After the proverbial dust settles on a corporate move, it’s time to start setting up the workspaces within your new office. While it’s easy to just arrange everything as close to how it was at your last office, this is a waste of a good opportunity for designing a better system. Office relocation gives you a chance to start with a blank canvas. Use these tips to create cubicle spaces that drive company culture instead of stifling it.
Consider Collaboration Levels
First, consider how much each part of your team needs to work with others and plan your layout around their collaborations. For example, the marketing team will likely spend much of their team discussing current campaigns and brainstorming new ideas. Offering them an open layout that balances private spaces with a shared central hub can facilitate more sharing and easier communication. On the flip side, you should try more isolated work areas for employees that would only be distracted by coworkers trying to strike up a conversation.
Follow Company Culture Trends
How much does your internal culture emphasize interaction and camaraderie? If your employees thrive on spending time together during breaks or meetings, you need to encourage their cohesion by designing the cubicle spaces around their desires. Open office layouts are great for teams that feel like they can’t get their best work done without the flexibility to move around as needed. Of course, the same layout could be devastating to the productivity if your company culture emphasizes more separation between individuals or departments.
Encourage Creativity
Regardless of how open or closed your layout is, you can always work in features that encourage employee creativity. Even the support staff can do a better job when they feel inspired by their environment. Some of the most reliable ways to boost creativity in the workplace include:
- Positioning the workspaces to give a view of the windows, or hanging large screens to display nature scenes.
- Offering more opportunities for decorating and personalizing each workspace, like adjustable privacy panels and colorful fabric covers.
- Allowing employees to rearrange shared meeting and workspaces as necessary to fit their needs.
Separate by Department
Don’t forget that some parts of your company will benefit from having their own private spaces. Keeping your programmers or product designers together in a semi-private department allows them to build a subculture and get more done by focusing solely on their department’s responsibilities. Save the shared areas for break time if you need some of your departments to buckle down and power through challenges without distractions.
Before you start packing that moving truck, contact us here at Expert Relocation Systems to learn more about how to set up a productive office. We’ll do whatever we can to keep you on track during your next corporate or office move.