg.
PostNord’s brand has been incorporated into the drawing board texts.
The office features a shared working café that is suitable for both cosy coffee breaks and relaxed team meetings.
Appealing experience
“Is this really our office?” was the comment of many amazed PostNord employees when they entered the new head office in Pasila for the first time.
“Our international colleagues and the property owners have also praised the new office and been positively impressed with the end result,” says Ville Heimola, Head of Procurement and Facility Management at PostNord.
“Katja had a strong vision for the future and the courage to question established practices. This allowed us to think outside the box and achieve an excellent result,” Raija says.
Successful project
The cooperation is a textbook example of how the process should work: you start by analysing needs and continue with specifying the service level of the lease agreement before proceeding to the actual spatial design. The continuous support for project management from start to finish also played a major role in the successful outcome.
“Throughout the project, Rune & Berg’s experts paid attention to even the smallest details and made sure nothing was overlooked. I would not have thought of many of the things they brought up,” Katja says.
“Looking at the project from the point of view of figures, the new space is half the size of the old one and has a more central location. The overall costs are more or less the same. We have met our objectives in this respect as well”, adds Ville.
"Is this really our office?"
"Our international colleagues and the property owners have also praised the new office and been positively impressed with the end result."
PostNord’s new office has been designed to be the best place to work. The office is easy to reach thanks to excellent transport links, and it is surrounded by diverse services that make everyday life at the office smoother for the employees.
The spatial solutions support diverse ways of collaborating as well as quiet, independent work. Also, the spaces are flexible and adaptable to different uses and needs.
“Together, we managed to create a head office that exceeds expectations. The new office serves as an inspiring meeting place for both PostNord’s personnel and our customers”, Katja Luotola, Head of People and Communications at PostNord, says happily.
In the new office, quality comes before quantity.
Movable acoustic screens and curtains create a comfortable environment, enabling concentration even in open spaces.
Photos: Mikael Pettersson and Aleksi Tikka