11. Churn management

11.1 Definition and measurement

Churn is defined as: the relocation of people within an agency, undertaken in response to changing service-delivery and functional requirements.

Churn is measured by: the number of people relocated per year, expressed as a percentage an agency's total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff.

11.2 Churn drivers

The drivers for churn can be broadly categorised as follows:

• organisational restructuring because of changes in ministerial portfolios and changed service delivery
• new styles of management such as incorporating flatter structures and cross-functional teams
• the demands of new technology
• the need for increased workplace efficiency and effectiveness
• changes to work patterns (e.g. distributed working, part-time working, flexible desking)
• the expectations of workers and the community.

11.3 Types of churn

Types of churn, ranked in order from least to most complexity, time, cost, and disruption, are:

• virtual churn, involving redesignation of tasks and reporting responsibilities, reassignment of electronic data access and electronic address but no physical relocation
• relocation of people within the existing number and location of workstations, sometimes referred to as a 'box and briefcase' move
• relocation of people, furniture and technology, and possibly requiring some workstation replanning
• relocation of people, furniture, and technology, and also involving changes to built fitout and/or building services
• moving from one location to another involving the construction of a completely new fitout, including modifications to building systems as required.

11.4 Dealing with churn

The key success factors for effective churn management are:

• accurate and timely forecasting of office-space demand through strategic planning
• fitout designed in accordance with best-practice principles.

Effective approaches to managing churn include:

• considering alternative workplace practices
• adapting existing space to new uses to minimise physical changes
• exploiting technological solutions to churn management such as virtual relocations, wireless technology and networks (for maximised spatial mobility), convergent technology and teleconferencing
• designing workplace layouts and fitout generically for maximum flexibility and interchangeability
• constructing a centralised core or zone of multi-purpose, shared support spaces for the longer term in preference to specialised spaces that become functionally obsolete in the short term
• maximising the use of mobile and/or transformable (multi-purpose) furniture
• identifying and 'capturing' inefficient space and then redistributing it for better workplace efficiency and savings in total space needs (and rent).

The opportunities for best-practice churn management arise in the earliest stages of strategic planning and design.

Please refer to the practice note Management of office churn and management of change (PDF, 619.8 KB) , included as a supporting document in Guideline 4: Occupancy.