Change Management Ambassadors

A tertiary workplace project affects all the employees of a site, on surface areas of 300 to 5,000 sqm. Experience shows that projects whose communication relies solely on the hierarchical chain generate more individual and collective resistance. The ambassador network creates a complementary peer-to-peer channel, without substituting for representative bodies.

The issues are structured around three operational axes:

• Ownership of new uses: flex office, collaborative zones, phone box, booking rules.
• Surfacing on-the-ground frustrations: acoustics, lighting, workstation ergonomics, signage.
• Preserving the social climate during the 12 weeks of an average construction phase.

HR and Office Management departments carry most of the sponsorships, ahead of finance and real estate departments. The environmental frameworks applicable to tertiary operations (LEED v4.1 BD+C, which uses ASHRAE 90.1-2016 as the reference standard for energy performance assessed on cost and GHG emissions, the BBCA Low Carbon Building label applicable to new builds and renovations, environmental quality certifications for buildings) incorporate occupant participation criteria, which reinforces the structuring role of ambassadors from the programming stage, that is 4 to 6 months before actual delivery.

Kytom’s position, contrary to part of the change management doxa. Professional literature often presents the ambassador network as a universal best practice. Our reading differs: the approach is not relevant below 40 employees concerned, because direct communication by the sponsor is sufficient and the animation cost per number of occupants exceeds EUR 400 per workstation. On purely technical operations without a change of use, such as a refresh or fire-safety compliance upgrade Q18 Q19 CNPP without refurbishment, the investment is not justified. Finally, in contexts of severe social tension such as a redundancy plan in progress or an open conflict, the approach risks being perceived as a way of bypassing the works council and must be postponed or reframed.

Kytom’s 5-step method calibrated to the standard timeline

The animation sequence follows a calendar proven on more than 1200 supported projects since 2006, adjusted to the company context and the geography of the sites concerned.

1. Scoping with the sponsor (week 1): HR Director, Office Manager or executive, defining the scope, identifying 8 to 15 ambassadors covering roles and floors.
2. Initial training (weeks 2-3): 2 half-days on the project’s stakes, the new uses, the relay posture and the limits of the mandate.
3. Co-construction of the communication plan (weeks 3-4): 6 key milestones (announcement, programming, design, construction, move, feedback).
4. Participatory workshops (weeks 4-10): 4 to 6 sessions (visits to reference sites, furniture tests, choice of ambiances), generating a significant volume of frustrations and suggestions raised by the teams.
5. Post-delivery steering (3 months after handover): 2 satisfaction surveys and a formalised feedback committee.

The method relies on Kytom’s certifications, and incorporates RGAA requirements for the digital materials distributed to teams.

For the CFO and the Asset Manager: what the approach really avoids in cash

The ambassador network is not an HR matter, it is a matter of protecting real estate investment. On a tertiary operation of 850 sqm, the works and furniture budget represents EUR 1,200 to 1,800/sqm, that is a commitment of EUR 1.0 to 1.5M accounted for and amortised over 7 to 10 years (CAPEX). Without a buy-in approach, the main risk is not the construction delay: it is the rejection of use post-delivery that turns an amortised asset into a corrective charge.

Three cash lines for the CFO to watch:

• Furniture and fit-out reworks within 18 months: without a buy-in approach, a share of the collaborative furniture proves unsuited to real uses and generates costly corrective trade-offs on the operation.
• Maintenance tickets and HR requests: a well-run ambassador programme significantly reduces furniture maintenance reports and HR requests after the move, freeing up operational bandwidth over the first six months.
• ESG value for the Asset Manager: real estate certification frameworks value occupant engagement; these points can be integrated into the article 29 LEC reporting and into the valuation of the asset at resale.

The animation cost generally represents 1 to 2% of the works budget, that is EUR 10,000 to 20,000 for an average surface area. ROI reached in the 6th month on the operations monitored, subject to an identified sponsor and a workplace decision still genuinely open at the time the network is launched.

Three recurring points of vigilance:

• Over-soliciting the relays: 3 to 5 hours per week per ambassador, that is 45 to 60 cumulative hours, to be formalised with line management via a temporary amendment.
• Confusion with the works council: the network does not substitute for the Social and Economic Committee and is not intended to carry collective demands. The separation of roles is written into the engagement charter signed by each ambassador.
• Lack of representativeness: cover all roles, floors and workstation types (managers, employees, work-study trainees, part-timers), failing which there is an adoption bias.

Limits of application. Beyond 6 simultaneous sites, inter-network coordination absorbs a growing share of the animation time and dilutes effectiveness. On construction phases of less than 8 weeks, the training-workshop cycle does not fit within the timeline: a reinforced top-down communication is preferable. If the workplace decision is already fixed before the network is launched, the ambassadors become cosmetic relays with no real leverage and measured buy-in falls back to the level of projects without an approach. Kytom plans a formalised closing ritual (cocktail, badge, quantified report to the sponsor) to value engagement and capitalise on subsequent operations.