The design of your space impacts both the creativity of your associates and your workplace culture. Where do you even begin when choosing how to design your space to cultivate these two important pieces of your workplace puzzle? Below are just a few key ways to jumpstart your space planning and design.
Provide ample opportunities for collaboration and spontaneity. Creativity thrives on brainstorms and discussions of new ideas. Sometimes these collaboration sessions are planned but they can also happen spontaneously when your space encourages them. When spaces are planned with areas of collaboration in mind, thought processes evolve. This allows associates to think critically and solve complex problems. This also builds camaraderie and rapport among your workforce. Whether it’s a team of 2 or 20, groups think differently when the space around them is accommodating to their needs and inspires their next great idea.
Increase visibility of team members across different levels and functions. An open and diverse layout can increase visibility among different departments and of team leaders that might not be readily visible or accessible otherwise. This also helps to break down barriers between groups that don’t traditionally work together on projects and provides easy access to varying levels of management. A fresh perspective often comes from the places and people you least expect.
Inspire originality through a variety of settings. Depending on the type of work an employee is engaged in, carefully created spaces can encourage dialogue and teamwork as well as support heads down time to reflect on individual work. Needs can shift throughout the work day, and oftentimes associates require multiple types of settings to be most productive and complete their work in an original and thoughtful way. Consider designing your office to accommodate the unique needs of your staff and watch as team morale and creative output flourishes.
These are just a few of the many ways you can spark creativity and develop a deep sense of culture in your office environment. Be open to new ways of designing your space and thinking about how you work, and you just might be surprised at the lightbulbs that go off.
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