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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Almost half of candidates have said that the room where they were interviewed for a job would
infl uence their opinion of whether or not to work there. This confi rms, says Mark Phillips, MD,
K2 Space, why the workplace should not be viewed as an infl exible cost centre but rather a
space that can have a huge impact on productivity, staff retention and talent attraction
O ice design has evolved at a
rapid rate over the past decade,
moving from a traditional focus
on functionality and maximising
headcounts to becoming an
increasingly sta -centric exercise.
Today, companies endeavour to
create work environments that cater
to the needs of all sta , be they
functional, personal or even emotive.
This concept has gained such traction
that a recent study by Deloitte
(Global Human Capital Trends)
revealed 79 per cent of executives
rated workplace experience as a
critical issue to improve productivity
and enable growth.
Furthermore, research of 150,000
employees worldwide by Leesman -
regarded as the world’s largest measure
of workplace e ectiveness - found that
only 55 per cent of respondents feel that
the design of their workplace enables
them to work productively.
This tallies with new research from
London o ice design company, K2
Space, who worked with YouGov to
survey 1,000 UK o ice based workers
and found that over 30 per cent of
respondents felt that their current o ice
was dated, uninspiring and in need of
a complete refurbishment. This survey
also found that one in five respondents
felt that they would be more productive
in a better-designed workplace.
Increasingly, companies strive to
make a statement through creating an
impressive workplace which reflects
who they are and what they do, and that
critically leave a positive impression not
just on clients but also prospective and
current sta . There is now a prevailing
sense that o ice design really does say
a lot about an organisation and that it is
something which will continue to rise in
importance on the corporate agenda.
It is fair to say that nobody wants to
work in a drab, cluttered environment
where they don’t feel productive. This
is where o ice design can play a greater
role through creating an environment
which can create the right first
impression and also help to attract (and
retain) the very best sta .
Interestingly, the K2 Space survey
found that almost half (48 per cent) of
respondents agree that the room where
they were interviewed for a job would
influence their opinion of whether or
not to work for an organisation. For
employers, this serves a stark reminder
that first impressions really do count and
that they need to think carefully about
the visitor experience when designing
their workplace. This was particularly
high within Medical & Health services at
69 per cent, Sales & Marketing at 57 per
cent, and Finance & Accounting at 53
per cent.
Millennials are more likely to be
influenced by the setting of an interview
than any other generation at 54 per
cent, however, numbers were also high
amongst Boomers and Generation X at
45 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.
Fi y per cent of employees working in
large organisations are more likely to be
swayed by where they’re interviewed,
but only slightly more so than those
working in small and medium-sized
businesses.
When designing any workplace, one
of the first questions should revolve
around what you want your new o ice
to say about your business and what
impression you want your new o ice
to make on clients and sta alike. The
answers to these questions create the
basis of the brief which o ice designers
will use to create any new workplace and
as such require careful consideration and
discussion. Companies and people work
and collaborate in di erent ways and the
goal for o ice designers is to establish
what would work best for the company
in question before starting to design.
It may be tempting to follow trends
and current fads and think that by
adding a table tennis table or dartboard,
you’ve improved the workplace and
that’s job done - but in order to create a
happy workforce you need to understand
your people, understand how they work
and then build the workplace around
their specific needs. Workplaces are
essentially all about the people in them
and, as such, must be built around the
people doing the work, rather than
based on perceived notions of what an
o ice should or shouldn’t look like.
The survey also asked respondents
what could be done to improve
their o ice space with the following
responses:
Increase the amount of natural light
in the workplace (32 per cent)
Introduce more colour, artwork &
graphics (31 per cent)
Introduce private spaces for taking
calls & for concentration (30 per cent)
Inclusion of more informal breakout
spaces (29 per cent)
Better quality tea, co
ee & snacks
(28 per cent)
Inclusion of sit-stand desking (20
per cent)
Better showering/wash facilities (20
per cent)
What this highlights is the importance
of maximising natural light and providing
sta with a variety of spaces where they
can work comfortably depending on
the task at hand and whether it requires
collaboration or concentration.
All of the above factors have become
the expectation in modern workplaces
and if your organisation is intent on
attracting (and retaining) the very
best talent in what is a challenging
marketplace, investing in creating a
workplace that not only meets but
exceeds their expectations should be
a priority - great sta deserve a great
workplace - and great workplaces attract
the best sta .
More than a third of workers
are dissatisfied in their current
jobs, citing poor relationships
with their managers and a lack
of development opportunities
as the reasons they’re planning
to seek new jobs, according to
The Institute of Leadership &
Management’s latest survey. The
Institute has some advice for those
workers who feel dissatisfied at
work, and are considering looking
for a new role:
Let your manager know you
want to be challenged. If you feel
you’re underappreciated by your
manager, talk to them to find out
what they value and where they
think you can improve. Let them
know how you feel and what else
you can give the business.
Seek opportunities and
volunteer. If you feel like you’re
not making any progress, ask to
take on more responsibility or try
to find new opportunities that
will help to address this issue.
Set a timescale to achieve the
improvements you want. Doing
this will help both you and your
manager to understand how you
want your career to develop, how
you’re going to go about it and
create a benchmark for success.
www.institutelm.com
FEBRUARY 2019 59
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