Do I Need to Consider Design and Strategy in My Office Furniture?
As a business owner, you may also be asking yourself: Do I need to consider design and strategy in my office furniture?
The answer is: Yes, considering design and strategy in your office furniture directly impacts productivity, employee well-being, and brand image. Smart, well-planned spaces boost focus, comfort, and efficiency.
Many of us think of chairs, desks, and files as merely items to fill space, when these seemingly simple choices can significantly impact team productivity, brand identity, and even job satisfaction.
Expanding the office footprint and hiring new employees is an exciting time of growth for any business. As the business owner or leader of the organization, however, be aware that you don’t fall for the generic ideology of replicating the same ‘tried & true’ office footprint.
Or worse yet, following the latest trend, like switching to an open office space, regardless of whether it is the right fit for your organization or not. This is where the work environment or office design comes into play.
Work environment design is a concept that many misunderstand; consequently, an inadequate look and feel of the workspaces still prevails. Headcount per square foot formulas are what often drives workplace design decisions and budgets.
This approach often results in subpar workplaces that cram employees into cube farms, which leads to the hidden cost of low productivity.
Ineffective human interactions and, ultimately, high turnover are what we have experienced in uninspiring and poorly designed workplaces. One study found that many office workers spend more time sitting than retired people.
This constant sitting can lead to an unproductive mental fog and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.
In this article, we explore why and how these two elements play a key role in the success of your workspace.
What do your employees need?
Today, employees’ needs are evolving, as are their expectations of the environment in which they want to work.
Companies benefit when a vibrant, multi-activity, sensory office design and fast communication technology balance with the preferences of multi-modal engagements by employees and customers within the space.
Work is no longer just “a place where we go,” it is “what we do.” The workforce of today is agile, virtually mobile, and collaborative.
Employees use the workspace differently, but organizations still frequently provide workspaces that will sit empty when employees are in meetings, teleworking, in the field, or on vacation.
Companies are paying substantial sums for individual spaces they are not using, while the call for collaborative space is at an all-time high and still growing.
Have you thought, in your business, of strategically creating an engaging and active environment for your workplace with inputs and buy-in from your teams, understanding their preferences first?
You may wonder how leadership can determine the best course of action when expanding the workplace footprint. My advice is a two-fold approach addressing the project’s needs:
- Workplace Strategy
- Workplace Design
1. Workplace Strategy: The Foundation of a Successful Office
We define this first step as a dynamic alignment of the organization’s goals, workflow patterns, culture, and visual identity of the company with the work environment to enable peak performance and reduce costs. A customized workplace strategy is our preferred way to set successful workplace projects apart from costly ones that don’t produce results.
Workplace strategy does not end with the arrangement of desks and chairs; it is a comprehensive and purposeful planning that must be in line with organizational goals, company culture, and workflow.
This strategy identifies how workspaces can support people and processes to achieve the best performance.
- Alignment with organizational goals: If your company’s goal is creativity and innovation, the workspace should be designed to be open, flexible, and inspiring.
Conversely, if the organization’s focus is on precision and high concentration, the design should prioritize privacy and silence.
- Adapting to organizational culture: A culture that emphasizes collaboration requires team spaces, shared desks, and diverse meeting rooms.
Whereas a more formal culture may require private, structured offices.
· Workflow Compatibility: A successful workplace strategy should align with the way employees work, such as providing appropriate spacing between related teams, quick access to needed tools, and designing efficient movement paths.
Benefits of a Customized Workplace Strategy
A workplace strategy that is specifically designed to meet your organization’s needs can have a significant impact on performance, costs, and employee satisfaction.
Here are some of the most important benefits:
- Increased Productivity and Cost Reduction: According to research, companies that have an effective workplace design strategy experience up to 20% higher productivity.
Also, an optimized design can greatly save on operating costs, including reducing the need for unused spaces and improving energy consumption.
Considerable cost savings are associated with the real estate portfolio, due to space-reduction opportunities and altered workspace standards.
Flexibility and efficiency in the use of office space that was once dedicated, often unoccupied, and expensive, predictably leading to a twenty to fifty percent improvement in asset performance
- Improved Space Efficiency and Flexibility: By carefully defining workflows and utilizing space properly, the workplace can adapt to team or organizational changes more quickly and effectively.
This means that every square meter is used properly, and the spaces have the ability to be transformed into different uses for meetings, concentration, collaboration, and relaxation.
Flexibility of choice for employees to be their most productive in a variety of work settings.
- Employee Choice and Autonomy: When employees can choose where and how they work, such as between a fixed desk, an open space, a breakout room, or remote work, they feel more in control of their work.
Research has shown that this level of work autonomy can greatly increase job satisfaction and play a significant role in reducing turnover rates.
- Enhanced Collaboration and Innovation: Creatively designing spaces like open collaboration areas, brainstorming rooms, and informal touchpoints like break rooms can increase interaction between teams and create more opportunities for creativity and innovation.
Companies with higher internal collaboration also tend to offer more innovative products or services.
Increased opportunities for face-to-face and virtual collaboration, nurturing the belief that the role of the “office” is to support interactions that facilitate vital business priorities such as knowledge sharing, innovation, and speed-to-market.
We tailor the workplace strategy to the business outlook, then we drill down to the needs of its occupants and visiting customers. We are specifically looking for engagement, along with enabling their buy-in and consensus toward a change that fits within the company’s culture.
This stage also addresses and analyzes future behaviors in the way we work, collaborate, and innovate – that’s where you find the most significant return on investment. The physical work environment – buildings, private offices, cubicles, open desking, meeting rooms, quiet rooms, maker’s spaces, brainstorming hive – the right mix, has a significant effect on people’s behavior and performance.
How to Develop an Effective Workplace Strategy?
Creating an effective workplace strategy requires foresight and professional consultation.
This process does not end with just choosing furniture or arranging the space, but must be designed based on a detailed understanding of the organization’s needs and behaviors.
- Analyzing Future Needs and Behaviors: The first step is to examine where your business is headed.
Do you foresee future employee growth?
Is your working style moving more towards hybrid work?
And also ask yourself what types of interactions between teams are common and what needs to be strengthened?
By answering these questions, you can understand what types of spaces are needed, flexible spaces, focus rooms, or social areas.
- Importance of Consulting with Specialists: Although some changes may seem simple on the surface, designing a successful workplace strategy requires expertise in various areas such as interior design, environmental psychology, human resources, and space management.
Consulting with experts in these fields helps to avoid costly mistakes and use the available space more efficiently.
They also provide solutions that align with the company’s culture and goals.
Ultimately, a successful strategy must be based on data, experience, and a deep understanding of the organization’s future of work, not on appearances or fleeting trends.
2. Workplace Design: Translating Strategy into Reality
The workspace strategy informs us how to develop an office design master plan.
Once the workplace strategy is properly defined, the next important step is to implement it through design.
Workplace design should serve as a tool for implementing organizational strategy.
A master plan is a strategic roadmap for designing the workplace.
This plan includes key decisions about how the space will be used, the types of spaces, the layout, and anticipating future needs.
A comprehensive plan ensures that every design element aligns with business goals, organizational culture, and employee productivity.
This will include choosing the appropriate visual and functional solutions, like:
Furniture and Furnishing Selection
Workspaces designed for and around people are most likely to be flexible, comfortable, and support productivity over time.
This is due to taking into account the needs and limitations of those who occupy them.
Sit-stand desks, ergonomic office chairs with various adjustments, and shared and modular desks allow employees to change the environment according to their needs and work style.
Also, choosing furniture with high-quality materials is a long-term investment that reduces maintenance costs and prevents rapid wear and tear.
Workplace Acoustics
Noise is a common issue in most workplaces.
Interestingly, it can both enable and disable productivity based on individual preferences and the kind of work being done.
The key is enabling employees to control the noise by providing access to rooms with doors and acoustical separation when needed.
The use of acoustic panels, movable walls, and sound-absorbing materials in the design helps to increase concentration and reduce environmental noise.
Creating spaces such as focus rooms, call pods, or small meeting rooms is essential for performing tasks that require high concentration.
Demountable walls
Demountable walls are perfect for creating a great variety of spaces where none existed, and can also assist with noise control.
These walls allow companies to adapt the physical structure of the space to organizational growth or changes.
In addition to dividing space, demountable walls also help improve acoustics and employee privacy.
Intelligent Lighting
Typically, a mix of both natural outdoor lighting and indoor lighting is most conducive to a worker’s ability to stay alert.
The sensory change and variability are also important because a lack of visual stimulation can dull the senses.
Natural light increases alertness and positive mood.
Along with that, adjustable artificial lighting for specific tasks and ambient lighting must be properly combined.
The right lighting for any type of activity, such as meetings, individual work, or relaxation, increases productivity and comfort.
Psychology of Colors in the Workplace
How people perceive color can vary due to their culture and life experiences.
However, there are some common thoughts about how color is most likely to be perceived, be it overtly or subliminally, in the workplace.
For example, Brighter colors are associated with higher focus and work accuracy, while softer blues promote calm and clear creative thinking.
Colors should reflect the brand personality while also being in harmony with the function of the space.
Material Selection
Material selection will affect employee comfort can provide visual stimulation while reflecting a company’s brand.
Durability is also a consideration that can save money in the long term.
High-quality materials such as natural wood, brushed metals, or textured fabrics can both convey a sense of luxury and professionalism and be consistent with the brand’s philosophy.
Using durable, eco-friendly materials not only reduces long-term costs but also demonstrates the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
Integrating Design and Strategy for Sustainable Success
The right combination of design and strategy, in addition to creating a beautiful space, plays a vital role in the long-term success of the organization.
However, implementing this approach comes with challenges that need to be managed properly.
- Budget: Quality, strategic design may seem expensive at first.
Focusing on long-term investment by choosing durable furniture will reduce maintenance costs, increase employee productivity, and reduce turnover rates, resulting in a return on investment.
Implementing the project in manageable phases can also reduce financial pressure.
Instead of doing all the office design and renovation changes at once, divide the project into several smaller phases and implement each phase separately and at different time intervals.
- Time: Design changes may cause temporary disruption to daily activities.
Careful planning, phased implementation, and the use of quick solutions such as modular walls or portable furniture can minimize downtime.
- Resistance to Change: Employees may resist changing the space or working methods.
Involving employees in the design process and getting feedback from them increases their sense of ownership and better acceptance of changes.
It is also essential to educate and inform them.
- Measuring Success: To measure the success of your workplace design and strategy, you need to evaluate the return on investment (ROI).
To do this, you can examine indicators such as employee productivity, reduction in absenteeism or resignations, and the rate of optimal use of space.
You should note that a workspace designed based on the correct strategy increases employee motivation and morale.
It also promotes better focus and creativity, helping businesses retain and attract talented employees.
Ultimately, a proper strategy improves overall business performance.
Workplace strategy and design can seem overwhelming
Although the choices are endless, having the vision and strategy in place first, along with the right office design map, will ensure success.
The execution of the project then lies with trusted partners, such as office furniture vendors – Collaborative Office Furniture, who bring an extensive array of affordable furniture options to create a compelling design. The furniture, furnishings, and demountable walls are all highly visible elements resulting from a successful design customized to the business’s needs. Visit the link to view our Commercial Interior Design Services.
Our aim, with design and its strategy, is to set up your company for improved productivity in the workplace. This is done by distinguishing physical space as a visual and physical ‘broadcast tool’ for your brand in the eyes of both your employees and customers. So if you are googling terms such as “Office furniture near me“, just stop today and give us a call!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is strategy and design needed even for a small office?
Yes, even small offices can benefit greatly from a workplace strategy.
By carefully examining the work needs and team culture, choosing the right furniture, and using space wisely, such as multi-purpose desks, high productivity and significant cost savings can be achieved.
What role does ergonomic office furniture play in productivity?
Ergonomic furniture, such as adjustable chairs, height-adjustable desks, and monitor arms, reduces physical pain and discomfort.
Studies show that such equipment can increase productivity by 20–30% and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders by up to 60%.
How can I set a budget for my office design?
Identify all potential furniture, construction, consulting, installation, and maintenance costs to budget.
Align design goals with the budget to control additional costs.
John Ofield is the owner of Collaborative Office Interiors. Houston’s trusted source for modern and commercial office furniture, office cubicles, demountable walls, office desks and tables, and complete workspace solutions. With more than 40 years of experience, he combines deep product knowledge with hands-on space-planning expertise to create ergonomic, productivity-focused work environments for businesses across Southeast Texas.
