--- title: "ABW Case Study: UTS College" description: Explore the successful implementation of ABW workplace transformation at UTS College. Discover the benefits from an innovative approach. --- ![UTSC-web-case-study](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/hs-fs/hubfs/UTSC-web-case-study.jpg?width=1650&height=800&name=UTSC-web-case-study.jpg) ![UTSC-web-case-study](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/hs-fs/hubfs/UTSC-web-case-study.jpg?width=1650&height=800&name=UTSC-web-case-study.jpg) ### UTS College # Building peer-to-peer connection as a community [ Download Full Case Study ](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/download-utsc-abw-case-study?hsLang=en) ## Case Study Overview ## Case Study Overview ### Realigning aspirations in a competitive international marketplace **Organisation:** UTS College **Location:** Sydney, Australia **Industry: **Higher Education **Key Concept: **To provide world-class support to an international student body through 4 key behavioural aspirations of community, collaboration, connection, & creativity. ## The Backstory ## The Backstory UTS College transforms the lives of 5,000+ students from 75 countries each year as they prepare for the next step in their academic journey towards University.  Their vision is to actualise potential and enhance lives through the power of learning with a deep commitment to supporting students in achieving their academic and career goals.  To stay competitive in the marketplace, UTS College engaged Veldhoen + Company on a 4-phase project that helped them to arrive at a set of aspirations that were integrated as part of the workplace strategy design. ![326064152_869977937634754_6110503764703168527_n](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/hs-fs/hubfs/326064152_869977937634754_6110503764703168527_n.png?width=360&height=360&name=326064152_869977937634754_6110503764703168527_n.png) “Before the pandemic, UTS College had attempted to implement Activity Based Working (without V+C) but was met with strong resistance from managers. The pandemic drove everyone to work in new ways and more flexibly. However, the pre-pandemic space was hampering the new flexible way of working. Working with V+C to develop our Activity Based Working approach was different as we included people in the transformation project. V+C helped to link the purpose of the project with aspirations that we wanted to achieve within the workplace.” ALEX MURPHY Managing Director 01 #### The Challenge We experienced fascinating challenges with this project that was sparked during the global pandemic with just one year to complete. As one of the initiatives [supporting the UTS 2027 strategy](https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-2027-strategy), the ways of working change also involved consolidation of space to two floors. The caveat was that V+C was not permitted onsite due to lockdown restrictions and was limited to virtual assessment of the space. Veldhoen + Company developed a 4-phase strategy, including the post-occupancy evaluation (via surveys + focus groups) to grasp [how the physical space supported the 4 Cs](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/blog/building-a-sense-of-community-in-a-hybrid-workplace?hsLang=en) (community, connection, collaboration, creativity) practically and made recommendations for further improvement. ![UTSC-web-case-study-2](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/hs-fs/hubfs/UTSC-web-case-study-2.jpg?width=1200&height=800&name=UTSC-web-case-study-2.jpg) 02 #### The Results UTS College opened its doors to the professional staff on December 13th, 2022.  The result was a purpose-built environment that supported their hybrid working strategy and the new way of working. Through a post-occupancy evaluation, employees reported that the new ABW workspace enabled: - Up to 34% improvement in workplace experience in which the workplace better supported knowledge sharing, work-setting choices, improved employee pride, sense of community and productivity. - 72% agreement that the workplace exceeded their expectations. - Of the 4Cs aspirations, creativity had the highest level of agreement with 80% in agreement that creativity was strongly supported in the new workplace. - A reduction in people indicating they want to work entirely remotely from 10% (pre-move) to 0%. The more enjoyable environment led to an increase in people wanting to work from the office full-time. - A range of well supported activities in the workplace: dialogue (74%*), recharge (63%*), coordinate (61%*), duo work (60%*), and process work. *These percentages reflect the total % of employees that indicated their full support for those activities. ![UTSC-web-case-study3](https://www.veldhoencompany.com/hs-fs/hubfs/UTSC-web-case-study3.jpg?width=1200&height=800&name=UTSC-web-case-study3.jpg) “If the leadership team isn’t prepared to do something meaningful with staff in the workplace, then they cannot expect staff to adopt a new way of working. I was the first to move out of my office to model an unassigned workplace.” ALEX MURPHY Managing Director | UTS College ## Want to Know More? Ultimately, we will work with you to create a unique culture and environment where people will have the space to thrive, the freedom to genuinely connect with one another and will proudly work as a part of your organisation. [ Contact Us ](https://467406.hs-sites.com/contact-us-old?hsLang=en)