Every day, you go to work in your office, but are you satisfied with it? As the year draws to a close, it’s a good opportunity to assess your productivity, personal well-being, and workplace culture, and make any required modifications. 

Redesigning your workplace is an important part of increasing productivity, changing culture, and enhancing welfare. Employee engagement, how you move through your day, and how you communicate with colleagues are all influenced by your workspace. Would a new table alone be enough to inspire more team meetings?

As part of a company culture where people are required to interact and work together, your staff must get involved in redesigning your office space because it’s where they spend most of their time.

It’s important to remember that modernizing your office doesn’t have to include a complete remodel.

Here are ways to involve your staff when redesigning your office space.

As you plan to do this, remember that there are lots of trends that you have to consider especially when everyone is going to participate. Remember that first impressions matter and your office atmosphere dictates the impressions. Your office space can include a communication space, room for creativity among others. That way when employees come in, it’s easy to tag along with the already set up office culture.

So many elements must be considered during the planning process. For example, when there is too much open space, productivity suffers because people are unable to concentrate. Too many bright colors might strain the eyes, and a homely environment can encourage complacency.

It’s also not mandatory to look the same as other offices. Today workplaces are incorporating relaxing rooms and game rooms. The trends are so many; it can be quite difficult to know what works for you. With the right team by your side, however, things are easier.

Consider the following when redesigning your office space

• Together evaluate office weakness

This depends on the size of your staff. Decide on how you’ll evaluate the office weakness. Will it be a discussion over lunch at a restaurant or do you prefer gathering everyone in the conference room for a meeting. That way you can bring up the subject of redesigning your office space.

Together with the team discuss whether you need more or less collaboration space? Is it possible for employees to be both creative and focused? Is there a time of day or a season when you seem to be less productive? If that’s the case, change up the layout of your office to get everyone’s attention.

When employees have some control over their work, they are usually more productive. Begin by asking your team members what they prefer and how they would like the workplace to be designed, and then invite everyone to participate in putting the concept into action. The sense of ownership will soar to new heights.

• Get feedback from everyone including outsiders

Find out what your friends and relatives like and dislike about their workplaces. The different industry has their own set of rules, and you’ll likely obtain some fantastic ideas from other locations.

After you’ve gathered ideas from friends and family, do some study online say on YouTube, or maybe watch TV. It may seem as though these channels are productivity killers but they may provide a wealth of information on how young professionals want to live and work.

You may even consider hiring a facilities management company. They can help your company by suggesting future facility needs. They also help with cleaning dirty windows, and floors among other things. Also for the office equipment, they can help with maintenance and repairs. Their services will even give your staff more time to focus on other activities.

• Plan a painting weekend. 

Another method to get the entire staff engaged in the decorating process is to have an open-invite paint weekend.

This technique will most certainly get your staff participating. Invite them to the office and even recommend them to carry their kid’s so they can help with painting the walls. The goal is for everyone to have a hand in their place while also contributing to the open spaces as a collective.

A painting weekend even serves as a team-building experience as people will all be working today.

• Let everyone pick out where they want to work.

Some team members enjoy open floor plans, while others prefer a more insulated environment. Low employee engagement could be caused by a lack of collaborative or quiet areas in your office.

Ask your staff what they think once again. Only minor alterations may be required—for example, one or two informal gathering spots or silent spaces—or the whole staff may despise the current office layout. In either case, giving your employees the option to choose their ideal workspace will boost engagement.

• Organize a graphic design roundtable.

A graphic design round table will allow staffing to discuss options and décor styles for our office space. Ensure to also invite a graphic designer who can be on-site and take in what you’ve discussed including décor styles for our office space. The team can share their visions which makes the meeting fun. It also allows staff to interact together in an unusual way which can spark creativity.

Final thoughts

Finally, redesigning your office, even if you have to start small, can boost employee engagement the actions you take to make your workplace more dynamic and engaging will be appreciated by your employees. When it comes to office upgrades it’s critical to strike a balance between a nice paint job and what your staff need. It will be worthwhile to put in the effort to build a motivated, productive team.

Remembered to be honest with your team. Your staff is intelligent and they can detect insincerity or deception on the part of executives. Nurturing authenticity and openness in the workplace promote employees to trust their boss and believe the organization is looking out for their best interests. 

James Montano