How to quickly judge a company by its office
You can tell a lot about a company by the fit out of their office. As I start planning a small office refit, I notice there are a few key decisions made in an office design that reflect the type of company that owns it.
Team Spaces
I have spoken previously about my experience building cross-functional, co-located teams. Our success with these teams is reflected in our new layout, where we are trying to build team spaces rather than simply accommodate the maximum number of individuals possible. The team spaces are intended to be comfortable, practical areas for teams and team members to work.
Teams work in their own rhythms during the day, when a team is almost silent they are in a state of ‘flow’, sometimes they are collaborating loudly and other times chilling out. This is fine for a team working together very closely, everyone can be involved in conversations and gain a shared understanding of the work, while having plenty of time to focus. But if your teams are located right next to other teams…or the reception…or the kitchen, its likely the team is always being disturbed, meaning productivity plummets and stress levels skyrocket.
Look for: Spacious team spaces for less than 12 people each, designed with sound absorbing materials, natural light, whiteboards and wall geometry that protects and insulates them from other teams.
Avoid: Lots of individual workstations, laid out for everyone regardless of team, no walls and everyone wearing noise cancelling headphones or sitting at the cafe downstairs.
Chair Equality
Good chairs are a lot more expensive than cheap chairs, they also make the difference between an ergonomic nightmare causing you serious long term harm and every day being a comfortable day at work. I don’t believe your position in the company should determine if you end up with back problems or a sore neck.
So for our teams everyone from the manager to the graduate gets the same, high quality, ergonomic chair. Every person in the team evaluated trial chairs and our team felt the Steelcase Leap was a great option, our sister team in the US has chosen the Aeron.
Look for: High quality chairs for everyone regardless of position
Avoid: Cheap office chairs for the people in open plan and expensive chairs in offices and the ‘big meeting room’
Office Privilege
As a leader, if you want to build trust and loyalty, put the needs of the people you lead first. Giving up your office to make it another privacy room or collaboration space is a great way to show your team you care about them.
A manager I know said that he could never give up his office, because it showed that he had ‘made it’ and he had ‘earned it’ after years of service at the company. He was defining himself and his achievements by his office and the ‘trimmings of management’, rather than recognising himself as merely a guardian and assistant to his teams who had actually achieved so much.
Offices are convenient because you can have private conversations and take phone calls. But everyone on the team needs to have private conversations and take phone calls. Instead of making privacy a privilege, create the private spaces and rooms for people to have the conversations and take their phone calls no matter what their position is. Most of what you do as a manager should be open and visible to your team anyway.
Look for: Managers working in team or shared spaces, former corner offices converted to common areas, lots of privacy rooms and spaces for individuals and small groups
Avoid: Offices for managers, people taking phone calls in the car park or in the stair well.
Form and Function
While sitting on an incredibly uncomfortable bean bag in the waiting area of a leading software development consultancy, I found myself pondering what their priorities were. When I asked the person I was meeting, they explained that they wanted to be hip, so they had to have those sorts of things.
Some apps have beautiful interfaces that are difficult to use, this also seems to be true in office design. Many companies use glass, retro furniture and coordinated colours. If you want to know if the company values both function and form, check that the unique furniture in their reception area is also uniquely comfortable, their cool privacy phone booths shouldn’t smell funky by 2pm on a hot day and the 60's diner booth seating for the private work area better have good cushioning and enough lighting.
Look for: People actually utilising shared spaces, employees sitting on the nice looking furniture and eating space where people are meeting and chatting
Avoid: Uncomfortable seating, having to swipe in and out through Fort Knox security to go to the bathroom or lots of people eating at their desks
