Work(place) Evolution

Work(place) Evolution: Doing Hybrid Well is a project to introduce a shared workspace model at select Faculty of Medicine worksites. It involves transitioning Dean’s Office units from individually occupied and dedicated offices/cubicles to bookable shared spaces.

Through recent strategic planning, the Faculty has identified some short- and long-term space challenges that need to be addressed. Hybrid working has fundamentally changed how people work onsite and the types of workspaces they need.

Within the Faculty of Medicine, our existing workspaces are being used inefficiently – many are vacant or underutilized – and are not optimally designed or configured  for hybrid work. There’s an increasing need for spaces that support and encourage formal and informal interaction and collaboration when people are onsite (e.g., meeting and collaboration spaces, quiet spaces, individual desks, informal gathering spaces).

Given these challenges, this project is an opportunity to review how our workplaces are organized and used to support individuals and teams to better connect, collaborate, and do their best work in a hybrid environment. By providing shared access to various types of workspaces and amenity spaces, different types of work will better be supported within the same workplace. Teams will:

• be able to connect onsite in ways they may not have envisioned in the past
• have visibility into where colleagues are working
• have built-in capacity and flexibility to grow
• have access to workstations with standardized desktop technology

This model will enable the Faculty to responsibly, effectively, and sustainably use existing space.

This project is a joint initiative between the Faculty of Medicine’s Space Planning & Facilities Management and Digital Solutions units. It is being sponsored by the Faculty’s Facilities & Capital Planning Committee.

For questions about the project, please contact:

Jamie Witt, Work(place) Evolution Project Coordinator, Space Planning & Facilities ManagementFaculty of Medicine

Phone: 604.827.2216 I Email: jamie.witt@ubc.ca

A number of factors contributed to the Faculty of Medicine’s decision to introduce a shared space model. This includes UBC’s formal adoption of a hybrid work arrangement and subsequent workplace surveys.

Through recent strategic planning, the Faculty of Medicine has identified some short- and long-term space challenges that need to be addressed, including overall lack of space across the Faculty, aging infrastructure, vacant and/or underutilized space due to hybrid working, and workplaces not being optimally configured to fully support hybrid teams. Hybrid working has fundamentally changed how people work onsite and the types of workspaces they need.

The Faculty’s 2021-2022 work with Gensler Architecture and Design informed planning for the Work(place) Evolution: Doing Hybrid Well initiative, as well as an environmental scan, which included looking at other post-secondary institutions who had adopted a hybrid working model.

Not at this time. This project involves rolling out the shared workspace model over two phases with SELECT Dean’s Office units. Once Phase 2 has been completed and evaluated, the Faculty will look at opportunities to broaden the initiative at other worksites.

Dean’s Office units were chosen to lead the way by implementing, reviewing, refining, and evaluating how shared space can better support hybrid teams from a place of personal experience before rolling it out at other Faculty of Medicine locations in future phases.

Absolutely. The project team will regularly seek input from leaders and staff from affected units to shape the rollout and ensure the new shared workspaces and related guidelines meet the needs and circumstances of each unit. Based on their success, the engagement approaches used in Phase 1 will be replicated in Phase 2.

Each project phase will involve early engagement with affected units to understand their experiences with hybrid working and to gather their onsite needs and requirements for working in shared space. Unit representatives will be identified to relay unit requirements and other input to the project team and disseminate key project information to their colleagues. Affected staff will be able to share feedback  through surveys, anonymous feedback forms, emails, and through their unit representatives.

The project is being rolled out iteratively over two phases and location by location.

During Phase 1 (Mar-Dec  2023), 11 Dean’s Office units successfully piloted the new model at two UBC Vancouver campus locations – IRC (3rd Floor) and DMCBH. Phase 2 (targeted to wrap by the end of 2024) involves rolling out the new shared workspace model across Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP) space at the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Healthcare Centre (DHCC 11th and 2nd floors) and UBC Vancouver Life Sciences Centre in Vancouver.

Once Phase 2 has been completed and evaluated, the Faculty will look at opportunities to broaden the initiative at other worksites.

The phased timeline will allow the project team time to adapt to the feedback and learning of each site and make changes and adjustments before the next pilot site transitions to shared space. See the timeline above for more details.

Once Phase 2 concludes there will be a period of evaluation, and refinements to shared space, tools, systems, and the shared space guidelines will be made as necessary. We anticipate shared space to be a permanent change.

A shared space model is where staff can flexibly access a variety of workspaces at their workplace based on their individual or team needs in a given day.

In a shared space model, desks or offices are not assigned to an individual and instead teams share a broader variety of spaces that can be equitably accessed across units. This includes being able to access individual desks, single occupancy and shared offices, meeting and collaboration spaces, meeting spaces, quiet spaces, and informal gathering spaces to meet, connect, or socialize with colleagues.

By providing access to various types of workspaces and amenity spaces, different types of work will be better supported within the same workplace. Teams will:

• be able to connect onsite in ways they may not have envisioned in the past
• have visibility into where colleagues are working
• have built-in flexibility and capacity to grow
• have access to workstations with standardized desktop technology

Expectations regarding when and how frequently staff need to work onsite are determined by Dean’s Office unit directors.

Yes, a set of Guidelines for Shared Space outlines what is expected of teams and individuals in using shared spaces. They address topics such as booking and checking in/out of individual workspaces, noise, workspace sanitization and cleanliness, workspace furniture/equipment, and technical support.

The guidelines will be reviewed for each group being onboarded and updated to their circumstances, as best as possible.

Units who have already transitioned to shared workspace can find guidelines that apply to them on the Hybrid Work – Sharing Space Mednet resource site:

• Guidelines for Shared Space
• Guidelines for team, individual, and site-specific storage

Yes. You will be able to book individual workspaces up to four weeks in advance and will be able to select a work desk through the online booking tool that allows you to see who will be sitting at nearby desks. This will allow teams to continue to work in the same area on days when they are on site together.

Booking meeting spaces will continue to be done through RoomFinder and Advance Booking Manager, which allow teams to book the same space on a recurring basis up to six months in advance. The transition to shared space will not impact this process.

The project team will work with each unit to gather requirements and understand any unique needs. Decisions regarding dedicated workspaces will be made within that context and on a case-by-case basis.

Each unit will participate in training leading up to the transition to shared space, including training on Condeco (the booking tool for shared workspaces), MS Teams, RoomFinder, Zoom system for meeting rooms, and ergonomics.

The types of personal storage will be dependent on your work location. Some shared workplaces may have lockable day-use storage to secure personal items at workstations, while others may have wardrobes or other lockable storage space that staff can access during on-site days.

In shared space there will be small, dedicated spaces for units or programs to store equipment and documents. The amount and type of space will be dependent on the needs of the unit and tailored to meet those needs. 

Ensuring that staff feel safe and secure in shared spaces is a priority. The project team is considering safety and security needs when it comes to personal safety as well as keeping personal items safe when staff are working on site.

All UBC employees are required to meet WorkSafeBC and UBC requirements, including mandatory health & safety training. This training is complemented by having relevant information being posted in visible locations throughout our offices. As each of our sites is unique, staff using shared spaces are strongly encouraged/required to familiarize themselves with the posted information about emergency procedures & contact details at that location.