As one of the top architectural firms in Gauteng, Empowered Spaces is focused on the experiences of their staff members and that of their clients. Their work enjoys high visibility along the N1 highway in Johannesburg – having designed the Cell C, Norvatis, AMROD and Westcon buildings that are situated in the highly acclaimed Waterfall precinct.
The company is set apart in the market by the culture in their business. “We want to keep our clients happy and to give them the best service”, said Terence” “We have happy, motivated teams, and that helps us to
deliver to our customers. Our customers continue to support us – the way we treat and interact with them is important because we want them to be successful.” In addition to their happy staff that go the extra mile to deliver stellar service, Terence says that one of the fundamental factors that sets them apart is their ability to realise what the client’s goal really is. “The service we offer, anyone can do.
There are many people who can design your office or warehouse for you, but if someone sits with you and gives you advice on where to buy the land or how to build or what makes a good investment, like we do – you get a lot more value.”
This phenomenal culture hadn’t always existed in the business. Despite their growth and early successes, Jonathan and Terence knew that something was not right with how the business was performing. “During the years of 2008 and 2009, we had grown to 30 odd staff with 2 offices, but we were not really making money”, Terence said. “We had no standards or manuals and we had no structures in place. We had all these opportunities that came our way, but we were not able to translate them into a profitable business. We also had a bad ethos and culture within the business. It was a negative environment where people didn’t really enjoy what they did. Jonathan and I were working and loved what we did, but the employees were generally not that happy. This was because of the way the business was managed – it was us. Not that we were negative people, but we were not managing the business in ways that would keep our staff happy and productive.” The pair new that something had to change.
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