Staffing agencies in Utah know that your work environment can have a strong influence on productivity, morale, and talent management. Top employees won’t be looking to placement services if they have comfortable and inviting workspaces. Not every office needs a game room or giant slide like Google, but companies need to rethink their workspaces and consider how individuals and teams work together to be productive and attractive to job seekers.

When considering a change in your company workspace, get feedback from your employees. Ask how their work environment affects their happiness and productivity. You might find that different teams and work styles may elicit different responses. Extroverts may enjoy open office design while introverts may be more comfortable in a private space. The most important element in rethinking your workspace is to understand what keeps the team back from reaching their full potential.

How is the current space being used? Identify large areas that are unused or considered dead space. These areas provide opportunities for creating common spaces or quiet areas to better accommodate workflow, address noise levels, or other unique needs of the work environment.

While a complete redesign may not be practical for every organization, making small changes with the input of key staff members can be a cost-effective solution. Small changes give the staff time to adjust to the changes, provide input, and foster a sense of ownership.

Many organizations are moving toward open concept office spaces. While this layout might work for some, studies have shown that an open concept space can lead to increased absenteeism and decreased productivity. The lack of privacy of an open concept floor plan can cause stress in both introverts and extroverts. It is can also be extremely distracting and noisy.

Flexible workspaces have proven to be the best. Flexible workspaces are those that include:

• Some open office elements
• Traditional cubicles
• Common areas with tables or comfortable chairs
• Closed offices and conference rooms

These flexible, combined workspaces allow employees to pick an area that aligns with their work goals. If they need quiet, they can choose a cubicle or office. If they need to collaborate, they can hold meetings in a conference room or in a common area.

Before committing to a drastic change in your employees’ work environment, make sure there is support for it. Your staff need workspaces that allow them flexibility–a desk, a comfortable chair or standing work station–or the redesign won’t be a success. Make certain to foster a culture that encourages team members to use the entire new office layout, not just the desk assigned to them.

To test how small or large changes to the physical workspace will impact productivity, do a test run.  Practice with small areas of the office that can be reconfigured using existing furniture. Start with inexpensive rental furniture or inexpensive furniture that can be purchased at a retailer like Ikea for stand-up desks, comfortable chairs, and sofas. Testing layouts is a great way to determine the right mix of open and private space for your organization.

Rethinking the physical environment of your work place begins with understanding how workspace design affects productivity, getting buy-in from your team, and beginning by making small incremental changes. A company culture that encourages new space design is going to increase productivity, morale, and retention and will help placement services throughout Salt Lake City recruit top talent to the organization.