Imagine living in a small, cramped and stuffy home with barely any natural light, uncomfortable furniture and uninspiring décor.
Chances are you wouldn’t be too happy living there. Your enjoyment, creativity and productivity would be stifled. You would most likely want to move.
This is the reality many employees face when they look to join a new company. While the job itself might sound appealing, often the office itself puts them off. This is true for millennials and Gen Z in particular.
To appeal to these younger yet highly skilled employees it’s imperative to reimagine your workspace. That’s why we’ve put together this simple guide to the steps you can take in order to attract and retain such talent.
THE BENEFITS OF INSPIRING WORKSPACE DESIGN
Your business has only seven seconds to make an impression on the best talent. What impression is your office creating currently?
Your workspace design communicates the values and culture of your business. Potential hires will take cues from their surroundings as to what matters to your business.
It’s not only new hires that take into consideration your workspace environment. 93% of workers say they’ll stay longer with a company that offers healthier workspace benefits such as ergonomic seating, standing desks, wellness rooms and more.
Attracting the best employees leads to increased innovation, productivity, and performance across your business. Meanwhile, increasing employee retention can cut recruitment costs by a significant amount. When you consider it costs an average of $9772 to $34,440 to replace an employee’s position, this benefit starts to sound a lot more appealing!
HOW TO REIMAGINE YOUR OFFICE WORKSPACE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT
A key to attracting and retaining talent in your business is your office environment. Nothing communicates your company culture more than your office design. Creating spaces designed to improve employee wellbeing and engagement will help you attract and retain the talent that your business needs. Here are some areas that we have found help create an office environment that employees will want to work in.
- Values & Culture
- Wellbeing
- Lighting
- Air Quality
- Health & Safety
- Sustainability
- Collaboration & Connection
- Smart Technology
- Workplace Trends
We’ll look in-depth at each of these.
VALUES & CULTURE
Reinforcing your company’s values and culture in the workplace and bringing the brand experience to life can help boost employee satisfaction and engagement. Designing your office space to suit the way people work and creating an engaging work environment will ensure that they feel welcomed and inspired.
WELLBEING
Now more than ever employee wellbeing is no. 1 for staff retention as well as productivity. Employees want to feel cared for and cared about with workspaces that are designed to support their different working needs including:
- Collaboration spaces to foster both formal and informal connection
- Quiet focus spaces to take calls, work or meet privately
- Recharge spaces to relax and destress
Design that considers air quality, lighting and nature has a significant positive impact on health and wellbeing as well as staff satisfaction. A Harvard study found that people who were exposed to nature while they worked experienced lower levels of stress and in return were more productive.
LIGHTING
Exposure to natural light helps elevate our mood, improve our concentration, and even sleep better. Despite these clear benefits, many employees are left sitting under fluorescents all day.
In a best case scenario, you’d have enough large windows to let plenty of natural light in throughout the day. However, this isn’t possible for every workspace, so we’ll look at some alternatives.
Starting with putting the fluorescents in the bin. Not only are they linked to migraines, but they’re also bad for the planet and your energy bills. Switching to LEDs is better for people, productivity, and the planet. LED lights can be dimmed to simulate natural light, which in turn boosts productivity throughout the day.
AIR QUALITY
Research shows that air quality within offices has a significant impact on employee productivity and health.
There are many actions businesses can take to improve air quality in offices. Installing an air filtration system and ensuring the office windows are open as much as possible are two of the most obvious.
Ensuring a clean workspace, free from dust and clutter and using green cleaning products free from harmful toxins also helps air quality.
Another great idea to improve air quality is to have a range of indoor plants within the office. Research has shown that within populated cities, indoor plants can improve the quality of air in residential homes, so commercial buildings can also benefit from this.
HEALTH & SAFETY
There are several factors to consider when it comes to employee health and safety within the office.
Of course, you want your workspace design to look amazing. But safety comes first. You need to ensure there’s enough room for everyone to work comfortably and that the space is free from potential hazards.
Your employees also need to be comfortable to work and the status quo of office furniture isn’t cutting it. Younger generations want to look after their health long-term with ergonomic options like supported chairs, adjustable and standing desks and kneeling chairs.
Other ideas to attract the best talent include fitness and relaxation options onsite, such as a wellbeing space, gym or yoga studio to encourage employees to take a break or engage in activities when it fits into their day.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability in the workplace has a positive impact on the environment, the business and is a key consideration for employees. Sustainability practices can be incorporated into office design and construction by optimising natural light and ventilation, energy efficiency and utilising eco-friendly furniture and furnishings. Ultimately reducing your carbon footprint and creating more satisfied and engaged employees that feel good about their work environment and the business they work in.
COLLABORATION & CONNECTION
A focus on the employee experience and personal connection makes working in the office a positive experience. Work environments that are designed to promote social and spontaneous interaction can lead towards more effective teamwork, creativity and ultimately a happier and more productive work environment.
SMART TECHNOLOGY
With a hybrid approach to working now the norm in many businesses, smart technology is more important than ever to stay connected and work together effectively no matter where employees are. Private booths with power and data integration, touch down zones and AV meeting rooms are essential to support virtual collaboration.
WORKSPACE TRENDS
We might like our offices to be as high-tech as Google’s and as sleek as Apple’s. Keeping up to date with modern workspace design and trends and collaborating with specialist designers can help you do this.
A word to the wise, though, not all trends are made to last. Just as claustrophobic cubicles now seem a world away, many modern trends will see the same fate. One of the best ways to ensure your workspace design will remain relevant for years to come is to consult with office interior design experts.
REDESIGN YOUR WORKSPACE
Redesigning workspaces brings significant benefits to employers, including increased productivity and employee retention. Businesses should consider values and culture, wellbeing, sustainability and technology considerations in any redesign.
Bowen Interiors is committed to creating inspiring office spaces that help you attract and retain the best talent to help your business thrive.
Contact us today to discuss your workspace design needs.
