Home > Articles By Issue > Showcase > Article Apr 2004

SHOWCASE:
Putting The "Moto" Back Into Motorola
Redeployment transforms a fragmented facility into a cohesive campus.

By Heidi Schwartz

Just a few short years ago, cell phones went from novelty to necessity. As a result, projections at Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola-one of the biggest names in the business-jumped through the roof. At the time, world wide growth at the company was projected at close to one billion handset phones a year by 2004-and the Motorola expansion began.

Back in the early 90s, the company moved into a new 1.5 million square foot multipurpose facility in Libertyville, IL. The facility housed both the manufacturing floor and the research and development work stations for the company's Personal Communications Sector (PCS). In fact, each engineer (the company employed more than 1,200 at the time) used his or her office as a private lab. The results were chaotic, wasteful, and fluid, to say the least.

Then the bottom dropped out of the market. Reorganization prompted the closure of two nearby leased sites and one large facility 45 miles away (Harvard). This downsizing would displace more than 500 employees.

Meanwhile, the passage of time had been unkind to the facility. Work groups were spread throughout the building, and proximities were less than ideal. In addition, equipment and furnishings had not been updated in several years. Clearly, if Libertyville were going to be made suitable for its new inhabitants, a major overhaul would be in order.

Reuse, Or Start Fresh?

Early in the process, executives at Motorola entertained the idea of building a new site for its PCS group. Buddy Knipfer, planning manager/PCS, world wide facilities recalls, "We considered building a new site, but it would have caused more disruption to the business than it would have saved in costs. Buildings really aren't your cost; it's the people. The impact of moving those employees from their legacy situations would have been huge."

Instead, the facilities management team of Knipfer, Ken Birner (director/PCS, world wide real estate and construction and Knipfer's manager), and Mark Rebenstorf (financial analyst, world wide real estate and construction ) found a way to serve the financial interests of the company while minimizing the impact on employees.

Knipfer explains, "We put together a five phase program that was going to impact about 8,000 lives. Meanwhile, the closing of Harvard hadn't been announced, so it was very difficult to put together accurate budgets and make critical planning decisions based on estimates and approximations. Harvard was a $20 million a year operating cost to our P&L [profit and loss]. That's a lot of money."

Charged with handling cash flow, Rebenstorf presented numbers that made it fairly simple to opt for the resuse of Libertyville, although a significant sum of money would be necessary in order to correct the aforementioned problems with the sector headquarters. Birner gained support from Motorola leadership by packaging it all as one proposal. "By making the Harvard decision, we were able to fund the whole Libertyville renewal," Knipfer says.

Libertyville Gets A Makeover

Before the renewal, the Libertyville campus consisted of a four story administration building, a two story manufacturing building, and a high bay distribution building. At the core of the site was a central services building that housed the cafeteria. Unlike typical office buildings, Libertyville lacked common cores, window lines, and a clear wayfinding system, but it all had to be converted into offices. Knipfer observes, "A campus that doesn't have all of that intuitive sense of structure and all of those intuitive pathways is a challenge."

Managers found that this lack of structure was having a negative impact on two vital aspects of the business: staying competitive and sustaining employee morale. Knipfer recalls, "We were having a hard time building and delivering new product to the market. You know culture is not just what we sit in, it's also how we manage, how we treat people, and how well we run the projects."

Because of poor planning, the PCS campus had a history of overcrowding. Over the years, areas had been built under changes in design standards, and in many cases, employees were sitting in offices and cubicles well below their grade standards. There was not one consistent standard throughout the campus, which contributed to the general feeling of confusion.

"We had 12 different offices and cubes for employees to sit in, but corporate already recognized the problems with so many levels," Knipfer adds. "As employees rose through the ranks, they were entitled to bigger offices or bigger cubes. In a large organization like this where people go up the ladder very quickly, facilities would be changing offices every single day. At the time, we'd re-facilitize either with demountable walls or cubes-everything was a different size! To make matters worse, we were spending about $2,000 per move, because the work stations weren't modular; they weren't on a common spine."

In the new space, the 12 configurations were pared down to four, and everything was designed to run along a common spineway. "It costs less than $200 per move now. I'm pretty proud of that," says Knipfer.

A single corporate design standard would open window lines, eliminate office suites, create central labs, and provide adequate conference space. Efforts would be made to introduce color, natural light, collaborative areas, and transform Libertyville into a space that would encourage employee pride and build customer confidence.

Kicking And Screaming All The Way

The first four phases of the project were completed in just 18 months. Paul Zerrien, senior project manager with outsourced vendor Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL) implemented the work with a general contractor and Motorola direct vendors. Marie Hockett, planning manager with JLL organized the 4,000 moves necessary in order for the new space to supports a sense of community and collaboration-instead of crowding and confusion.

And yet, many employees were reluctant to relinquish their existing spaces, regardless of the chaos. Knipfer recalls, "We were only about four months into the program, and one of the first groups wouldn't go without kicking and screaming. The manager and his underling made our lives miserable, even though we were trying to take care of them. We really pampered the employees, but they didn't want to go to what they thought were smaller entitlements. Obviously, they weren't focused on the rest of it. Once we got them into their new space, it was different. They got new central labs, open plan spaces, lots of natural light, and other great amenities. Several months later, I was sitting in a meeting with this manager, and he turned to me and said, 'You know, we've got to tell you that we're really sorry. We gave you a lot of grief, and now we really love our space."

For Knipfer, this incident underscored one of the most important aspects of the project-negotiating. He says, "It's one thing for management to make a decision; it's another to go and work with the next layer of managers, staff, and down. In this project, the logistics and the negotiating were more challenging than anything else. Fortunately, my background is in general contracting, so I know what team building is all about. I can read people very quickly, and since I've been at Motorola 22 years, I know the culture fairly well."

Throughout his time with the company, Knipfer had witnessed many changes in the business climate. When things were booming for PCS, employees were encouraged to think independently; they were rewarded for being proactive, aggressive, and resourceful. "But as the business grew," Knipfer notes, "we had to start working with each other. We had to stop thinking about what we sat in, and more about how we plan to work with each other, how we communicate, and how good it feels to come to work. Fortunately, we made some really good decisions, and that has influenced the reaction from employees when they see me coming down the corridor now. You can see a different energy. People stop me in the hall and say, 'Wow, this is so much better! I like being here."

Four Down, One To Go

The final phase of the plan includes a comprehensive renewal of common areas, much of which will be designed by the company's marketing and advertising team for a "Moto" look and feel. The hope is that this environment will convey the company's brand message, represent its business to customers, and make the workplace more exciting.

The "consumer experience project," as Knipfer calls it, will optimize the communal areas to create a specific feel. Instead of looking at a sea of cubicles when they get off an elevator, "customers will step into a small rotunda with LCDs. One will run company information and the other one will run commercials. Banners and flags will tell the visitor what we're about," explains Knipfer.

With the final phase of the project ramping up, Knipfer speaks of Libertyville as "career defining," and although he says he "doesn't know what he'd do if he saw another one coming," it is clear he has enjoyed the experience. Recently the company's corporate vice president of facilities and real estate worldwide visited Libertyville. After the visit, he exclaimed, "I want this in the corporate tower!" Almost immediately, Knipfer asked them to let him help. "I know, I said I didn't want to come anywhere near another project like this, but the towers aren't close to size of this project. This is the largest sector."

Aside from improving the customer and employee experience, Libertyville has achieved great things in terms of maximizing resources. Is it perfect? Knipfer says, "no, it will never be perfect." But the facilities management department will do everything in its power to make going to work a better experience for employees-and that's what a world class facility is all about.