This white paper, Environment Branding in the Age of COVID is a collaborative effort between Lopez Design and Global Association for Corporate Services. In interviews with GACS founders Sameer Saxena of Marsh & McLennan, Rahul Lal, FRICS Dalmia Bharat Group and Kapil Khera, Frankfinn we investigated how their three organizations are dealing with work environments during the pandemic. Beyond the physical and logistical challenges, there is an urgent need to make people feel safe and give them assurance as they get back to work. Through branding of environments spaces can directly communicate how people need to behave, without inducing fear or panic. This then becomes an opportunity for organisations to draw from their ethos and re-envision how their offices and factories can become familiar comfort zones and productive work environments.
The link to the white paper is here
In a nutshell, we present the findings of the research and what we recommended for each organization as a generic type case study for design intervention.
Lopez Design has been a pioneering force of environment branding in India and we believe that branding is especially important in the pandemic. “We must make people comfortable in the New Normal by reducing harsh rules. At the same time, we need to convey the pertinent information and connect with an organization’s people in a way so it does not increase anxiety but allows people to live normally with the given conditions,” says Anthony Lopez.
Marsh & Mclennan in the IT and ITES sector has initiated several plans, putting the individual at the centre of everything. Various steps have been taken to ensure Social Distancing, Sanitation Practices, Sanitization of Premises and Contactless Service Management. India Real Estate Services Leader at MMC, Sameer Saxena reinforces their efforts to go touchless. Communication has been central For MMC in their approach to reorient the employees by giving them factual information that can assure and give confidence by depicting the realistic scenario. Balancing the fall into complacency, without constantly going into panic mode requires creating a self-sustaining environment, where the employee can function optimally. Mercer has encouraged work-from-home while phasing in employees at their offices. Sameer Saxena says, “Everyone has found innovative ways of working from home, especially in the IT and ITES industry and the ones who did not have machines to work were shipped CPUs. Productivity levels are over 95%.”
Design recommendation
For companies like Merer in the IT sector, creating calming environments can go a long way to establishing empathetic spaces that support our emotional needs. This is key to productivity in the long run. The Age of COVID can also become a challenge to re-examine the way we live, harnessing our potential through active environments that question our behaviour, pushing us to think for change, while celebrating the company ethos.
Dalmia Bharat Group, in the Manufacturing and Corporate Sector, was quick to respond to the stringent demands of COVID-19. Their 24 plants (Cement, Sugar & Refractory) are spread across the country and union territories. With a deep sense of nationalistic pride and a responsibility towards their employees and families, the Dalmia management has rapidly envisaged a holistic approach to get their factories and offices operational during the pandemic. This entailed a slew of preventive measures energised by a forward-thinking outlook, bringing the Dalmia Bharat Group together to act with compassion and putting people first. From urging people to do namaste instead of shaking hands, or signing off with Jai Hind, using ‘gamchas’ that is, face masks — at every step in small but significant ways, Dalmia instils the pride of being Indian. Says Rahul Lal FRICS Dalmia Bharat Group, “Visual Cues are the only way to ensure that the awareness is generated on the loop. It is easy to slip and miss on the critical aspects, hence a constant reminder in the form of visual graphics is imperative. Our campaign, ‘REstart – REshape – REimagine: The New Normal’ helped us overcome this really fast.” Overall, the strategies for keeping people safe all hinge around preventive maintenance.
Design Recommendation
This is a wonderful opportunity for Dalmia to bring alive their Indian ethos and nationalistic pride through Environment Branding. Connecting the COVID-19 measure to how Indians can achieve better will get aligned. A well-thought out scheme that aligns with the specific needs of the organisation can set in visual stories and signs for every action and behaviour requirement. The corporate culture will seamlessly connect with a nationalistic pride.
Frankfinn, an organisation which is involved in training for the aviation, hospitality and travel sector, as well as Customer Service, speedily set up a way to continue its training services online and preparing its call centre to align with the upgraded requirements. Kapil Khera, Administration Head at Frankfinn tells us that the changes were put in place within three weeks. A central issue for Frankfinn was controlling the younger crowd in their call centres, and so visual communications became key, over and above their safety instruction modalities. These and other visual posters were put up all over the call centre.
At the core, Frankfinn’s policy to deal with COVID at the workplace is to make each individual responsible for themselves and to the community. “After all, this is their own office, their second home,” says Khera. Apart from these compliances, Frankfinn made many changes in the current work environment. Everywhere, they installed sensors and taps so that many of the operations are now touchless. Khera notes that problems mostly stem from a person’s fears. “As a corporate sector we should be educating people, and talking more about the percentage that has recovered,” says Khera, emphasizing the need to convey positive stories.
Design Recommendation
For companies like Frankfinn, design intervention can create spaces that give people a sense of “this is my office” and naturally bring accountability. The actual appreciation of work culture versus work-from-home can also be heightened through the design of the workplace. Within this, educating employees about COVID through stories and graphics will help to see the problem as not something separate, but very much part of one’s own environment.
Summing up, Anthony Lopez says, “Behaviour change happens when you deeply connect with your people where they align on common values. Environment graphics can help you in making these meaningful connections.”
Written by Sujatha Shankar Kumar
Further reads:
Behavior change for life not life-style