The bulk of your waking day is spent there. You see more of your desk buddy than your other half. Throw into the mix the changing face of company culture and rise of remote working, and it's never been more important to make people want to come into the office every morning.
So, how do you create the perfect office? We pulled up a chair with Benjy Meyer, co-founder of VenueScanner, Jane Millar, Office Manager at Crowdcube, and Fleur Colvile, Head Plant Consultant at Patch, to get their tried-and-tested tips on what makes their teams tick.
Know your team
“Understanding how your teams work and what they’re trying to achieve can really help you create the perfect office for them,” says Jane.
Whether they tend to work best in small groups or favour big collaborative meetings, learning what they need to create their best work should be your first step: “Creating environments where people can get away from each other as well as collaborate is key.”
Pay attention to detail
Not a huge budget? Not a problem. In Benjy's experience, it’s the small touches that make a big difference: “You can achieve a lot by just putting the essence of your brand into the decor."
Something as simple as having nice hand cream in the bathroom or a spot of greenery can do wonders – especially when you consider indoor air is 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. “Introducing just one tall plant into your meeting room will improve the air quality by about 25%,” explains Fleur. New leaf, anyone?
Fuel collaboration with food
Whether you make it a Monday breakfast to kick the week off or a celebratory Friday lunch to beef up the feel-good factor, a fed workforce is a fulfilled workforce. “Coming together even just once a week helps people feel like they’re getting something – and creates activity off the back of it”, says Benjy.
Don't stop there; taking that one step further and introducing engaging initiatives around mealtimes will maximise those key moments – something Jane can vouch for: “From choosing the food or picking the vendor, to having lunch buddies, getting people connected with the food makes them feel more involved.”
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