Gemeente Amstelveen

Like many municipalities in the Netherlands, the organization of the Municipality of Amstelveen grew. The redesign of the town hall thus became a reality, and project director Hans Schekermans was put in charge. “Whenever a department expanded, it didn’t always fit into the rooms that were there. As a result, there were constant moves and that brought unrest. We came to the conclusion to compartmentalize into small units without corridors.” After the COVID-19 outbreak and the government measures that followed, the way we worked also changed. “Our motto is ‘work where it can work,’ which can be in your own department, outside, at home or in another department. That is the basic idea for the transformation of the Amstelveen town hall.”

Office experience is the ultimate goal

Workstations were no longer personalized, so employees had to say goodbye to desks and drawer units. But to offer employees their own personal storage space, the municipality decided to include lockers in the design of the town hall. The Amstelveen municipality engaged PD Group, an all-round project agency for interior design, which incorporated the Vecos Smart Locker system into the plan. Inspiration for the application of the lockers was gained from other Vecos clients. But for the Municipality of Amstelveen, one thing was clear: “The office experience comes first.Therefore, the facilities are secondary to the wishes of the employees. We don’t want the lockers to initiate certain desired behavior, but to fit in with natural behavior and be supportive.”

Facilities in service of personnel diversity

Gemeente Amstelveen decided to make a personal locker available to every employee with no usage or time limits. A 1-to-1 ratio, where employees can choose which locker they want. “A diversity of people work in our organization,” Hans explains. “Some prefer a higher locker, others a lower locker. That’s why we don’t use the terminal’s random assignment, but give them the opportunity to choose a locker themselves.” Manual free choice is possible anyway through the Vecos Smart Locker App, but Gemeente Amstelveen deliberately chose to facilitate manual choice and locker operation with the personnel badge. Because the diversity of the staff also manifests itself in another area. “We have 5 working generations in house by now,” Hans explains. “From the boomers to Gen Z. Where for one, operation via smartphones and apps is the most normal thing in the world, the other prefers the personnel badge.” This makes no difference to the Vecos Smart Locker system; both identification and access methods can be used, either separately or in combination.

Alignment with other workplace management systems

Walking around the town hall, the technological gadgets soon catch your eye. All workstations consist of electrically adjustable sit-stand furniture (via the TableAir app). The workstations are also equipped with visible reservation sensors and a wireless charging function (Qi) for cell phones. Table Air makes it visible at a glance whether a desk is occupied (blue light) or available (green light). The Vecos Smart Lockers are also set with the same color palette. The LED status indicators are available on an RGB basis, which allowed Amstelveen municipality to choose exactly the same color blue and green for the lockers. “Again, the office experience for employees is key. Being able to use the same colors is the subtlety that contributes to recognizability, convenience, and experience.”

Acoustic (durable) materials are eye-catchers in the furnishings

Hans also points us to the look of the lockers. “We know that one of the biggest criticisms of modern offices is acoustics. An issue we were able to find an answer to with the Vecos lockers.” The locks of the Vecos Smart Locker system are incorporated on the inside of the lockers, so the locker banks in their design do not look like traditional lockers, but participate as equivalent furniture in the interior of the town hall. “Here the PD Group and I saw a great opportunity to give the lockers a dual function. A thick layer of PETfelt (acoustic felt) over the locker door contributes to pleasing acoustics and aesthetics. Design-wise, it also offered the opportunity to apply the locker numbers as an imprint.”

Innovation follows observation

Office perception is a process that is subject to improvement. Hans explains, “User data in Releezme shows that employees open their lockers mainly at the beginning and end of the working day. So now we plan to place lockers at the bicycle parking and the parking garage, so that we make it even easier for our employees.” Improvement and innovation is also evident in its openness to other industries.”Take employees waiting for a package, for example. They work at home that day instead of in the office, and then I start thinking. For example, can we use a locker bank in the town hall to collect external parcel mail? The integration with MyPup and Vecos makes this possible.”

A valuable investment, for the employees

And the employees themselves? “They especially realize how well and nicely everything works here when they have worked outside the door or in a different office environment for a while,” says Hans. “Sometimes we deliberately show videos of the old situation so that they can think about it again.” Employee satisfaction and retention is difficult to measure. “It’s always a combination of salary, work, and environment,” Hans explains.”So in measured data you can’t express it. But you shouldn’t want to. As an employer, you are responsible for the well-being of your employees, and therein lies the value of the investment.”

Photos: © HannesDesign photography

• Amstelveen Town Hall: 1,100 lockers for 1,100 employees
• Enables ‘spot work’ and personal storage
• Assignment to locker door for freedom of choice
• Identification with staff card and/or smartphone app: something for everyone
• PET felt finish for pleasant acoustics and aesthetics

In cooperation with Gemeente Amstelveen, we are happy to offer you a tour of the Town Hall. Please contact us and we will be happy to make an appointment with you.