With the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in full swing, we’re dedicating this blog to discussing how you can transform your workspace into the ultimate area for teamwork and record-setting collaboration. Creating a collaborative workspace is critical for your company’s success, whether your team is entirely in-person or hybrid. Here are five design tips for creating a collaborative workspace worthy of a gold medal.
Start with Brand Identity & Design
When it comes to office design, the first place you need to start is with your branding. Your space is the ultimate reflection of your organizational brand and values. If you’re a people-oriented company or pride yourself on innovation, your space should reflect these values.
Your brand sets the stage for your teams, and how you expect them to act and infuse this into the physical spaces where they work only reinforces this message. These design choices can range from minor decisions, like putting your core values on the wall, to more substantial design elements, such as adding technology features to support a culture of innovation.
When your team takes pride in its brand, your customers notice, and people want to join that team. Designing an office that helps your brand stand proud, like an Olympic team carrying its country’s flag, will help you stand out.
Create Spaces for Different Types of Collaboration
Not all teams operate the same way; some are collections of individual competitors working towards the same goal, while others require close teamwork. When workers have different needs or requirements, it’s critical to design spaces that meet those needs based on their work styles, personalities or job functions. Building your workspace to feature multiple styles of collaborative spaces to support your team allows them to work in a way that supports their needs.
This means moving away from only having sweeping conference rooms and creating a floor plan that offers features like hot desks, small group meeting rooms, quiet rooms or hybrid meeting rooms to support in-office and remote workers. Ensure your office can support a world-class, winning team regardless of your arena.
Don’t Forget the Kitchens
As any high-performer will tell you, proper fuel and hydration are as necessary in business as in world-class athletics. If you expect teams to work on-site, collaborate and be productive, you also have to consider their well-being. This starts with a welcoming, well-stocked kitchen. Gone are the days of the basic break room with uncomfortable chairs and a single, poorly stocked vending machine. It’s essential to offer refrigeration space, freezer space, and basic amenities such as a microwave, coffee machines, and maybe even an air fryer!
Depending on your budget, a well-stocked kitchen might also mean providing a commissary or snack bar. While your office doesn’t need a restaurant or personal barista, looking for ways to offer a unique kitchen experience is a great way to ensure in-office satisfaction and well-nourished teams. Make sure your team has a well-stocked kitchen for peak performance.
Pay Attention to Your Team & the Ambience of the Office
Olympic athletes perform on the world stage and require a world-class facility. If you’re looking for high-level performance from your team, you must provide a high-performing, world-class office environment. Not every team operates the same way or has the same needs; some workers are extroverted and productive when working alongside their colleagues, but others need quiet to focus. When designing a collaborative workspace, it’s important to create a space that reflects the needs of your whole team, not just one group or the other.
Offering quiet spaces and focus rooms to provide an escape for introverted workers while still allowing groups to work together can achieve a balanced work environment. Gathering input from your office teams is integral to any good office design project and will help you identify what is needed for your next space.
A Welcoming Space for Events & Gathering
Big wins require big celebrations, and every time your team takes home the gold medal on a project or in a client negotiation, having the right place to celebrate is critical. The office is where we work, but it is also where our teams celebrate birthdays, baby showers and impromptu happy hours. Building a collaborative team means creating a culture where your team wants to work together towards a common goal.
To achieve this, it is vital to think about how your office can support work-adjacent activities and the day-to-day functions of your business. Whether you have the room for a dedicated event space or spruce up your lobbies or break rooms, creating a place where your teams can gather is a crucial way to foster collaboration.
Collaboration takes many forms, and building a team that works seamlessly together is a monumental task for any company. A well-designed space can help you improve collaboration and build better teams. When you build the arena for Olympic-level performance, it becomes the catalyst for your team to go from watching the podium ceremony to earning the gold medal.
If you need help designing your dream workspace, contact us today for a consultation.