IS OFFICE DESIGN REALLY WORTH INVESTING?

Due to its visual nature, workplace design is the easiest investment to truly “see”. But unlike other ones which have ROI (Return On Investment) to depend on when assessing such as training and development management, the question of how much a dynamic office makes a difference remains unanswered. Therefore, this “non-essential” part of the company is not often paid enough attention to. 

After all, how much difference can some new meeting room or a light system contribute to business’ success? The truth is: a lot. The benefits of investing in the office’s interior design may not seem apparent at first, but they definitely are worth the cost. Here are a few of the advantages and benefits.

The Gensler Research Institute discovered that workplace effectiveness is directly attached to development in the physical as well as experiential nature of the office itself. It is said in The survey that supplying a wonderful office experience has direct and measurable performance benefits: the quartile-top companies on workplace experience and employee engagement benefited from 21% higher profit, 41% lower absenteeism and 10% higher customer loyalty. 

Moreover, workplace environment plays a notable role in whether an employee would be likely to recommend their company to a peer. According to Leesman Review, 85% of employees believe the design of their workplace is important, but the reports found only 51% of employees find their existing workplace as a place they are proud to bring their visitors to, which definitely should worry management and get urgent attention in the boardroom.

In addition, it is indisputable that the design, layout and quality of amenities in the workplace influence efficiency, experience and effectiveness. The Gensler U.S. workplace Survey 2019 unearthed that the workplaces optimizing effectiveness and experience were consistently connected to the highest employee engagement and performance. This optimization of experience means offering the proper environments and choices for work modes, showing that office design is important to create successful spaces for focus, cooperation, learning and socializing. The Gallup Inc.’s survey of more than 150 companies found that employees whose development was encouraged were much more likely to engage customers. Amenities such as cafes, innovation hubs, quiet/focus zones, phone rooms and outdoor spaces lead to a dynamic workforce who feel valued and looked-after. Remember: “A building is 10 to 15 per cent of a company’s overhead, much less than the 70 to 80 per cent staff are. Investing in the former is money well spent if it makes your biggest cost – employees – happier”, says TSK’s Mr Murray.

Now, we can paraphrase the question in the title in a new way: Are maximizing effectiveness, accelerating productivity, and attracting and retaining talent worth the investment? Well, how could the answer be no? Investing in good workplace design is a very worthwhile endeavour, because the value of a place will only be increased by a great design, and that it will ultimately be worth the cost.

However, if you intend to boost your business performance through office design, it is important to choose the right design partner who always understands and sticks with your needs. If you’re ready to let our fully qualified professionals with extensive experience and design expertise take care of your future great working environment which is focused on aligning space, culture, interaction and behavior, feel free to contact us.

Source: https://www.gensler.com/uploads/document/614/file/Gensler-US-Workplace-Survey-2019.pdf; https://www.gallup.com/services/177050/economics-wellbeing.aspx