Global Healthcare Company

A leading global healthcare company saw an opportunity for improvement at their headquarters in Shanghai. Their existing 15,000-square-meter office operated under a traditional model of assigned seating with limited desk-sharing options, which no longer aligned with their global workplace vision. To create adaptable and engaging environments that empower their people, they needed to transition to a fully mobile working model, embracing flexibility and innovation.

The company recognized an opportunity to reimagine their workplace altogether, a plan that would coincide with their upcoming relocation to a new office across the city. The challenge was clear: accommodate five years of anticipated growth within the same square footage, while creating a more engaging, flexible environment for employees, visitors, and staff from other cities who regularly used the space.

Rather than settling for a standard relocation, the company partnered with Cushman & Wakefield in 2021 to drive a transformation guided by a shift aiming for a more agile hybrid model. Unified governance across departments ensured decisions supported a clear, outcome-driven vision and business priorities.

What We Delivered:

• Our approach combined extensive department interviews to gather bottom-up insights – ensuring employee voices shaped the vision – with balancing global design principles and local functional needs.
• Building unified governance was a key pillar, as we brought together a cross-functional forum including Facility Management, IT, Admin, Safety Health & Environment, HR, and Communications[LY1.1], in addition to a senior management core team that streamlined decision-making and stakeholder alignment.
• We prioritized the integration of space, technology, and services – embedding wellness elements, digital tools, and a comprehensive suite of employee services to create seamless, end-to-end workplace journeys.
• The team tested new approaches in pilot phases, tracked key experience and productivity metrics, and documented best practices to inform future improvements at the healthcare company.

The results exceeded expectations across every measure. Employee satisfaction scores demonstrated an improvement in post-occupancy surveys compared to pre-move baselines – validating the shift and the deliberate focus on experience as a key metric.

Measured Outcomes:

• Enhanced flexibility through adaptable seating arrangements supporting rapid responses to market shifts
• Improved employee wellbeing through ergonomic and dedicated wellness facilities
• A stronger culture of collaboration fostered by shared seating and collaborative spaces designed for inclusion across all floors

The project delivered marked operational efficiency – accommodating growth within the same footprint –while introducing a comprehensive one-stop employee service center and an experience center on the top floor, setting new benchmarks for employee experience and customer engagement. This enduring partnership has made Cushman & Wakefield a trusted advisor for the company not just in Shanghai, but across other locations in China as well. By weaving together global and local needs, codifying learnings, and embedding governance, we've demonstrated how intentional workplace design can deliver measurable improvements in satisfaction and agility.