In a world where you can customize almost anything you buy, why wouldn’t you want to customize your office? Unless you’re trying to exactly replicate another office, there’s little value in using the same layout, furniture, and model another company uses. Lack of customization can hinder productivity, satisfaction, and efficiency. But how and what should you do to create a customizable office?
From brand image to comfort to employee needs, each company’s office should reflect specific aspects of an organization. There’s often little you can change regarding the size and shape of the physical space, but customized furniture, workstations, and layout are all ways that you can create a space unique to you and your employees.
The Benefit of Customization
The office environment you provide employees with should be specific to them. When it comes to office design and furniture selection, choosing what employees need to succeed is important. Custom colors, configurations, and modular workstations let employees work in a space that exudes company culture, brand image, and workstyles.
The bland, generic office design we’ve seen for decades solely served as a place to work. For example, the desk, water cooler, and minimal amenities were all that were needed. But as company cultures have changed, employee needs and job satisfaction are emerging more and more at the forefront of design. There’s no place for only providing the basics anymore. The office has become less of a place to work, and more of an experience.
Company culture plays a large part in how companies work. Because of this, customization is the perfect way to translate a culture from a mission statement or initiative to a physical space. Company culture sets the tone for employee attitude, expectations, and perception from the public and outside investors. Customizable offices are the embodiment of company culture.
Customizable offices extend beyond appearances. The functionality and usability of a space are enhanced when an office is customized to meet employee needs. Some companies require higher levels of collaboration, some need areas for more focused work, and others need a combination of both – similar to a hybrid model. Because of this, designing a customizable office can help employees work the way they need to.
Creating a Custom Experience
When thinking about customization, it’s easy to get lost in the possibilities. However, a custom office doesn’t necessarily have elaborate furniture or stunning art installations hanging on the walls. Customization can be something as simple as tinted partitions between modern cubicles, or adaptable furniture to suit employees’ evolving needs. It comes down to the experience you create for your employees.
The little day-to-day nuances that employees have to deal with often take away from the working experience. Inadequate workspace, lack of space for collaboration, and cramped poorly designed layouts create daily hurdles that employees have to overcome. Although these seemingly small inconveniences might not have that big of an impact, the inefficiency or dissatisfaction can lead to inefficiencies, lack of productivity, and ultimately, lowered morale.
When designing a custom office, it’s important to move from possibilities to needs.
The experience matters. Your employees aren’t just workers that clock in, clock out, and go home. They’re valuable assets to the company and a company’s success. Building spaces around employees rather than a space for employees, allows them to work in a space unique to them. It provides a level of value for employees not found in a simple workspace.
Designing a Customizable Office
Designing an office can easily become overwhelming. When you throw in all of the options and customizable possibilities, it can become much more intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. Listening to your employees is a great start. Get their input. Find out what environment they work best in. Understanding what employees need to succeed can greatly narrow down your options. When designing a custom office, it’s important to move from possibilities to needs.
Here are a few of the easiest, yet most important ways to customize your office:
1. The Workstations
Scope of work plays a major part in office design. Do employees frequently work together? Do they work in a call center layout? Maybe they need acoustic phone booths for focused work. You might operate in a hybrid model and need a mix of both.
Strong Project offers product collections that help you design the space you and your employees need. The adaptability of our modular workstations, or space-saving modern cubicles with adjustable height desks are all ways to create a customized workstation specific to each employee. Additionally, some of our other articles offer valuable insight into the importance of ergonomics, adjustable height desks, and modular workstations.
2. The Breakroom
Breaks are an important part of the workday. It has been proven that periodic breaks throughout the day help increase focus and productivity. A study conducted by Michigan State University highlights why breaks are so critical to employee and company success. Additionally, it talks about how creating a relaxing breakroom can make the daily work experience more enjoyable, and improve mental health, and focus. Undoubtedly, it’s important to give employees the opportunity to step away from their desks and enjoy others and personal time to improve mental and physical wellness in the workplace. Our breakroom collections offer modern solutions to the age-old water cooler so employees can relax and actually enjoy their breaks.
3. Layout and Natural Elements
Customization extends beyond furniture selection. For instance, the way offices are laid out, the use of natural light, and the introduction of natural elements into the workplace can have a profound impact on how employees work.
Biophilic office designs, natural light, and color schemes that connect us to the natural world can deliver levels of relaxation that impact our mental clarity and the way we work. Future of Work Hub showcased an article on the benefits of using elements from nature and how it affects our daily work lives. To sum up the article, it talks about how our inherent connection to nature has an impact on our wellness, engagement, and health.
Aside from furniture and incorporating elements of nature into design, customizing your office layout can also have a great impact on success. For instance, an office with good flow can help encourage interaction – a basic human need – by creating a space where employees are more likely to encounter one another. Likewise, a versatile layout lets employees adapt their surroundings to their needs. Gone are the rows of traditional cubicles. Creative and customized layouts can help you reduce the monotony, and add different elements to the work experience.
The Value of Tailoring Your Office to Employee Needs
Customization makes us feel special. Because of this, the uniqueness of our surroundings and spaces designed around us give us a sense of pride and ownership. Employees have a sense that a space belongs to them and they belong in the space. But aside from feeling special, what message does designing a custom office translate to employees?
Customization shows employees they’re valued. Listening to employees and having a clear understanding of their needs shows that you want to give them the tools they need to succeed. Tailoring an office to employee’s needs doesn’t just only improve employee satisfaction, it can also have a major effect on the success of your company.
When customizing your office, there’s no limit to how little or how much you customize.
A correctly customized office improves efficiency, productivity, and morale. A study by the University of Oxford shows that when employees are satisfied and enjoy the space they work in, they work more effectively and are 13% more productive. Therefore, creating a work experience with a customized office design improves the satisfaction that employees don’t always get.
Designing a custom office is an investment. But it’s not only an investment in furniture. It’s an investment in company culture, employees, and ultimately, a company’s success.
Is it Time to Customize Your Office?
When customizing your office, there’s no limit to how little or how much you customize. As the workforce evolves with new generations entering the workforce and design trends emerging, customization seems to be the only path forward. People are working differently. Companies are shifting focuses to employee wellness and the largely adopted hybrid model in recent years has affected office design.
Customization is the office design of the future. As companies continue to learn more about their employees and what they need, the experience they provide for employees will be constantly evolving. Obviously, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution and there never has been. As we move into the future of office design, we need to recognize the value of uniqueness and embrace our most valuable assets.
Next time you decide to update your office, whether it’s the style of a desk or ergonomic office chairs, think about how those pieces are unique to your employees and how can you make them more unique. Strong Project offers product collections perfect for a customizable office design that will allow you to customize everything from configuration to finish to different pieces. There’s no limit to what you can customize, and there’s no limit to what we can help you customize.
Want to customize your office to fit your needs? Our design team can help you every step of the way. Contact us today!
Interested in customizing a hybrid office? Our comprehensive guide to hybrid design can help you start today.
