Your workspace can influence your productivity more than you realize. Subconsciously, your space can affect your employee’s focus, health, and happiness, all of which can make a big impact on how well an office functions.
In a cramped, poorly-organized space, it’s easy for your workers to become frustrated and frazzled with poor traffic patterns, the wrong floor plan, or even color choices that are too bold or too bland. Storage can be hard to find or in the way if it’s in the wrong place. And a lack of windows and natural light can make your team feel claustrophobic or even depressed.
Enter the Smart Office: an office designed with your employees in mind, that encourages productivity, puts employees and clients at ease and makes your workplace a happy one. We at BG Southern encourage you to consider building a Smart Office with your next office renovation.
Here are some things to consider for a Smart Office:
What a Smart Office Looks Like
What exactly is a Smart Office and what does it look like? Whether we realize it or not, we’re all affected by our environments. It’s human nature. It’s why we don’t work well in a space that’s cramped and hot, claustrophobic or sterile. It’s hard to feel inspired in a space that lacks creativity.
A smart office is created by working with you and your team to build a space that’s right for you and what you do. Each room has a goal in mind: Collaborative spaces encourage creativity and working together. Energizing yet peaceful spaces are created for work that requires a great deal of individual focus. And low-focus work is fostered in specific areas that are separate from spaces designed for uninterrupted work.
Workspaces are movable to allow for flexibility and natural light through well-placed windows. Glass walls replace solid walls (where privacy isn’t necessary) to allow for even more natural light, making the overall atmosphere pleasant, relaxed and productive.
Additionally, giving your employees some input in your renovation is the “smart” way to develop a Smart Office. Your employees know your office better than anyone. They know what works about it and what doesn’t, so knowing what helps and what hinders their productivity is a great way to help your architect develop an office floor plan that really works for your team.
For example, perhaps a folding wall can solve an issue that’s specific to a time of day when sometimes you need it and sometimes you don’t. Ask your employees when and where traffic jams happen, or where cabinets are needed. That will help you sort out what your company’s smart office redesign should look like.
Here in Orlando, the atmosphere tends to be relaxed. You and your employees don’t want to be chained to an assigned desk every day. You want a Smart Office renovation that matches the collaborative, relaxed-yet-productive vibe that Orlando offers. Community tables, flexible, movable workspaces and lounge areas are some of the main design trends that are taking off across the country. They’re being embraced here in Orlando as well because they truly do increase productivity.
Subconscious Design Choices
Every choice you make in your Smart Office redesign can impact productivity. While stark white walls can be cold and bland, colors that are too bold can be distracting. Light colors can help reflect light, brightening the space and lightening the mood. Studies have been conducted about which paint colors are the best for office productivity, the color you choose has been proven to dictate office productivity levels. (Here’s a hint: blue is almost always a great choice for your office color.)
Even the kind of lightbulbs you choose in your renovation is important: replacing fluorescent tubes with LED lights is not only energy efficient, but they’re brighter and more inviting. At BG Southern, we can help with every design decision, from the floorplan to the light fixtures, to ensure that you’re always making “smart” choices.
The Benefits of a Smart Office
Just as one size doesn’t fit all, a typical office does not fit every company or every employee. The Smart Office idea encourages collaboration and flexibility by providing space that is specific to the needs of your employees. Work areas are spacious and task-oriented. As a result, employees feel focused and at-ease.
In your newly redesigned Smart Office, collaborative spaces ignite discussion and foster an environment for working together, while independent workspaces give your employees peace and quiet when they need it. Taking the input of your employees into consideration as you renovate acknowledges their contributions to your company and empowers them. In a Smart Office, your employees take ownership of how they fit into your company. Natural light brightens the mood, and work is energizing instead of draining. In a phrase, your Smart Office works smart.
Ready to build or renovate a Smart Office? At BG Southern, we love collaborating with our clients to come up with the office of their dreams— and we want you to be next. Contact us today to see how we can design an office that works just as hard as you do.