Effective Office Design
As your company navigates a rapidly shifting industry, one thing is clear. The need for a workspace that brings your people together and maximises their collective performance has never been so important.
Your office has a huge impact on your team’s morale, communication patterns, and overall ways of working. Yet, many businesses overlook this. They opt for a generic approach to their office that results in disengaged staff. These staff are reluctant to come into the office and are disengaged with the company.
But just like no two companies are alike, no two offices should be either. Whether you’re a fast-growing technology company or an established law firm, an office tailored to the needs of your company and people can make a huge difference to the performance of both. According to a study by Gensler, a well-designed workplace can increase productivity by 21%.
As a workplace project management, design & build company, we’ve seen countless times first-hand how an office designed around the unique needs of its users can improve engagement, communication, and performance.
Today, we’ll go through 4 essential components of creating a workspace tailored to the needs of your company and staff. By the end, you’ll be able to assess how well your current office is tailored to your company. You’ll also know how to improve it.
Location
Where your office is located says a huge amount about your company to clients, staff, and investors alike. You need to ensure that the location you choose sends the right message about your company to others. Certain cities, districts, and even roads are well-known hubs for some industries.
The location of your office is crucial, primarily because it affects your access to the nearby talent pool. It will also impact how your competition and clients perceive you. This is especially important in major cities with district districts, such as London.
To choose the best location for your new office, you should first consider your company and how you want to be perceived. You can then consider potential locations and their reputation, and make your choice accordingly. To learn more, read How to Choose Your London Office Location.
Layout
Your office is there to maximise the performance of your people, so it needs to suit the way they work, rather than hinder it. Your people work on a wide variety of tasks and projects throughout their day, so they need a variety of working environments to suit this. As a result, the traditional desk and meeting-room based layout is now obsolete.
According to Steelcase, 77% of employees prefer workplaces that offer spaces for a variety of work tasks. Not only will it be more enjoyable for your staff to work in an office with an effective layout, but it will also make them more productive, as they won‘t be constrained by their environment.
To create an office layout tailored to your company, use staff surveys and occupancy studies to analyse how your staff work. You can then build a workspace around the needs of your company and people, rather than assumptions or generic best practices. Read 9 Ways to Unlock Potential in Your Office to learn more.
Future Proofing
How has your role and the way you work changed compared to 10 or even 5 years ago? Could you even have imagined it back then? This huge level of change will be the same for all your people. While you may not be able to know exactly what the future of your office looks like, you can prepare for it by future-proofing your workspace.
With your industry and company evolving rapidly, having an adaptable space will save costs and improve staff performance in the long term. It will also give you the confidence to invest in staff performance despite an uncertain future.
To future-proof your space, consider how your company will change over the next 10 years, and how the needs of your workforce will change with it. You can then design your current space with these changes in mind, or at least lay the groundwork for such changes now. Learn more by reading How to Future Proof Your Office Design.
Culture
To truly differentiate your workspace experience for current and prospective talent, you need to create an environment that is the physical embodiment of your company’s culture. It needs to be a place that is designed to optimise the way your staff work, as well as a place they find inspiring.
A workspace aligned with your culture will boost pride and engagement among your staff. Research shows 65% of employees feel more productive when their office aligns with their company’s values.
To design an office that embodies your company’s identity, you need to consider every part of the workspace experience – from the layout to the furniture to the amenities. Such an environment will help boost engagement and improve culture throughout your workforce. To learn more, read How to Create an Office Design Tailored to Your Culture.
Tailoring Your Office For Your Company
A workspace tailored to your company isn’t just an aesthetic nice-to-have. It’s a strategic investment to improve staff productivity, drive workforce engagement, and improve company performance.
By creating a future-proof, culture-centric space that suits where your staff are and the way they work, you’re putting your company on the path to improved performance. You're turning your office from a passive expense into a strategic asset.
Over the years, we’ve helped many companies transform their cultures, staff productivity and company performance by creating an office tailored to their company that reflects and enhances the way their staff work. The impact is clear: improved culture, engagement, and productivity, leading to business success.
Ready to create a workspace that truly fits your company? To get started, download your Definitive Office Design Guide. There, you’ll learn everything you need to know about office design before reaching out to a design & build company. We’ll cover what is involved, why it matters, benchmark costs, and mistakes to avoid. Get your Definitive Office Design guide here.
To learn more about creating an office design that improves our company performance, read How to Create an Office Tailored to Your Culture, How to Create a Culture of Performance in Your Office Design, and 5 Ways to Unlock Potential in Your Workspace.
