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At Fifth Third Bank, Valerie Garrett, director of workplace design, helps build connections in more ways than one.
As a forward-thinking leader responsible for the redesign of all the bank’s national offices, she’s guided by a human-centered philosophy. She believes that future proofing the workplace means designing toward basic, universal human needs.
“There are things that as people we always needed that aren’t going to go away, like connection, reflection, social interaction, and the need to be a part of something meaningful,” she says. “Those are things that aren’t going to go away tomorrow, in the next year, or the next decade.”
That principle was the catalyst for Project Connect, an expansion and renewal of the bank’s Cincinnati headquarters, which she says has been pivotal in bringing people together and creating spaces where they can thrive. It included the creation of a newly designed next-generation financial center, renovated retail tenant experiences, a museum, a stage, and a glass atrium that’s often bustling with activity and smiling faces.
The project also brought together the bank’s 2 office towers with a 12,000 square-foot entryway, located on Fountain Square, known in urban planning as one of America’s great outdoor living rooms. That location allows the bank to have greater visibility and interaction with the surrounding community.
Since the project has been completed, it’s given employees and community members a space to gather, to serve, and to socialize, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The number one success criteria we have is that people are thriving in the spaces we create for them, and we don’t have to hear that—we see it,” she says. “We saw people coming back together and hearing these exclamations of delight, because they hadn’t seen their peers in a long time.”
“It’s also a cultural lever; ‘space is a proxy for culture,’” she adds, quoting futurist Rex Miller. “When you see people thriving in spaces you create, the spaces are supporting a thriving culture. It’s a massive win.”
That wasn’t the only project she’s led that puts people at the center of her team’s design goals. With its work on the next generation banking centers, Fifth Third has focused on becoming the “unbank,” a bank that people could identify with and one that is approachable and flexible. To do that, the branches offer customers multiple options for conducting business, including casual open environments and spaces more suitable for private conversations.
“There are things that as people we always needed that aren’t going to go away, like connection, reflection, social interaction, and the need to be a part of something meaningful. Those are things that aren’t going to go away tomorrow, in the next year, or the next decade.”
Valerie Garrett
“The best feedback we could get from customers is when they walk in and say, ‘Wow, this is beautiful. It feels great, and it doesn’t even feel like a bank,’” she says. “That’s a bullseye for us.”
Garrett prides herself on building connections with her team using a candid, direct, and encouraging leadership style. If her team members are off the mark, she’s not afraid to tell them. But she always follows up with words of encouragement, letting her employees know she believes in them—a process she calls “encouraging the heart.”
“Sometimes we must give feedback that’s challenging, and sometimes we have to course correct our team as leaders,” she says. “It’s important to do that with incredible clarity and candor, but it doesn’t mean that you have to be unkind.”
She says she derives those traits from her family. Growing up, they were always willing to be transparent, to graciously say hard things to each other, and get to the other side of conflicts together. As a product of a household where there weren’t many off limit topics, she learned to communicate clearly and openly early on.
Those skills were further developed with the help of a previous leader she worked for, who cared for his team’s professional development and encouraged each of them to know themselves. He took the team through the DISC assessment and through the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. Those experiences opened Garrett’s eyes to different personality types and the implications that can have in a work environment. As someone with a dominant personality, she learned to be conscious of the way she communicated with others.
“The number one success criteria we have is that people are thriving in the spaces we create for them, and we don’t have to hear that—we see it.”
Valerie Garrett
“The candor I have and the way I present myself may feel intimidating or off-putting to people if I’m not conscious of it,” she says. “It’s part of what drove me to be a leader that encourages the heart because I know that sometimes my delivery can be tough.”
Between giving transparent feedback and empowering her employees, Garrett successfully brings the best out of her team. Her work proves that creating a thriving environment starts with putting human needs at the center of the design.
Miller Zell wants to celebrate a great partnership with Fifth Third and BHDP. Together, we created unity and connection with branding layers within each branch. Developing and executing a cohesive space that fulfills every design driver is not easy, but that was accomplished here with an outstanding collaboration. The branches feature elevated wayfinding, a reinvented user experience and community connection. These spaces were optimized to serve customers, associates and the brand.
RCF Group and Haworth are proud to support Fifth Third Bank and its creative leaders, like Valerie Garrett in their journey to transform their workplace. RCF Group is a comprehensive workplace solutions provider of commercial furniture and furnishings, architectural interiors, design services, and facilities services. As a nationally certified Minority Business Enterprise, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is at the core of our business. Haworth is a family-owned commercial furniture manufacturer.
