Kahler Slater CEO Glenn Roby has dedicated his career to elevating the workplace typology. Since joining the multidisciplinary Milwaukee-based firm in 2008, Roby has distinguished his approach through sensitivity, flexibility, and a knack for authentic storytelling. For Roby, imbuing humanity into office designs is the most intuitive way for businesses to meet their goals. Here, discusses how to streamline conversations with clients and how to promote a model that puts people first.
Workplace Design: What are clients looking for in workplace design right now?
Glenn Roby: It’s the intentionality that people are looking for. They’re looking for deeper meaning to connect to, and often you have to get past the superficial and you have to get more down to the why in order for them to make that connection. If there’s a move that we do from a design perspective, it has to be a lot more thoughtful and not just what everybody’s doing today.
What does Kahler Slater look for in a client?
GR: The perfect client match for us is somebody who recognizes that you can’t mandate success. You have to meet people where they are, have a value proposition for what the office needs to be today. We will challenge people to get out of the softness of anecdotal goals and into something that’s a little more data-supported. A place to work is the bare minimum.
How do you structure early planning conversations?
GR: It could be in a two-hour conversation or it could be in a two-day workshop session. We can scale it to whatever it needs to be, but we want to come out of that with an understanding of what you want to achieve and why. We are so much more efficient as designers to bring back solutions that align rather than making assumptions and missing the mark. I love it when people have those things articulated because it allows us to have something to drill into. Tell me what you’re trying to achieve as a business and I will help show you how your physical space can get you there.
Is hospitality still impacting workplace design?
GR: It is infused in everything today. You’re using your physical space to tell your stories, to support your brand and celebrate your clients. It’s a canvas and it gives you a much deeper and more rich opportunity to get your value proposition out there. Our more visionary clients recognize that. They’re starting to take more control over their personal brand, and what they do and where they do it reflects how they want to be perceived in the world.
What would you like business owners to prioritize more?
GR: I would like them to be really thoughtful about where they see value in their people and how a physical place supports their people first. It’ll free you as an organization. If we keep people first, the rest comes naturally.
How can business leaders promote people first?
GR: Make sure that you have a trust-based culture. Let your people comment. You may as an organization really value that and be open with it, or you may just use it to make your own strategic decisions, but we always encourage that interaction. If you start with your most valuable asset, that means that they’re engaged in the conversation. You’re not just telling them what’s going to happen. It’s an informed back and forth. You have to know what your people really value, and sometimes people are really in tune and they can just tell us that in a 10-minute conversation.
Are you optimistic about the future of workplace design?
GR: From somebody who has spent my entire career in that space, I think there’s a lot of positive things to talk about in the workplace market. Where we put a lot of our energy is finding people who align with our values, and that is not the transactional kind of work. I’m hopeful that more people are becoming enlightened about it as more than just a transactional.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity