With the rise of the awareness in environmentally sustainability and workplace health and wellness comes a wave of employees who seek energy-efficient and eco-friendly workplaces that support their needs.
Smart companies have already recognised this fact. Workplaces are more than just a cubicle with the resources that your employee needs to work – carefully designed workspaces can contribute to any progressive business strategy. Research has long found that office environments can influence productivity, work engagement, mental health, and efficiency within your workers. An office space designed to fit your brand and culture also impact on your image with shareholders, investors, as well as your internal work culture.
All of these can impact on your company’s bottom line.
With the world rapidly being transformed by technology, work access is becoming more and more flexible. The internet enables and promotes changing attitudes towards working in offices and staying in inflexible jobs. More and more companies are also struggling with employee retainment, as more and more new talent are attracted to freelancing to make a living.
Providing flexibility, in a comfortable environment that actively supports sustainability and energy-saving strategies, is only one of the many ways a workspace can help keep employees within your company.
Sustaining business strategy and employee needs: A brief guide
Saying all of this is well and good – but how would you start balancing your business and employee needs?
That’s where business strategy comes in. What type of work culture and behaviours are you trying to promote? Does your office drive engagement, fulfilment and productivity, or does your fitouts and design choices drive stress and distraction instead? Maybe your office right now looks very industrial and bland – and you wish to bring it some personality. This relates to your company brand – what branding do you want your clients to understand when they visit your office? Furthermore, if you’ve been focused on retaining talent, you can ask questions such as how can you incorporate mobility and flexibility in your workplaces while keeping your spaces as multi-purpose as possible.
Retain Talent with end of trip and food preparation areas that delight
To retain talent – businesses are increasingly creating work environment that encourage better, healthier and more affordable working environments. Two ways is
- End of trip facilities
- Food preparation areas
End of Trip Facilities are very popular for urban offices when employees ride, walk or run to work and have the facilities to change and prepare for their working day. The City of Sydney knows that the way we move around our city is changing. Businesses are looking for ways to increase productivity, keep staff active and get them from A to B efficiently. Food Preparation areas keep staff on premises away from the hustle and bustle, it can provide a social hub within your organisation, and it can save money on take-away lunches and encourage healthier eating.
Strategic Goals and Business Strategy
Identify your business goals and business strategy – and match them up with how you can empower them with your workspace.
Another great step to take is to ask your employees what they need. What do they need in their daily work that you currently don’t have in the office? Empower your employees and let them feel engaged and wanted in the process by allowing their input on workplace decisions. Perhaps your office has become too cramped, or the lighting your commercial building has provided is too bright? Make plans that cater to your business needs that also includes their input to create the best synergistic workplace solution.
Considering office sustainability from the outset is a great design choice. Implementing energy-saving solutions, water features, plants, reclaimed building materials, recycling and tracking energy-use as early as possible will help shape your organisation’s directives and goals from the outset. Using these early can also help your organisation meet their energy and sustainability goals.
Project Managers
We design – Construct -Deliver
Don’t hesitate to engage in a team of professionals like SB Projects that can help you clearly assess these needs. All of these questions can be daunting, but workplace professionals and specialists are equipped with the latest research and industry expertise to help you gain the office of your dreams at a budgeted price. Let us help bring the business plans and goals that you’ve drawn into reality, and leave them to balance workplaces budget, design, planning and change management.
And in the end, accept that the average office refurbishing cycle is approximately every 4 years or so. Technological needs, new research, your business outgrowing your office, competing for the best conditions to retain top talent, and the changing market will always restart this cycle over and over again. This is an inevitable process, as time rolls by and your office builds wear and tear.
Be adaptable and keep an open mind, and accept change as it comes. Progress is important, and when the time rolls by it might be another chance to dive into a new opportunity to revamp your image and culture to the times. So be bold, and take the best advantage of them as you can!
