Then there are clients and other visitors who may visit the property; first impressions are vital and they need to feel that they have arrived at the company, rather than at some generic set-up that doesn't give them an insight into its culture.
Whilst in smaller firms, understanding and rolling out a company culture that will suit everyone will be relatively straightforward, in larger organisations, it may prove a little trickier. Bigger firms will have a large workforce, many of whom may have completely different working styles. This could be because of different working hours, office location or the different management teams they work under. These employees will fall into their own groups, meaning that any large business will likely end up with multiple cultures to cater for and in turn, this all will impact the way the office refurbishment needs to be designed.
This shouldn't be seen as a negative thing; a situation in which diversity is the driving factor gives business leaders the opportunity to better define a singular goal for the company – one that will work to unify all of the various cultures of different departments and teams.
The different office cultures
There are many ways to design an office based on the culture of the company. Like we've mentioned, it all depends on the requirements of the workforce and the direction in which the company wants to go. Here are a few company culture ideas that a business could use:
- Productive Culture . Technology is key in growing productivity in today's world. Employees will benefit from having easy access to the tools they need that allow them to work and communicate more efficiently. A flexible office, combining the need for collaboration zones and quieter areas can be achieved with the addition of high-quality Wi-Fi, docking stations, touchscreens and charging points.
- Creative Culture . Creativity and innovation are interlinked with collaboration. As a result, providing facilities for creative employees to get together is an important element in building a creative culture. Providing them with things like magnetic whiteboards, glass partitions and biophilic elements will help to create an inventive meeting area. Then there are the acoustics; it's important to have an area in which the team can get together to share their ideas but it shouldn't work to disturb other people (or teams) who need to work away from noise. Using high-back sofas, moveable partitions or haven booths are a particularly great way to keep noise to a minimum in any open plan office design.
- 'Work and Play' Culture . For the upcoming generation of employees (known as ' Generation Z ') work may be seen as an 'anywhere at any time' activity; a thought created by the flexibility in the technology they have grown up with. This culture requires an office refurbishment to provide them with an opportunity to 'break away' from the stresses and strains of work and allow them to recollect their thoughts doing something else – hence the 'play' aspect. This is why facilities such as breakout and games rooms, bar and television areas are becoming common in many offices; they provide the opportunity for them to take that break, detaching them away from work to recollect their thoughts and provide themselves with a morale boost.
It's important to remember that there is no 'one size fits all' solution to the perfect office culture; it all depends on the space that the business has to work with. This is why any business hoping to get the most out of their office interiors and the expectations of their employees, need to turn to a professional office refurbishment company.
