Regardless of the industry, sector, or marketplace, today’s high-performance startup businesses often have a few things in common. First, they have strong leadership. Second, they have a talented workforce. Third, they have innovative products and services. And fourth, they incorporate a suite of modern office design best practices such as the following:
Promote Collaboration with an Open Concept
High-performance businesses cannot afford to have their people work in silos, or on disconnected islands. As such, they design the environment with an open, cubicle-free approach so that cross-functional teams connect and collaborate on a regular basis vs. once in a long while (or perhaps never at all).
Give Employees a Break (out)
Breakout spaces are quickly moving from office design nice-to-haves to essential staples of the work landscape. These areas are typically located next to high traffic areas (e.g. lunchrooms, elevators, etc.), and function as a kind of oasis for employees to relax and recharge their psychological, intellectual, and emotional batteries; even if it is for just a few minutes between meetings.
Focus on Flexible and Modular Furniture
Today’s meeting room may need to become tomorrow’s training room, presentation room, or temporary storage room. As such, smart businesses are deploying flexible, modular furniture so they can repurpose their space as needs change.
Related: Room Planner Technology for Seamless Space Planning
Clutter is the Enemy
Some employees are filers, others are pilers, and some are proverbial pack rats that hold onto everything in what they claim to be a “system” (but what everyone else knows is a giant mess!). In high-performance environments, things like clever self-storage boxes and creative shelving options are used to keep clutter at bay.
Use Color Therapy
Another key advancement in the war against drab, lifeless, and draining low-performance office environments is using color therapy to set the right mood. For example, many environments emphasize blue, which is calming and soothing. Alternatively, they avoid red, which while good for traffic lights and stop signs, can cause eyestrain because of where it is positioned on the color spectrum.
Let There be (Enough) Light
One of the biggest complaints that employees have, is that the environment is either too dim or too bright. Optimizing lighting and giving employees illumination control over their personal working area can make a big difference.
Learn More About Modern Office Design
There are many things that a startup can – and often must – do in order to boost employee morale and engagement, and elevate performance, quality, productivity, and results. The modern office design best practices highlighted above are definitely part of this strategy and approach. What’s more, since moving in this direction generates ROI, it is indeed an investment rather than an expense.
