GSA owns and manages the William S. Moorhead Federal Building in Pittsburgh, PA, built in 1962. The facility provides a workplace for more than 2,500 Federal employees in approximately 50 Federal agencies. A 1997 building tenants survey revealed only 73 percent of Moorhead tenants were satisfied with GSA services compared to a GSA average of 82 percent in the region. The vacancy rate was 12.6 percent. GSA was in the midst of long-range planning for a complete modernization of the facility, including modernization of building systems and a complete renovation of interior spaces, to begin in 2004.
The modernization would likely increase customer satisfaction, but the project wouldn’t be completed until 2008. GSA’s plan is to phase the work so it could be completed while the facility remained occupied. With customer satisfaction decreasing in the building and agencies looking ahead to the major modernization, GSA feared agencies would begin to leave the Federal building for leased space, leaving GSA with a fully modernized, but half empty Federal building in 2008. The question was how to gain the tenant agencies’ trust and confidence that GSA would manage construction work in the facility with their best interests in mind, minimizing disruption to the largest extent possible, and provide a much-improved workplace.
At the same time, GSA was struggling with a nationwide dilemma in its Federal buildings. Many buildings were not designed to accommodate new security requirements and equipment instituted following the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City. Tenants and visitors were greeted by a profusion of signs spelling out various prohibitions and immediately confronted with security devices. Many entries failed to provide clear directions. Various signs on wobbly easels and notices taped to walls did not give a professional appearance. Federal building lobbies were clean, but cluttered, intimidating, dreary in appearance, and in essence they undercut Federal agency tenants’ efforts to serve their customers.
These same entries were often where the citizens got their first impression of the Federal government. GSA contracted with Gensler & Associates to survey public areas in Federal buildings across the nation and identify opportunities for improved first impressions. Only 65 percent of Moorhead tenants were satisfied with the attractiveness of the building and office environment and only 66 percent were satisfied with the attractiveness of common and public areas of the facility.
GSA set funding aside to renovate the entrance and lobby of the Moorhead Federal Building. The project would serve as a precursor to the larger modernization project. GSA needed to manage this renovation well in order to achieve its long-range goal of maintaining occupancy and reducing the vacancy rate upon completion of the larger modernization.
The GSA project team implemented a communication plan for the lobby renovation. The goal is to involve tenants in the renovation plans, ensure improved satisfaction with the appearance of the facility, and build trust and confidence in GSA to manage renovation work in the facility and communicate with them during the process.
As a result of the lobby renovation, a Gallup survey showed the Moorhead tenants’ satisfaction with the building and office environment attractiveness increased from 65 percent to 87 percent and the attractiveness of the common and public spaces increased from 66 percent to 83 percent.
During the lobby renovation, the Moorhead tenants’ satisfaction with:
- Follow-up communication increased from 79 percent to 91 percent
- Effectiveness of communication increased from 81 percent to 91 percent
- GSA’s flexibility increased from 83 percent to 92 percent
- GSA’s responsiveness increased from 84 percent to 92 percent
- Ease of doing business with GSA increased from 84 percent to 92 percent
GSA is now heading into the major modernization project with a 12.6 percent vacancy rate. Based on discussions with tenants, GSA is projecting to decrease the vacancy rate to 6.5 percent upon completion of the major modernization.
For more information, contact Ms. Gina M. Waring at (215) 446-2895 or via e-mail at gina.waring@gsa.gov
