Organizations have two kinds of architectural design: the layout of office space and the design of relationships and culture. Both have been preoccupations of Steelcase since 1912, the year it was founded. The company’s name reflects its original products: metal safes, filing cabinets, and trash cans designed to be fireproof. It is now the largest office furniture manufacturer in the world: a US$3.4 billion company whose business increasingly depends on its customers’ ability to use workplace design in a way that improves the productivity and creativity of their employees.
Jim Keane was appointed president and chief executive officer of Steelcase in March 2014; he is the ninth person to lead the century-old company. The first of his family to go to college, he has been a leading voice among chief executives for the humanization of the business experience. In combination with the research that Steelcase has conducted over the years on workplace quality of life, this emphasis gives him a distinctive perspective on enterprise technology: It is valuable to the extent that it helps people (and thus organizations) develop their potential.
Under Keane’s leadership, Steelcase has positioned itself as an innovator in flexible space and human-oriented workplace design, as well as in participative management. Its own experiments, which include the glass conference rooms and retreat-style offices described in this interview, along with ergonomic chairs and customizable-on-the-fly office furniture, are all influenced by the company’s broader philosophy.
This philosophy also affects its acquisitions and other ventures. In September 2018, for example, Steelcase purchased Orangebox, a company founded in Wales in 2004 that was known for its reconfigurable, modular “pod” work spaces and meeting rooms. Steelcase also has an ongoing partnership with Microsoft to design “seamless” work spaces in which the space and display technologies are integrated to spark creativity and better workflow.
im Keane sat down with strategy+business at Steelcase headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich., in May 2019. We met in a glass-walled conference room in the company’s learning center — which is also where the Steelcase executive team works — and began by discussing the effect of technology on jobs, a topic he frequently addresses.
S+B: You have said that many of the jobs that are disappearing through automation are not worth keeping. Why do you believe that?
KEANE: The prevailing conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) largely goes down a couple of paths. First: AI is going to eliminate all of our jobs, and what will we do? Second is the science fiction version: AI will eliminate any need for people at all. Yet, when I look back at how technology has evolved and the effect it’s had on work, my conclusion is very different. Yes, it’s eliminated some jobs, but which of those jobs would we actually want back? Very few.
When I started my career, executives were not expected to know how to type. Assistants typed up what the executives wrote out by hand. Then personal computers appeared, and executives began to write using a keyboard. You could say that eliminated some jobs, but that statement doesn’t capture the other things that happened. The technology made it possible for executives to iterate their thoughts. The quality of what we generated was much better than it was when we had to apologize to an assistant for making them retype a letter.
With robotics and AI, something similar will happen. Yes, some jobs will be eliminated. But the technology will make it possible for people to be more effective and more productive, to use a broader range of skills, and to learn. I don’t see that as a bad thing.
S+B: Not every job holder would agree.
KEANE: The challenge is different than simply preserving jobs. When I was starting out, I worked as an elevator operator. I can assure you, we really don’t want those jobs back. But even the most menial and basic jobs, with simple, repeatable work, can be framed in a way that treats people as people, and not as machines. In the elevator, I was officially not allowed to talk to passengers. But I started making jokes. I discovered I could tell the same joke over and over because nobody had heard it before. But when they got to their floors, they would talk about it; they had all heard it from the guy in the elevator. I found a way to reframe that job to use a bit more of my humanity.
Even now, how often do companies limit the range of ways people can do their work? And can we challenge ourselves as managers to do better?
S+B: What kinds of things are you thinking of?
KEANE: Here is a real-life example. Most call center jobs have very high turnover. After a few months on the job, employees learn that the script isn’t meeting the needs of the people they talk to. Nonetheless, they’re forced to go through the script the same exact way each time. In fact, they’re being recorded, so that if they deviate, they’ll be disciplined. Any of us would feel like quitting. “I’m not learning. I’m not making progress. I don’t feel any connection.”
You can’t get rid of call centers. But instead of forcing people to stick to a rigid script, you could allow them to use their own problem-solving ability, creativity, and imagination. I recently heard a CEO describe how they did that exact thing with their call centers. They saw turnover fall and customer satisfaction rise dramatically. All it took was letting go of the idea that the top executives know more about what customers might want than the person who happens to be on the phone.
Releasing control involves trust — trusting that people will make good choices if you give them a chance. Employees feel much more of a connection to the company and its mission when they feel like they’re getting better the longer they work there. Customers feel it, too.