BY ANDREW JOHNSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR INTERMAIN In collaboration with Ray White Commercial
Creating an aspirational workplace that attracts and retains top talent is one of the primary objectives of business leaders today. Building a strong and attractive ‘employer brand’ is no longer just desirable, but a vitally important ingredient for business success. The ways companies are achieving this is diverse and varied, but in many cases, how they plan their office environment is central to their success.
Smart office design can help a company engage better with their staff, encourage better interaction and communication, support employee’s professional development and wellbeing and offer people more flexible ways of working – key aspects of some of the country’s best workplaces.
At Intermain, we have found that focussing on these five key areas can deliver the greatest impact:
GOOD COMMUNICATION
Well-informed staff feel engaged and focussed and a smart work place can facilitate this. For instance, positioning meeting rooms so they can be merged to accommodate larger staff gatherings means that face-to-face presentations and announcements can be made easily, even at short notice. Break-out areas across the work floor can facilitate more informal gatherings and central, open kitchens provide great informal gathering spaces to casually engage with staff.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Robust training and development programs have become a vital feature of preferred workplaces. Clever office planning will deliver flexible in-house meeting rooms that can accommodate different training formats. Our clients have also had great success by lowering dividers between workstations and moving to a more open format which allows junior staff to observe the way their more senior colleagues work. The learning opportunity this provides to younger ‘top talent’ is hugely attractive.
SOCIAL INTERACTION
Configuring your office space to encourage social interaction can deliver a great boost to staff morale and productivity. Just one way to do this is to position an open kitchen in the middle of their floorplate to create a central social zone that’s easily accessible to all areas of the office. This helps bring people together that wouldn’t otherwise pass each other during the day, creating greater camaraderie and sense of belonging. We also recently installed standing desks in walkways for a client, which encouraged staff to hold ad-hoc meetings as they passed by chance in the hallway. This had a huge impact on productivity because staff were able to make collaborative decisions more efficiently rather than wait for a fixed meeting time. This client reported an uptick in staff positivity who said they were able to get their work done far more effectively.
EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
There are countless ways an office can be designed to support the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of staff. Paying attention to air quality, good natural light and water quality are critical. Many of our clients are successfully integrating chill out zones and even meditation pods into their office scheme to give their staff areas for clear thinking and reflection. They are reporting huge benefits, not just in encouraging innovation but also in reducing stress related issues and conflicts in the workplace.
Forward thinking corporates are also exploring ways to provide healthy snack options for staff and encouraging them to do physical exercise. For example, many of our clients have successfully implemented adjustable sit/stand desks to promote employee comfort and fitness. According to their 2017 Report, research and consulting firm Great Place to Work ® Australia cited that 82% of top-raking companies for employee happiness had carried out ergonomic assessments of most, if not all workstations. The same report noted that 88% had provided bike racks, and indeed, at Intermain we are passionate about providing our clients with great end-of-trip facilities that truly encourage staff to cycle, run and walk to work or exercise during their lunch break.
FLEXIBLE WORKING
Is becoming commonplace at Australia’s most aspirational workplaces. Success starts with implementing the right technology in the office to facilitate remote work. Structuring the office to support agile working styles, such as providing communal work areas, ‘hot-desks’ and great locker systems helps to promote flexible working and has additional benefits of significantly lowering the real estate expenses for a company.
Andrew Johnson is Managing Director of Intermain, an established multi-skilled commercial fitout company focussed on excellent customer service and high quality building standards across building refurbishment, design and construct for corporate offices, ‘make-goods’, retail and hospitality. Intermain work nationally from offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and have one of the largest, state-of-the art joinery workshops in Australia. Visit intermain.com.au for more details.
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