How to transform an empty box into a workspace that reflects your company culture
How our workspaces reflect company culture
There’s no reason your office needs to be beige, cream, or off-white. Don’t look at your workplace as somewhere to sit, work, and eat. It’s a blank canvas that can be transformed to reflect the values of your brand while embracing the unique company culture of your business.
Passion breeds productivity.
Create the ideal space that will spark the passion of you and your team every day you come into work. A boring workplace could be a successful workplace, certainly. But why be bland when it could be so much more?
Here are some considerations you should make when looking to transform office space. If you’re looking for changes, these will definitely inspire you and help you design an office that reflects your company culture.
Team surveys
Take advantage of the clear-cut information surveys will bring you. If you don’t know what your employees want out of their workspace, use a survey to find out.
You can’t read minds, but by giving everyone an opportunity to have a say in the office interior design, you allow a greater sense of connection to the employees and the business.
A democratic decision-making process makes your employees feel valued and will make them feel at home in an office that they had a say in designing. Read on to learn more about how we co-create with our clients.
Brand values
Showcase the values of your brand in the office space design. If family and community are important to the company, consider a play place for visiting kids or a dedicated place for nursing employees.
Infuse the phrase “practice what you preach” into your office interior design. Consider how you can best facilitate brand values throughout the office and add what you can to reflect them. It may just be art pieces or décor items, but as long as the message comes across loud and clear, it’s working.
Company culture
Allow the company culture to influence the office space design. If your team is tight-knit and nerdy, it would benefit to have a room they can play games or talk. Cater to the tastes of your artists in the art your choose or the sculptures you dot around the office.
A laid back, drinking culture is going to call for a different space than that of introverted techies. By leaning into what best attracts and pleases your team, you’re already set-up for design success.
Space planning
It’s important to plan out where each department should be. If you have customer services representatives on the phone near management or meeting spaces, the chatter will quickly become a problem. Do you have inventory that needs its own room while you look for a warehouse? Can human resources and accounting share an office or should they be separate?
Take the time to answer these questions before you blaze ahead with the office interior design. Once everyone and everything has its place, it will be much easier to design around.
Color use
Use this office space design opportunity to reflect your brand. It’s important that you represent your brand, but you will need to understand what colors work well and how to tone down certain colors (like bright reds) that are too distracting. This is where an office interior designer comes into play.
Office experience
Filling your office with cubicles and closed doors when you want a sense of collaboration misses the design mark. Think about what kind of experience people should have within the space and design to meet it.
An open design with flexibility and partitions would better convey a feeling of openness. Modern office design is all about openness and making the office feel like home.
How do you want people to feel when they step through the company doors? Focus your office interior design on the aspects that make your employees happy and feel like they are at home.
Meet employee needs
Do you want to provide food and drinks for your employees? You’ll need a fridge, maybe some cabinets or a pantry if the team is large enough. What about a lunchroom? Is it just a place for people to heat up food in the microwave or have they expressed interest in having a space to hang out on break? That could mean a pool table, foosball table, or some other way for employees to blow off steam.
Don’t discount the needs of your employees. A little can go a long way in the eyes of your team. Always see what you can do for them and they’ll be happy to give you their best.
Atmosphere
Metal and heavy wood invoke a different atmosphere compared to leather and soft fabrics. Bright, bold colors evoke feelings that muted tones don’t. Various textures, objects, and furnishings can all change the mood of your office. What atmosphere do you want to instill in the company workplace?
Improve your company culture today – contact Space Refinery
The Space Refinery team is ready to help. If you’ve got your eyes on a new office, we can help make it your space.
Elevate Your Brand
The company brand isn’t only business cards and a logo. Its values, goals, and beliefs are reflected in the products and services it provides, the employees, and, yes, even the office interior design.
