How to communicate the achievements of work that are difficult to evaluate.

I'm Watanabe, and I'm usually involved in creating office and workplace spaces.

If you've worked for a company for a long time, you'll likely be assigned projects where it's difficult to measure results numerically. These include creating spaces that convey a company's value, such as museums, exhibition pavilions, or company history displays for visitors. Office renovations are another example of this.

Behind-the-scenes jobs, such as general affairs and other "back-office" roles, are often taken for granted and expected to be done correctly.
Office renovation projects, often handled primarily by these departments, may also be difficult to evaluate because it's hard to see "what kind of results they will lead to."

So, how should we communicate the results of this work?

 

Office renovations are difficult to evaluate and explain.

An office is not a place that directly generates profits, like a factory or a store.
Therefore, it becomes difficult to set performance indicators such as production volume or sales, and it is also difficult to explain the impact that the renovations had on the business.

Furthermore, the person in charge of office renovations is often someone from departments such as general affairs or business planning, who is not originally an expert in space design. As a result, they often struggle with how to explain the results to the rest of the company.

That's why it's often difficult to define "what constitutes success" when it comes to office renovations.

 

Another achievement that we overlooked

So, is there really no way to measure success?
In reality, even though it may not be easily expressed in numbers, people perceive many things from a space.

By paying attention to the reactions of users and visitors, we can see the changes. Sales representatives are now inviting clients to the company, the impression during recruitment has improved, and there are more people saying they "want to come to work."
An office with a clear concept serves not only as a place to work, but also as a way to communicate the company itself. This can lead to improved impressions from visitors, media coverage, and increased brand awareness.

These changes can also be considered valuable to the company. In other words, office renovations have another benefit: they enhance the company's appeal both externally and internally.
In recent years, its value has become more widely recognized, and there is a growing movement to re-evaluate it.

 

How to communicate the "results" that have become apparent

Results don't naturally lead to recognition. Offices are often taken for granted once they're finished, and the process and changes involved tend to be overlooked.

Visualizing these changes is crucial, and in some cases, the renovation process has been filmed using time-lapse photography and shared internally. Furthermore, gathering feedback from users and visitors after completion makes it easier to communicate the changes both internally and externally.

By communicating changes in users, including the impact on recruitment, increased visitor numbers, and improved well-being, office renovations can serve as a "face" that conveys the company's attitude and values both internally and externally, thus leveraging them for branding purposes.

As we have seen so far, even a single example like office renovation has multiple aspects, such as "improving the work environment" and "branding."

Instead of assuming that "this job is difficult to get recognized for," why not try thinking about it from the perspective of "it also has these effects and value"?