When thinking about the office space and how it best works or doesn’t work for you, we tend to find out from our clients that the starting point is the hardest one to overcome. With this in mind we spoke to one of our partners who specialises in Reimagining the way we work; Jemma Grace from Resilient Spaces for her insight into how to best get started.
Firstly, you need to set the scene, write down what your company stands for in personality, ambition and aspirations. This will help to understand the bigger picture.
Then get the following:
- What does your company do?
- Are there any organisations or competitors you aspire to be like and why?
- Who is your workforce? (Personality, specialities etc)
Which of the following qualities are integral to your organisation, prioritise where necessary:
- Wellness
- Growth
- Equality
- Sustainability
- Culture
- People
- Development
- Quality Work life
- Productivity & Corporate Image
Next up is working out your reasons for change, think about how you work today and what is stopping you from working how you would like to work tomorrow and beyond.
Now:
What doesn’t work & why?
Think about:
- Tasks and workflows, Meetings, Collaboration and creation, Development, Social aspect, Culture & Accessibility.
- What holds you back from achieving your ideal scenario?
- In an ideal world, how would you like to see the following happen:
- Tasks and workflows, Meetings, Collaboration and creation, Development, Social aspect, Culture & Accessibility.
- What would you like to add to this? i.e., a place for development, resources, inclusiveness, support, a sense of belonging, an immersive experience?
Then you will need to consider who will these changes affect? Selecting representatives from varied areas to create a steering group for your project can add great value and buy in. It gives the people who will live with these decisions a controlled gateway-allowing them to be part of and invested in the change.
Maybe you’ve started to put the team together already, maybe some decisions have been made for you? Engage with all internal and external partners so that expectations can be managed from here to help the journey be a smooth one.
Some thoughts to consider here;
- Are there a team of internal decision makers?
- What decisions have been made already?
- Is there a clear end goal? i.e How would you measure success of the project?
- Do you currently occupy the space you have in mind?
- Are there any other third parties involved within the process?
- What is the projected move in or completion date and why?
The really practical bit! Now for the nuts and bolts. What do you want to happen on site, who and what must you space accommodate and support?
People - Who will the space accommodate? Will it host visitors and clients?
Purpose – What role will your workplace play in the future?
Access – How will you host your team, visitors or guests? Will there be a hospitality team or a workplace experience team?
Occupancy – How many people will use the space permanently compared to ad hoc?
What’s the maximum number of people you need to accommodate in the space at any one time?
Workflows – How do teams work alongside each other, do they need shared spaces, resources or private spaces?
Which activities need to happen on site and what resources are needed for them? Do they need to be private? Do they require a blend of digital and analogue resources?
Should spaces accommodate people both physically and virtually – allowing for hybrid workflows and collaborations?
Lifespan – What is the lifetime of this solution? Will all or part of your solution be transitional?
Do you want the freedom of flexibility allowing you to experiment and iterate the layout and the use of the space?
What constraints do you have?
A collectively owned space can be the lynchpin that holds you r business together. It can be a home, an incubator, a place for interaction and collaboration, a place where you can belong together and so much more. Make sure it works for you.
Hopefully the above will help you in building the foundations for a great brief.
Thank you, Jemma, for your time, if you would like to discuss any of this with her please get in touch by clicking here or using the email below:
Space planning the key to this are in the process and managing the workspace to support the needs of the work-force and the organisation. Getting this right can have a significant impact on employee morale, productivity and mental well-being.
- Using a brief created from the above information from Jemma.
- Create a variety of spaces, each team will need different types of spaces to do different types of work. Take this away form just the individual work station provide spaces for collaboration, meetings, brain storming and relaxation.
- Take ergonomics and well-being into account, your space should be designed to promote a healthy and comfortable work space. This would include, looking at everything from the furniture to the lighting and air quality.
- Keep as flexible as possible, the office space is evolving and keeping abreast of this is critical as the business evolves too.
- Sketch out any ideas that you may have, research looks and feels on Pinterest etc.
- Get in touch with us to help with putting all of this into a visual representation like below:
When thinking about the office space and how it best works or doesn’t work for you, we tend to find out from our clients that the starting point is the hardest one to overcome. With this in mind we spoke to one of our partners who specialises in Reimagining the way we work; Jemma Grace from Resilient Spaces for her insight into how to best get started.
Firstly, you need to set the scene, write down what your company stands for in personality, ambition and aspirations. This will help to understand the bigger picture.
Then get the following:
- What does your company do?
- Are there any organisations or competitors you aspire to be like and why?
- Who is your workforce? (Personality, specialities etc)
Which of the following qualities are integral to your organisation, prioritise where necessary:
- Wellness
- Growth
- Equality
- Sustainability
- Culture
- People
- Development
- Quality Work life
- Productivity & Corporate Image
Next up is working out your reasons for change, think about how you work today and what is stopping you from working how you would like to work tomorrow and beyond.
Now:
What doesn’t work & why?
Think about:
- Tasks and workflows, Meetings, Collaboration and creation, Development, Social aspect, Culture & Accessibility.
- What holds you back from achieving your ideal scenario?
- In an ideal world, how would you like to see the following happen:
- Tasks and workflows, Meetings, Collaboration and creation, Development, Social aspect, Culture & Accessibility.
- What would you like to add to this? i.e., a place for development, resources, inclusiveness, support, a sense of belonging, an immersive experience?
Then you will need to consider who will these changes affect? Selecting representatives from varied areas to create a steering group for your project can add great value and buy in. It gives the people who will live with these decisions a controlled gateway-allowing them to be part of and invested in the change.
Maybe you’ve started to put the team together already, maybe some decisions have been made for you? Engage with all internal and external partners so that expectations can be managed from here to help the journey be a smooth one.
Some thoughts to consider here;
- Are there a team of internal decision makers?
- What decisions have been made already?
- Is there a clear end goal? i.e How would you measure success of the project?
- Do you currently occupy the space you have in mind?
- Are there any other third parties involved within the process?
- What is the projected move in or completion date and why?
The really practical bit! Now for the nuts and bolts. What do you want to happen on site, who and what must you space accommodate and support?
People - Who will the space accommodate? Will it host visitors and clients?
Purpose – What role will your workplace play in the future?
Access – How will you host your team, visitors or guests? Will there be a hospitality team or a workplace experience team?
Occupancy – How many people will use the space permanently compared to ad hoc?
What’s the maximum number of people you need to accommodate in the space at any one time?
Workflows – How do teams work alongside each other, do they need shared spaces, resources or private spaces?
Which activities need to happen on site and what resources are needed for them? Do they need to be private? Do they require a blend of digital and analogue resources?
Should spaces accommodate people both physically and virtually – allowing for hybrid workflows and collaborations?
Lifespan – What is the lifetime of this solution? Will all or part of your solution be transitional?
Do you want the freedom of flexibility allowing you to experiment and iterate the layout and the use of the space?
What constraints do you have?
A collectively owned space can be the lynchpin that holds you r business together. It can be a home, an incubator, a place for interaction and collaboration, a place where you can belong together and so much more. Make sure it works for you.
Hopefully the above will help you in building the foundations for a great brief.
Thank you, Jemma, for your time, if you would like to discuss any of this with her please get in touch by clicking here or using the email below:
Space planning the key to this are in the process and managing the workspace to support the needs of the work-force and the organisation. Getting this right can have a significant impact on employee morale, productivity and mental well-being.
- Using a brief created from the above information from Jemma.
- Create a variety of spaces, each team will need different types of spaces to do different types of work. Take this away form just the individual work station provide spaces for collaboration, meetings, brain storming and relaxation.
- Take ergonomics and well-being into account, your space should be designed to promote a healthy and comfortable work space. This would include, looking at everything from the furniture to the lighting and air quality.
- Keep as flexible as possible, the office space is evolving and keeping abreast of this is critical as the business evolves too.
- Sketch out any ideas that you may have, research looks and feels on Pinterest etc.
- Get in touch with us to help with putting all of this into a visual representation like below:
