From Workplaces to Communities: Lessons from Serenity Collective’s Deep Dive Day

I often ask myself a simple question when I start working with a new client: what will bring this workplace to life?  It goes without saying that it should be functional and efficient, so how do we then make it feel truly alive?  

The answer has become clear over time: it's people feeling connected, a sense of belonging and like they are part of something bigger than themselves. That’s what drives us.  Guiding organisations to transform their workplaces into communities where purpose is at the heart of everything. 

Last week, I had the privilege of exploring community with a group of heart-led leaders at the Serenity Collective Deep Dive Day. Walking into the room, you could feel the energy of curiosity and openness. People were ready to pause, reflect, and challenge the ways they had been thinking about culture, connection, and the spaces they inhabit. 

We started by acknowledging a reality that has been quietly reshaping the modern workplace: 

Our workplaces are no longer just places we go to work.

They are places where we gather.

With hybrid work becoming the norm, the office has shifted from a practical necessity to a purposeful choice. And that choice carries weight, every moment spent together in a shared space has the power to build (or erode) community.

Through roundtable discussions, we guided leaders to explore a framework that links the people and culture of the organisation to the physical workplace they occupy.  It’s more than a strategy, it’s a lens for seeing how every conversation, every interaction, every shared story in these spaces shapes culture. Every choice about how we organise teams, design processes, and set up our physical environments sends a message, sometimes intentional, sometimes not, about what is valued, what is expected, and what is possible.

It was powerful to witness moments of realisation: the “aha” that culture and physical space are not separate; they are intrinsically linked. A shift in perspective: culture and physical space are not separate—they are intertwined. Each shapes the other in an ongoing cycle.

Then came the reality check. We asked: what are the real challenges your workplace is facing today? The answers were enlightening. While executive conversations around the boardroom table were focused on strategy, cost, and productivity, the true challenges were highlighted to be of a very different flavour - trust, micro-cultures, connection, leadership consistency, and the practical enablers of work like technology, processes, and spaces.

This gap, between the boardroom conversation and the lived employee experience, is where opportunity lies. Because when what leaders prioritise aligns with what people actually need, culture transforms from a set of aspirational words on a wall into something tangible, felt, and experienced every day.

We explored how to bridge this gap, and the path forward became clear. We need to take an employee-centric approach, intentionally designing workplaces that support connection, and activating them through purposeful engagement. It’s no longer enough to simply create a beautiful space. A community requires life, it needs to be nurtured, activated, and sustained.

By the end of the day, the room was buzzing with ideas, reflections, and a renewed sense of possibility. Leaders left with a deeper understanding that in order to build community in their workplaces the People & Culture teams need to take an active role in the creation of their physical workplace, rather than leaving it in the remit of the Facilities and Property team. 

Creating community is not simply a people & culture initiative nor is it a design outcome.  It’s a continuous, cyclical approach, one influencing the other. A process that links people, purpose, and place in a way that draws people in, inspires contribution, and fosters belonging.

If your organisation is ready to explore this path, our whitepaper, Leveraging Place, is a great starting point. It shows why, even in a digital world, workplaces remain among the most powerful tools for shaping connection, engagement, and culture.

And if you’re ready to take the next step, I'd love to lead a co-creation workshop. Together, we’ll uncover the real challenges and opportunities in your workplace, design strategies to foster community, and leverage your spaces to reinforce the culture you want to create.