What does Your Office Design Say about Your Company Brand and Culture?
A client’s first impression about your company begins when they walk through your door.
Even if they have already worked with you and dealt with some of your staff, seeing your offices will still make a significant difference in the way they perceive you.
It’s the little things.
The way your desks are organised. How long it takes for your employees to get from their desks to the coffee maker. Is the meeting room make out of glass or is it completely closed off from the rest of the floor? What colour are the walls predominantly?
All these little things – and many, many others – are the foundation layer of your organisational culture.
They are very easy to perceive by anyone – employee or visitor. And, more importantly, they are what influences perceptions and productivity.
When companies recognise that the office culture supports their brand and employee productivity they make changes that help them reach the company goals.
Branding is another component of office design. Most company owners concentrate on ads, website design, and business cards.
But branding extends beyond this. And it has a huge influence on how productive your employees are.
According to research, 25 percent of job satisfaction is due to the work environment. The environment can affect individual employee performance by 5 percent and team performance by 11 percent.
Your office branding depicts what your company believes in.
Having a good design can attract talent, help existing employees understand and cherish company culture and more.
This is why it’s essential to engage an architect and a designer to take care of your office design. Yes, it’s an additional expense. But it’s one that will pay off. When you hire an interior design and office refurbishment company, you don’t pay for pretty colours. You pay for a solid company culture.
Branding used in office design
Forget about the headache of having to do it yourself (it’s much harder than it seems!) or having to deal with inexperienced people. When you deal with pros, they will help you translate your brand value into design elements that lead to coherence and cohesion.
Everything in the office - from chairs and walls, to plants will be designed not only to look cool, but to also (and most importantly!) tell your brand story.
Creating on-brand office design is not only about painting every item in your brand colour or having the company logo splashed all over your walls. It’s about having a unique environment that reflects the aspirations of the company and the entire team.
Proper design makes people feel inspired, supported, welcomed and engaged every time they walk into your office, According to research, happy employees are more productive.
A good work environment will make employees like coming to work every morning, and this not only translates into an enhanced company performance, but it also has a trickle-down effect to your bottom line.
Every space created or designed should tell your company story and also prepare the customer for a memorable experience. The design team must, therefore, gain insight into your layout, your team, and everything else that encompasses the brand and culture.
What does Your Office Design Say about Your Company Culture?
In most companies, only 15 percent of employees come to work engaged, energised and ready to work to their full potential.
However, there are a few organisations with over 70 percent of their workers prepared to be innovative and competitive every morning.
These companies provide a culture where employees outperform themselves. They treat their workplace culture as a powerful tool that differentiates them from their competitors by creating a strength-based and engagement-focused environment.
Your brand should be expressed consistently to employees, potential employees, and clients.
Reflecting the brand on every space your company occupies demonstrates cohesiveness and a commitment to brand values. To determine how your brand appears on your physical workplace, you need to understand company principles.
The principles, in turn, guide the designer into creating a space that defines how your team members, visitors, and clients feel whenever they walk into the office.
Depending on space, the designer can also develop multiple areas to cater for different groups while remaining true to company goals.
The Productive Culture
Today, there is no doubt that technology drives productivity. Charging poles, touchscreens, docking stations, company apps and CRM systems are just a few of the things your company relies on every day.
Through them, employees can work on the go and don’t have to stay glued to their desks. Plus, the tools they use take a lot of the menial tasks out of their to-do lists. Thus, your employees can focus on creative tasks that help your company grow.
The Creative Culture
A creative culture fosters collaboration. It’s an environment that facilitates brainstorming. You can create this kind of culture by designing your office to have things like magnetic whiteboards and creative meeting areas.
Make sure your team can quickly come together to collaborate. But also consider individuals who may want to work in quiet environments. You can cater to their needs by providing haven booths and high back sofas to reduce the noise to a minimum.
The outdoors should also reflect the company culture. Being boxed can make employees uninspired and tired. If you can arrange a small patio, terrace or even a balcony, do it. If there is no such space, bring some real plants indoors.
The Work-Play Culture
This type of culture is specific to office design for companies working with/for a younger generation. For them, work is an anytime, anywhere activity. The office design should, therefore, reflect this.
There should be a fun break space where employees can break away from work. It should also include fun office features like a table tennis equipment, a pool table, a gym, or basically whatever your employees consider fun.
How do You Design an Environment that Reflects Your Company Culture?
First, define what the company stands for, then design the workspace around this. The culture is rooted in needs. Do a checkup with employees to find out whether the culture is meeting their needs.
The environment should contribute to their productivity, emotional well-being, daily interactions, overall morale, and financial success. It should also set the stage for guest perception.
Examine your processes, your communications, experience, equipment, and management when analyzing office culture.
Understand your employee needs: Who are they? How do they work? What is their interaction with their surroundings and with each other like? How can you incorporate the office culture into the interior design?
If your employees have different tasks that require flexibility, collaboration, and designated spaces, update the office design with these in mind.
· Choose colours carefully and ensure the office has natural light.
· Bring the outdoors into the office by incorporating nature. Large windows and plants can positively improve employee performance, increase happiness levels, and reduce stress
· Allow employees to personalise their workspaces. It leads to employee retention.
· Make the employees feel at home even while at work with flexible workspaces, ergonomically designed furniture, clean areas, and sit and standing desks. Include office ambiance and spaces that adapt to the task at hand. This can consist of private workspaces, collaborative spaces, and break rooms.
When designing your office, ensure that the corporate culture and brand resonates in all the spaces. It should also make employees feel like their needs are valued and understood.
Remember to design with your employees and company in mind and implement a design that caters to company-specific needs.
