Creating A Strong Company Culture – With An Office Design

Why A Business Should Create A Company Culture In An Office Design.

A company culture is something that recognises the shared beliefs, values, standards and attitudes that distinguishes the business and sets it apart from everything else. Establishing a culture will give the business a clear vision of how they would like people – both employees and clients alike – to view the company. It simply gives the business a good opportunity to set out what they expect from their employees, as well as understand how they can make a positive impression on clients.

In the past, it could be said that many businesses placed the needs of the company above the welfare of those who work for it. As the ones who make it successful, it's the employees who first and foremost, need to be looked after; after all, it is them who create the work that the business trades on. By creating an environment that is more inclusive for employees and geared towards their working practices, will make them feel more involved with the company and what it wants to achieve. Aside from helping to create a far more significant contribution from employees, in turn it also succeeds in leaving a positive impression on the clients they create the work for. This is why (unless your business consists of just you and technology!) building your business around people is vital.

Creating A Company Culture.

Creating a refined office design will, of course, greatly help with improving the environment and provide employees with the tools that they need. Before any work is done on improving the environment offered, you will first need to work out what you would like your business to say to your employees and clients and how it will relate to their wants and needs. Work out what your core values are and understand how they can be applied to the everyday workings of your business. In order to see your perfect office fit out vision come to life, you will need a working strategy behind it – otherwise, it will always be a vision and never a reality.

Here are some points to consider when thinking about your strategy in regards to creating a company culture:

• Be Transparent. One of the barriers to building a great culture in any workplace is, building barriers. Any good company culture will recognise the roles and responsibility of every single person who works for the business and how they can all positively contribute to its running. All employees should feel included in the thinking, responsibilities and strategies of the company and they all should feel like they can share their feedback or ideas, no matter the level of seniority or role involved.

• Empower Employees, By Bestowing A Sense Of Freedom. This empowerment of people, where they feel like they're able to share their ideas, isn't achieved by controlling every part of their role. By giving them a sense of freedom within their roles (that are able to fall within a general framework) employees are more likely to find their perfect way of working, helping them to feel empowered that they have control over their working life – no doubt creating unique and innovative ideas that they can contribute. Then, of course, the more freedom that people feel when they undertake their work, finding their own solutions to issues and executing them, the more they will feel connected to the business and the environment it has created for them.

• The Importance Of Downtime. Everyone needs a rest every now and then; burnout is very common amongst those people who work early and leave late every single day. Of course, it's the ideal scenario for employees to be industrious and hardworking, but in order to have them operating at 100%, a business needs to understand the importance of downtime and how it can produce employees that are fulfilled and are able to think clearly in their roles.

• Gauging Opinion of Employees and Clients. Creating a company culture that will inspire and impress employees and clients alike, will not be complete, of course, without understanding what they expect from the business. Whether it's the makeup of the environment, the facilities on offer and the structure offered by the business for staff, to what level of service clients expect – being aware of everyone's expectations will help to create the perfect bespoke culture.

• The Space Offered By The Office. The workplace of today is a flexible one and the ability to meet the different working needs of employees, should be at the very heart of any company culture. Whilst the introduction of open plan spaces in an office design can be great for some to communicate whilst undertaking their work, others may want a more private environment without any distractions. The bottom line is that if the business is able to attain a well-designed office space, the culture of the workplace will be enhanced. This can only help the business to succeed in reaching its goals. As such, undertaking a completely new office design, reimagining the interiors of your business, will help to fully-establish the company culture you've mapped out.

Improve Your Business Culture, With Oaktree Interiors.

Having spent many years operating within the office design industry, here at Oaktree Interiors, we know a thing or two about establishing the ideal company culture for any type of business. We have a proven track record of working with a wide array of companies to create an office fit out that takes into account the requirements of the business, its employees and its clients.

As part of our service, we are able to offer an absolutely-free, no obligation-required consultation service (including a 3-D representation of how your ideal office space would look). If you would like to learn more about this, as well as how a well-designed office can help to improve your company's culture, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our office design experts today. You can give us a call on 0845 474 3556 or you can send an e-mail to us at hello@oaktreeoffice.com.