The average US employee feels he or she could be 21% more productive given a better working environment. Research also states that poor workplace design costs businesses an estimated $330 billion per year. While office design may not seem like a priority at the moment, it can make a huge impact on your bottom line.
Office design isn’t normally the first thing on an entrepreneur’s priority list. Normally, you’re trying to make payroll, pay off debts, pay your investors, and if you can, begin the office design process. Having a team of office design experts standing by to give you a free consultation is one of the best ways to get started. Contact Douron, the office experts, to prioritize your business productivity needs.
Outside View
The construction of the building itself is one of the first elements to consider. Is it an enclosed area, or does it have an outside view? Research shows that employees who have a view of the outside performed faster and better by a margin of up to 16%. Also, research on call center employees found that those with nice views had a 6% decrease in time required to handle calls.
Temperature
One-third of employees complain about the temperature of their office environments. The ideal temperature is 69-71 degrees. If it’s colder, employees may be more alert but distracted. If it’s warmer, people will feel lethargic and uncomfortable. While this may not technically be a design issue, office design elements can affect the temperature.
Collaboration
Office design plays a key role in collaboration. This is why companies like Google, Yahoo, and Facebook have reinvented their workspaces. At Google, there are no separate cubicles, but there are long desks where employees set up their computers. Google has found this design to be more conducive to collaboration, since you can ask your coworker a question quickly instead of waiting for email responses.
However, if work needs to be completed individually, an open floor plan may actually decrease your productivity due to noise levels. Studies have found that 30% of employees are distracted by their co-workers’ conversations.
Hire a Design Team
This is why having a design expert on your team is so important. Our design experts at Douron are here to make your office design revamp as smooth as possible. Contact us for a free consultation.