Insights from the forefront of future of work thought leadership

There’s no use forcing a square peg into a round hole – and the same goes for your workplace.

Different people have different ways of working. This can be influenced by the era in which they were born (multigenerational workplaces), ethnicity, gender, personality, and a myriad of other factors. You might not understand why a certain employee works in a certain way but – if you want their best performance to enhance your office productivity – you need to respect these differences and accommodate them in your workspace design.

Think of it like this: Would you expect an introvert to work well when positioned in the middle of a noisy, open-plan office? How could a person accustomed to freelancing and choosing their own work times excel when inflexible hours are imposed on them? Why would you put a finance team or other employees requiring intense concentration in areas near the kitchen or meeting rooms?

Before you give even a moment’s thought to the design of your office, you need to first survey the personalities populating your space, as well as the personality types you wish to attract. Only then will you be equipped with the necessary insights to create a desirable workplace for your dream team.

Taking the personality test

There are several online testing tools that you can use to determine the personality types in your office space. One of the more popular methods is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) assessment, which defines 16 personality types based on preferences, differences and interactions in how individuals use their perception and judgement.

Of course, these are broad categories that don’t necessarily consider the many unique nuances of people. However, personality profiling can still be extremely helpful in providing evidence of how your office workspace design may be tailored to reality, rather than fantasy to best suit those in management.

If you are engaging a workplace transformation partner in your office space planning, this partner should assess the personality types in your office as part of their workplace strategy process and, consequently, create the corresponding design scheme. Once the personality profile of your office has been determined, you can then concentrate on creating the zones and workplace connectivity to meet your company’s unique culture and bring out its best.

Workplace designs tend to cater for extroverts, with an emphasis on interaction and collaboration. This is reflective of extroverts having the voices most likely to be heard. Typically, however, introverts are the majority personality type in any office – and catering for introverts may be particularly relevant in your workspace. Here are some useful behaviours to consider when working with introverts and extroverts.

How to care for introverts

1. Respect their need for privacy
2. Let them observe first in new situations
3. Give them time to think – don’t demand instant answers or interrupt them
4. Provide advance notice of any planned changes
5. Give them 15 minute warnings to finish what they are doing
6. Be mindful not to embarrass them in public
7. Teach them new skills or reprimand them privately
8. Enable them to find one best friend that has similar interests and abilities
9. Don’t push them to make lots of friends
10. Respect their introversion – don’t try to turn them into extroverts

How to care for extroverts

1. Respect their independence
2. Compliment them in the company of others
3. Accept and encourage their enthusiasm
4. Allow them to explore and talk things out
5. Thoughtfully surprise them
6. Understand when they are busy
7. Let them dive in
8. Offer them options
9. Make physical and verbal gestures of affection
10. Let them shine

Getting into the zones

One way of caring for both introverts and extroverts is to consider the way they will work in your workplace design across three main area types – collaborative, quiet and social.

1. Collaborative
   

   Areas that encourage conversation, interaction and creative brainstorming. These are meeting rooms or break-out areas, what would previously have been known as ‘the board room’.

2. Quiet

   Areas that are more intimate and removed from the main thoroughfare of the workspace so their inhabitants can concentrate without distraction. This is typically a private office or enclosed pod.

3. Social
   

   Areas that are designed for ‘time out’ and relaxing, as defined from the work zones.

While extroverts may be suited to collaborative and social zones, there will be times when introverts will benefit from interaction with others and extroverts will need the space to concentrate without distraction. Consequently, no personality type should be ‘locked’ into a specific zone but instead have the option to move around the entire workspace across the course of any given day.

For example, you might have full-time employees who are in the office eight hours a day but not always performing desk functions. They may choose to go to a quiet room to write a report for two hours, and then they might seek out a collaborative setting for a change of pace.

Who are your dream team? How do they like to work? What do you need to do to bring out the best in them? The design of your workspace is so integral to attracting and retaining talent that it could be the difference between success and failure. Considered design shows that you respect your people.

Axiom Workplaces takes the time to know you – and your dream team – to create the perfect office fitout.

Start a conversation today.

You might be looking around your office interior at this very moment and thinking it’s renovation time. But change for change’s sake is not the solution.

Many office refurbishment companies – including interior designers and other fitout specialists – will take a purely visual approach to enacting your commercial office refurbishment, without considering the unique culture and drivers of your business.

How can your culture be leveraged to promote staff wellness and workforce performance, attract and retain A-grade talent, and meet the demands of a multigenerational workforce and rapidly evolving technology?

Only by approaching your business from a 360-degree, multidimensional perspective will your new office fitout be a change worth making. That’s why you need to enlist the services of a workplace transformation partner, not just another office fitout company.

Here’s how a workplace change partner, the likes of Axiom, will dig deeper and deliver generously:

Insight

Many companies offering office refurbishment services will be quick to produce a design concept to wow and dazzle you. But there is a lot of discovery that should occur before even one single thought is given to the design of the office interior itself.

The right workplace transformation partner will spend the time getting to know your business and people to determine exactly what makes them special. All of this information will then be used to accentuate your strengths – or, alternatively and additionally, make improvements where they can be made – as part of the Ideation of your new office fitout.

Questions that might be asked:

• How do your employees prefer to work?
• Do they need to gather together or do they require quiet spaces or both?
• What sort of technologies are you using and where is your business headed in terms of agility and connectivity?
• How are you currently communicating across teams and how can this be further facilitated?
• Do you have high rates of absenteeism or employee churn?

The answers to all these questions should directly influence what occurs next in the Ideation phase.

The simple answer is ‘yes’.

As the war to attract, retain and develop top industry talent heats up, staying that extra step ahead of your competition has never been more important. And one powerful means of creating a compelling and highly attractive employee experience is in the workplace design itself. Namely, creating an inviting company culture to improve employee engagement and staff retention.

Susan Peters, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at General Electric, told Forbes she believes employee experience is taking the time to see the world through the eyes of the employees. She said, “In the last year, we have appointed a Head of Employee Experience and we are developing a strategy to create an employee experience which takes into account the physical environment our employees work in, the tools and the technologies that enable their productivity and learning to achieve their best at work.”

A 2016 study by Workplace Trends found, of the HR leaders who participated, 51 percent were dedicating more resources to improving their physical workspace. That percentage is sure to increase as workplaces engage more in employee engagement strategies like building loyalty through a prominent company culture.

A great example of how the physical environment helps drive employee satisfaction and engagement can be found at Medibank. Kylie Bishop, Executive General Manager, People and Culture at Medibank, told guests at the 2015 AHRI National Convention, 79 percent of staff at their state-of-the-art Medibank Place in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct reported working more collaboratively in just four months of moving into their new building. A staggering 70 percent of staff even purported to feel healthier.

Similarly at Qantas, Jon Scriven, Group Executive HR and Office of the CEO, said staff at the Flying Kangaroo’s new Mascot office stated 10 percent higher employee engagement levels compared to the Qantas average.

It’s important to adopt a philosophy that a workplace where people want to work is preferable to creating a space where people have to work. This philosophy also has a crucial role to play in how workspace design can help HR professionals in doing their job in sourcing and retaining talent. These objectives can be achieved by encouraging your organisation to develop a company culture for the benefit of its employees.

The modern workplace needs to enhance moods and make it easier for personnel to carry out the duties they are employed to perform. Consequently, effective workplace design helps improve productivity and reduce turnover by presenting design solutions that are exciting, enjoyable and practical. For example, incorporating spaces that facilitate group discussion and collaboration but, at the same time, provide options for staff who prefer ‘quiet time’ to concentrate help accommodate different personalities and the varying needs of a multigenerational workforce.

With employees working in more and more flexible ways, it’s increasingly important that the work environment helps to enforce brand and company values. The office is not just a place where work duties take place but one in which personnel should derive their identity and feel a sense of belonging. The physical landscape of the workplace is one factor that can contribute heavily to the identity of an employee and what it means to be part of a particular organisation.

As Jeanne Meister of Future Workplace noted when speaking to Forbes, “The workspace is not just a building but part of the HR agenda to extend the company’s culture and engage employees.” Creating a space that supports this will only have positive impacts on employee satisfaction, your organisation’s bottom-line and, ultimately, make everyone’s job a whole lot easier.

An office move or refurbishment represents an important step in the growth of your business, but it can also represent a significant expense – so it’s important to stay on top of your budget.

A well-planned budget will make every other aspect of your office relocation or refurbishment easier and help you avoid unexpected costs down the track. Of course, it’s often easier said than done, so we’ve put together some advice to help you prepare a detailed budget for your new workspace and stick to it.

1. Create a strategy

Develop a workplace strategy before searching for a property. It will help you define the kind of space you need and how to align your work processes to the physical environment. It will also assist you prepare a budget across several categories, from leasing and moving expenses to upgrading furniture and technology.

If you’re moving to another property, don’t forget to factor in the exit strategy from your current space. You may need to cover the costs of breaking a lease, repairing damage, disposing of items you no longer want etc.

2. Get multiple quotes

One of the first steps in the process is to get quotes from all suppliers involved in the project, from office removalists to stationery designers. Ideally get three quotes from each provider for comparison, and document all costs in a spreadsheet. Suppliers will provide quotes free of charge, so you can plan your budget and understand the financial impact of creating your new workspace.

You’ll also need to consider the design and refurbishment of your new office. We recommend budgeting an additional 20% above your planned costs, in case the unexpected occurs.