Office & Warehouse Design For Efficiency
Companies are always looking for new ways to innovate and engage their employees. Offering beautiful work space and functional office designs are some of the best ways to spark productivity. Intelligent design can provide efficiency by boosting morale and creating an effective, yet comfortable environment for you and your employees.
The recent declining growth rates, and aging workforce has created a shortage on talent. In order to retain top talent, companies will need to support their employees wants and needs. This might mean revising benefits to include flexible at-home working hours, agile work spaces for more collaboration, and other creative “out of the box” perks that will keep employees happy and engaged throughout the work day.
In addition to offering the right benefits, office and warehouse design can transform your entire company, helping to reach new heights. Here are a few trends in work place design that can boost productivity, and give your employees a better space to succeed!
Collaborative Workspaces
Agile workspaces are becoming more and more popular for companies to increase their collaborative efforts with teams. The joined work spaces are great for employee interaction and promoting creativity through diverse methods. This type of space can move ideas or concepts forward more quickly. The first step to a collaborative workspace is to replace cubicles with larger desks, which accommodate more people. Another great idea is to add in some informal lounge areas that will promote spontaneity and brainstorming. These workspaces get people out of the figurative “box” or “cube” and allow for a free-flow of ideas. Interaction between different teams and groups that don’t typically work together is also a key to this type of arrangement. By knocking down the walls, it will open up the physical space, but also reach new limits in the imaginative and intellectual spaces.
Multipurpose Spaces
Multi-purpose spaces can help to engage employees’ full creativity. In the professional domain, most people tend to act in a conservative manner. By integrating spaces that can promote playfulness, employees will feel more comfortable to open up and build a deeper sense of community. By taking advantage of the vertical space within your building, you can put in white boards, or use glass markers to help foster “spur of the moment” ideas and communication.
Involve spaces that can serve as a playful area to mingle, recharge, and relax a bit while at work. Some companies may have amenities such as basketball courts, ping-pong tables, or even fully-stocked kitchen areas that promote community. If employees are happy and able to feel relaxed while at work, they’ll tend to be more efficient in the long run. A stress-free attitude will lead to more creativity and innovation.
Bringing Nature Indoors
Biophilic designs are booming throughout the world, focusing on bringing more outdoor qualities into the indoor workplace. Human beings spend a majority of their time indoors, essentially leading to a yearning feeling for the outdoors. The cover story for “Outside Influence”, highlights the effects of the environment on the people. Rick Ames, principal with Next Phase Studios, states that “public awareness of the built environment is higher than it has ever been…it’s spawned a new school of thinking about how to introduce humanism and design– so that sustainability isn’t just about the features of a building but about how it affects the people in it.”
By incorporating aspects of nature into the interior of our workplaces, it brings people closer to their desires and builds a healthier atmosphere in the meantime. Window access, natural light, vegetation, natural fibers and certain fabrics can increase employees’ happiness and overall sense of well-being while indoors and at work. Studies have shown that employees feel emotionally healthier and focused when plants are present in the work place. This can improve efficiency by as much as 12 percent!
Fostering Company Culture
Most important for the workplace, is to promote a community culture. Office and warehouse design reflects your company’s identity and is the first impression for new employees. The design can generate empowerment for your employees as well as encourage members of your team to take risks and reach out creatively. Encouraging employees to personalize their space and highlight achievements, brings the team closer together. Praise and recognition can work wonders to increase overall productivity. Not only does recognition foster more of the same achievements, it can also help improve happiness, retention, and safety records!
Privacy
Despite the mass exodus of the cubicles in office life, employees are also in need of private space. Some forms of work requires a door, with a private space to write notes, make a phone call, or do research without interruptions. Make sure that this type of space is available for employees. The space doesn’t need to be large, a small pod or rest station can suffice. Google campuses across the world take a privacy pod to an entirely new level. In Zurich for example, private meeting rooms are egg-shaped pods. Not to mention Google’s free lunch, tea service, and rooftop office putt-putt.
The workplace is changing. Stay ahead of the curve to increase employee productivity and overall efficiency. When planning your office or warehouse redesign, consider the type of talent you wish to acquire. K & K Technical can use the same types of design strategies to help a manufacturing facility redesign assembly lines and technical processes, to become more efficient. We can also help you find talented professionals and skilled technical staff. When both the workplace design, as well as the team within the workplace are a perfect fit, the efficiency of your business can take flight and prosper.
