Designing the office space
August 28, 2008
The physical working space of an organisation has big effect on the corporate image of the Company for clients, but can also affect the happiness, productivity and general effectiveness of the workforce. When re-designing an office space or relocating to new premises, the look, feel, layout and general comfort of a place needs to be carefully considered so that the company portrays the desired image, or even ‘brand’ to clients and employees, whilst at the same time ensuring staff have the most appropriate working environment in order for them to feel safe and satisfied in their work.
What image are you trying to portray?
The office says a lot about the type of business to customers, and is clearly an important factor in portraying the purpose and ethos of the company. Whilst you may see antique desks and big leather chairs in a legal practice or in a Director’s office in a company with quite old fashioned hierarchies or values, a more fresh and modern look is probably appropriate in newer industries such as media or internet related companies.
The other side to this is the image you are portraying to employees. If you wish to break traditional hierarchies and reflect a flatter, more open and democratic ethos, then managers and employees should have similar furniture and if possible, sit in the same open space. Open plan offices are now more common with different organisational structures meaning that better and more frequent cross-team communication is required.
In a previous role of mine the external and internal image threatened to clash at one point. This was a non-profit organisation which had resided in a grotty old building for years, employees were squashed in, the age of the building meant that the central heating was dodgy, the lighting was terrible and the floors were so uneven you sometimes found your chair sliding to one side at your desk. Then the company relocated to a brand new office which was spacious and airy, modern and had huge windows which provided fantastic light. Obviously this was a great change for the employees, but I remember at the time people worrying about the message that was sent out to funders and partners with a non-profit organisation moving to a swanky office space that was also occupied by interior designers and architects, and was obviously expensive. The fears never materialised and everyone could see what a difference a good working space made to the staff, but the story just goes to show how office image can have an effect on organisational image.
Lots of organisations use their office space as a continuation of their corporate brand, by selecting a colour scheme and style that reflects the themes of the company logo, published materials or company website. This is a good way of cementing the company brand and image, but beware, because if the company decides to have a re-branding exercise or becomes part of a merger/acquisition, this could turn into quite a costly exercise to change!
So, designing an office space isn’t straightforward. It’s a matter of getting the balance right between an external corporate image and an internal image that reflects the desired ethos of the company, as well as ensuring the space is ergonomically well designed so that employees are kept safe, healthy and productive.
Have you been involved in an office design exercise? What were the different issues you faced and what did you end up doing?
Things to consider:Clean and Tidy provide Office Cleaning London at great prices
For image manipulation come to us.
new Leather Ottoman
Buy quality work benches on line
Swivel Tecliner Clairs available from http://www.oriental-leather.com
Comments
Got something to say?