Aegon, one of the largest insurance groups worldwide, has turned its headquarters in Spain into a benchmark in the adaptation of offices to the new work dynamics driven by Covid-19.
The 2,800m2, spread over two interconnected floors, occupied by the company in one of the most attractive business parks in Madrid, next to the IFEMA exhibition center, and which house almost 500 employees, have been completely renovated.
The project has been conceived as a necessary tool to implement a new work model, hybrid in its presence and committed to the conciliation of its employees. This strategic decision has enabled the company to save resources, increase productivity, offer its employees a more inspiring work environment based on their real needs, and deepen the agile working method.
The challenge
After more than 20 months of carrying out remote work to ensure the safety of its workers, the return to the office raised more doubts than certainties. On the one hand, they had achieved a productive and conciliatory work dynamic. But, on the other hand, they were aware of the shortcomings of a completely telematic work model (difficulty of collaboration between the different actors of the company, human contact, capacity for innovation and exchange).
Thus, they opted for a hybrid model, combining 3 days of teleworking and 2 days in person per week, but they realized that the office, which until then had fulfilled its function, no longer seemed adequate for this model.
As explained by Smara Conde, HR Director, this led Aegon to an internal reflection process on what the purpose of its office was, “learning from what was experienced during these months of pandemic and knowing what truly adds value to doing things together.” They came to the conclusion that transforming their office was a key lever to achieve their ambition of being “the best place to work” for their employees.
The challenge, therefore, was to create new and innovative spaces that would foster collaboration among workers and offer them a different experience than before, enriching, fruitful and even fun, in which they could develop their full potential while feeling cared for.
Turnkey
To achieve this, a team of professionals from Aegon, Ubicas (real estate management) and Cador (design and construction of the workspace), worked very closely, contributing knowledge and commitment throughout the different phases of the project.
The first step was to carry out an Analysis and Evaluation of the previously selected Properties, a Preliminary Occupation Study to guarantee that the properties met all the necessary requirements, and an Audit of the Use of Space that was being made at that time in order to develop the new Space Strategy.
From Cador, we assume full responsibility for the Implementation and Design Project in its various phases. Our commitment: to carry out a “turnkey” project, within the agreed time and price.
We look for the best distribution for the specific needs of the company: making the most of the available space, without sacrificing openness or luminosity, and promoting the versatility of each area, with the pertinent adjustments in each phase, since the creation of the best workspace is only achieved through a living process.
The ‘city of Aegon’
The basic concept from which the project is developed is ‘The City of Aegon‘, conceived to live in community.
- Residential Neighborhoods: individual workstations, with bench-type furniture and quiet areas to facilitate concentration on the most demanding tasks.
- The Market, a set of semi-open spaces, called hubs, which are mobile, flexible and with the latest technology, designed and equipped for the shared use of agile teams.
- The Plaza, the vital core of the office and the large social area. It houses the cafeteria, parked in an original food truck, a games area and a large Agora in the form of bleachers for presentations and conferences.
- The Streets divide and organize the space, limited and defined by different types of pavement.
- The Signage, created by Cador for this specific project, identifies the different spaces in a casual way with reference to the places that distinguish a city.
In this way, the 500 individual workstations that the company used to have have been reduced to 100 and have ceased to be nominal so that they can be used by any employee at the time they need it. The main focus of the design has been on the spaces for teamwork, which account for 64% of the total office space.
The high degree of digitization of Aegon has been an added value when it comes to fitting the audiovisual proposal into the hybrid model. The hubs destined for the teams have been equipped with the latest technology to facilitate communications and improve interaction even with people working remotely, promoting agile working methods.
As for aesthetics, at Cador we have worked side by side with Aegon to convey the values of the brand and enhance the benefits of the work environment for employees. The simple lines and the use of light tones and neutral colors promote well-being, reduce stress and enhance the feeling of spaciousness and lighting, while transmitting optimism in the spaces.
Likewise, biophilic elements have been introduced into the design that bring freshness and naturalness to the work environment: both the reception, as well as the stairs and some dividing elements integrate different types of plants through architecture or furniture that brighten and enrich the office.
With its new headquarters, Aegon offers its employees a wide range of spaces to choose from according to their needs. Luminous, flexible, comfortable and attractive, they make up, in short, a place to want to go, the best place to work.
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