The average Brit spends roughly one-third of their time at work. With work being such an integral part of people’s lives, it stands to reason that employers do everything they can to make workplaces as productive as possible. Moreover, multiple surveys have shown that an efficient office environment is deemed an essential part of job satisfaction.
So if you are on the verge of setting up an office space or want to redesign your existing one, consult architectural designers on various office building design concepts. And while you are here, we’ve put together eight tips to get the best out of your workplace, or rather, the people that work there.
Evaluate & List Down Needs
Every space in your office has its own specific needs and your plan has to accommodate each requirement. A space designed along these lines makes its occupants feel at home and adapts to their needs instead of vice versa. For instance, if your workplace needs a lot of collaboration, it has to have lots of open areas where employees can interact freely. A cubicle layout, in this case, impedes productivity.
Plan for Technological Requirements
Planning your office space from the standpoint of technology and equipment is also necessary. An important bit is to ensure the office space is not locked into using equipment or technology that might not be around in the future. A good example is telephone jacks, which were ubiquitous even a decade back but have been all but replaced by wireless communication devices. If you can, make your IT folks part of the office planning process or even get on-board an architecture design firm that specialises in office space planning.
Leave room for personalisation
Modern day office space designs are such that they allow employees to personalise their workspace. So work out which parts of your office can be individualised by your employees. Such an office design interior fosters a sense of belonging which not only increases productivity but also cultivates a culture of happiness.
Encourage positive change
Remember that implementing a modern office building design is a process and not a destination. So give your employees enough time to get used to the new layout. Also, get their feedback and act on it as well. Open a direct line between your employees and the designing people to allow for a free flow of ideas and suggestions.
Plan for efficiency
The key to good office design lies in increasing the efficiency of your workplace’s daily operations. Which department goes where? How many people will each department house? Are your respective departments expected to grow their headcount in the near future? These are all questions inherent to how your workplace needs to be designed. For instance, if two of your departments need to interact regularly, there is no point in placing them on opposite sides of your building. When you plan for these things beforehand, you ensure efficiency and productivity are improved rather than hindered.
Eschew workplace uniformity
It’s very rare for a company to require the same layout throughout its office space. The needs of each department are different and the office design has to reflect this. So while an open plan might suit other departments, it might not be ideal for the sales department where the isolation offered by cubicles and offices helps to nullify the sound of phone calls and sales meetings. While uniformity in your company’s work culture is good, the same cannot be said for its workspace.
Consider future growth
Office building design ideas have to make room for the future growth of your company. Sit with your architectural designers and map down your expansion plans. How much do you expect to grow in the immediate future? How many new employees you would add in the process? How much will the headcount of each department increase? While increasing efficiency and cutting costs is the primary aim of office space design, planning for future growth ensures infrastructure is not an issue when your company wants to scale up.
Create enough storage
Every workplace has its own unique storage needs and office building design plans need to be cognisant of that. So the storage requirements of a law firm will be very different to that of a health company. While storage is important in both cases, how it’s planned plays an important role in the eventual efficiency of the workplace. Which is why these considerations need to be made right at the start. Leaving it too late can result in an awkward or even inadequate storage layout.
Each of these tips is geared towards planning a productive space, which also makes for a productive business. Good office space designs are capable of boosting productivity and increasing your workforce’s happiness and overall job satisfaction. If you already own an office space or are looking to move into a new one, you can get in touch with an architectural design firm that specialises in space planning. With a just a little bit of creativity and planning, your office can become an inviting space to work in.