Companies spend a lot of time, effort & money in creating the Mission, Vision and Value statement for their organisational culture and objectives. However when the time comes to transcend those values into workspace design, not many of them do a great job. It’s essential for your workplace to live and breathe your value systems and become a physical embodiment of the same.

The moment a prospective client or employee walks through your company’s reception, he should get a feeling of your value system by merely experiencing it through design.

One should also not force fit alien cultures as an experiment in workspace design. For eg, A design which includes open office architecture, bean bags and pool tables may not fit into the ethos of a law firm which favor confidentiality and a very formal approach to business dealings. Similarly, all white walls and teak wood elements would not augur well in a workplace design for an advertising agency.

Elements like a lower cube height can facilitate a higher sense of openness and collaboration while ensuring a certain degree of privacy. A lot of IT firms and startups have begun using benching systems at their workplaces. Benching reduces cost of real estate, facilitates collaboration and helps in germination of new and innovative ideas between employees

Also, its imperative to ensure your employees also have a say in workplace design. The same can be facilitated through a digital survey with design options given to employees to vote from. Such an exercise also speaks volumes about the importance given to inclusivity by an organisation.