Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Ushering in a Next-Gen Workplace

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent regulatory agency responsible for overseeing national derivative markets, with offices in New York, Kansas City, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Having already started downsizing their offices by 52% to comply with the footprint reductions mandated by the Office of Management and Budget in 2015, CFTC was already in the process of overhauling its workspaces. By 2021, the physical transition to a smaller workspace was already well underway, but the change management process was lagging behind. CFTC’s efforts to present a consistent change advocacy plan, both to leaders and employees, had faltered, due in large part to the disjointed protocols that came with a partially unionized workforce.

PLASTARC was brought on in 2021 to simplify and streamline CFTC’s change management by developing preemptive timelines and an adaptive communication review process. After reaching a complete understanding of CFTC’s current processes through archival reviews, surveys, interviews, and workshops with both employees and management, PLASTARC built guidelines as to how CFTC could establish and maintain clear channels for communication and feedback. Now fully implemented, these guidelines have helped CFTC maximize retention and productivity as its entire workforce has navigated the pivotal switch to a hybrid workplace.