In the civilian world, engaged workers drive higher profits. In the military, engaged workers drive innovation, are more likely to reenlist and can be the difference between mission success and failure.
The U.S. Army’s installations strategy has called for all of the branch’s facilities — both living and working spaces — to rival the civilian sector in functionality, quality, resilience and sustainability. This includes overseas facilities, such as the new headquarters of the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command (IMCOM) in Clay Kaserne, Germany.
To transform IMCOM-Europe’s building into a fully revamped, strategically branded facility, the Army spent $2.5 million and hired Janson Communications.
“In everything that we do in buildings and environments, it is about using the canvas of a building,” said Janet Chihocky, founder and CEO of Janson Communications. “Yes, we are going to make it more efficient, and we are going to add in the lighting and the scenic elements and all these other things. But we are going to use it to tell their story. And that is what I think is so significant about this.”
Chihocky has been helping transform Department of Defense facilities for about 20 years. The redesign of IMCOM-Europe’s headquarters marked Janson’s first overseas contract. IMCOM is responsible for managing all the facilities and garrisons the Army uses.
“IMCOM-Europe has the European theater,” Chihocky explained. “And so we have been asked to come into their headquarters, which is frankly a brand new building. But it is bland. It has no personality to it. And so what they are doing is they are investing in their building by saying, ‘We want our building to communicate our story, our mission, our purpose, our ethos.’ And that is what Janson does.”
Buildings do not communicate an organization’s ethos by happenstance. It takes a lot of research and a multi-faceted approach. For this job, Chihocky said her team spent hours learning about IMCOM-Europe’s mission sets and theater footprint. The team also spent plenty of time in the building itself.
“I am watching traffic patterns,” Chihocky said. “I am watching where people are spending time. We are understanding kind of, you know, I hate to say it, but you have to understand the bones of the building. And that is what helps us a lot. And so there is an architectural element to this.
“There is an engineering component to this. At the same time, we are not looking to be trendy. We are looking for timeless, stately, mature colors and patterns and styles that will transcend. So when we look to 2030, 2035, it is still classic. We are not painting hot orange anywhere. We are not signing up for that because that would not last.”
Chihocky noted that most of the time, the client — in this case, the U.S. Army — offered general design concepts, but it was ultimately up to Janson’s team of artists to bring any concept to life.
“We have like a 98% first-time product acceptance rate. What does that mean?” Chihocky said. “The first time that we are coming in saying, ‘Sir, here, ma’am here, general officer, here are your design concepts.’ It is a yes every time. They are like, ‘My God! You got it, this is exactly what we were hoping for.’”
How a worker feels while at work is vital to their output. In his book “How the Future Works,” author Brian Elliot said people need a sense of purpose in why they are doing what they are doing. If that can be achieved, it is much easier to align them with the organization and unlock their potential.
“I walked into one building that we had redone and the executive secretary was like, ‘My God, I love this so much,’” Chihocky said. “That put probably more joy on my face than hearing that the battalion commander loved it. Because the battalion commander is going to rotate out at some point. That lady is going to be there for the next several years. And I am very happy that she loves coming to work now and she loves her space and that is incredibly rewarding for me and for the entire team,”
The IMCOM-Europe contract was Janson’s first overseas job, but Chihocky said her company had already locked down its second contract and was working on its third and fourth as well.
Access the full Weapons and Warfare episode here.
Access all Weapons and Warfare podcast episodes here.
