Every person you hire to work for your business has a unique set of skills, knowledge, and experience that assist you in reaching company goals. Despite their individual assets to your organization, it is ultimately an employee’s ability to collaborate and work well with others that prove invaluable to your brand. As such, business owners who want to harness their staff’s full potential and increase their chances of success must learn how to create an environment that inspires teamwork.
Though there are several strategies to develop stronger teams, one of the most efficient places to start is office design. When your employees have a safe, healthy, comfortable, and inspiring workspace, it boosts morale, enhances productivity, and ultimately encourages collaboration. Below is a look at some office design ideas that your employees are sure to appreciate.
Open Spaces
Open concept isn’t just a trend in residential properties; it’s also popular in business. When an office is closed off, it creates unnecessary barriers that cause employees to remain isolated. Essentially, having open spaces throughout the workplace helps to foster teamwork. When employees can easily see and hear each other, they’re more inclined to engage and collaborate with co-workers.
While privacy and quiet are necessary for specific business tasks, the best office designs balance open and closed spaces. Design an area where employees can come together. An open room with couches, comfortable chairs, dry erase boards, refreshments, and even flatscreens on a tv wall mount provides a fun and inviting space for employees to relax, have conversations, bounce ideas off each other, and work on company projects.
Inspiring Colors
The psychological connection between color and mood is too significant to ignore. Studies have concluded that the right combination of colors can spark creativity, productivity, and, most importantly, collaboration. When designing your office space, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to wall colors. Red, orange, and yellow evoke creativity, boost mood, and increase energy levels. On the contrary, blue, green, and tan are calming.
Incorporating a balance of these color palates into the workspace will garner the most positive results. Of course, it’s also essential to keep clients and corporate professionalism in mind. So, using traditional colors like black, gray, white, and navy (with a splash of color for individuality) in waiting areas, conference rooms, and individual offices works well.
Movable Furniture
It’s kind of hard for employees to collaborate on ideas and projects if the things they need are stuck in their office or cubicle. You can encourage teamwork and provide more flexibility to your teams by investing in moving furniture. When desks, chairs, filing cabinets, whiteboards, and other items are easy to relocate or adjust, teams can quickly create a workspace that is conducive to positive workflow and collaboration.
Whether they need to push desks together to provide more space for their laptops or gather their chairs in a circle for a brainstorming session, movable furniture ensures employees can do this without complication.
Natural Elements
When employees are at their best physically and mentally, they work more efficiently (individually and collectively). Employers have an obligation to ensure that they provide a work environment that enhances health and wellness. As such, incorporating natural elements into your collaborative office design can have a positive impact. For instance, access to natural light helps boost energy levels, improve morale, and increase productivity. On the other hand, indoor plants in the office help reduce stress, increase focus, purify the air, decrease noise levels, and foster creativity.
When employees work in a healthy environment that encourages better collaboration and productivity, they have an easier time tapping into their fullest potential and reaching company goals. Whether you’re searching for a new office or interested in making changes to an existing space, use the tips above to create a workspace that enables your teams to put their best foot forward.
Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.