Looking to find the perfect workspace for your business? Here Sally Evans, Director of Operations at Making Moves, explains how choosing the right office for your brand can benefit your business and your employees, and provides tips for finding the right place of work for you.
Whether you’re starting a new business and you’re struggling to make a decision on where to set it up, or you’re a freelancer looking for your own space, finding the right office for your business can seem like a challenge. There are so many factors to consider, from major ones such as budget to minor considerations like the closest coffee shop. However, choosing and designing an office that reflects your brand’s personality is beneficial for both your business and your employee’s performance.
Want to find out more? Here I’ll cover why making your workplace reflect your brand is so important, whether you own a 100-person business, or solo freelancer. And if you’re looking for some inspiration for choosing the perfect office, read on for my top tips on finding the best workspace for your business.
Why your workplace should reflect your brand
There are a number of benefits to your office reflecting your company’s branding. For one, it gives a positive first impression to visiting clients by not just making your office look great, but also promoting brand recognition and showing exactly what it is your company does. You can find ways to present the mission and values of your business to help visitors learn more as soon as they walk through the door, such as with inspirational and thoughtful artwork.
But reflecting your company’s brand in the workspace isn’t just for the benefit of visitors: both yourself and your staff can feel motivated and inspired by office branding. It’s normal for workers to lose passion for their roles from time to time, but by being surrounded by reminders of their company’s mission, they can find it easier to reignite this passion, for not just their work but the business as a whole. Plus, it creates a strong sense of brand identity for workers to connect with.
Tips for choosing and designing an office space for your business and brand
Now you know the importance of having the right office space and design for your company and brand personality, you’ll no doubt be wondering how you can go about building the right brand image in your offices. When searching for your next office, take the following tips into account to help you find your perfect fit for your business.
Find the right colour scheme
It may sound like an obvious step to take, but incorporating your company’s colour scheme into your workspace is a great way to reflect your branding. And fortunately, there are lots of ways to do this, including if you are renting your office space and cannot paint the walls. From the artwork you display to the colour of your office furniture and rugs, there are plenty of large and small additions that can make a difference. You can find a number of unique ways to incorporate colours too, such as adding a few office plants for colour schemes with shades of green.
Reflect your corporate values
Whether you’re a small startup, or you own a large business, you’ll no doubt have corporate values which are important to you and your team. However, many companies struggle to find ways to get this message across. A great way to do this is to incorporate your values into your office set-up.
For example, if sustainability is a top priority for your company, make sure you have office recycling points and maximise the amount of natural light to reduce your reliance on artificial light. Or, if your business particularly values employee wellbeing, make sure your office has a designated area for relaxing during work breaks to prevent burnout. As well as making your ethos clear to visiting clients and customers, this will also help you and your workers practice what the business preaches.
If there’s a mantra or motto that sums up your business ethos, you could even put it in writing and display it for all to see using a custom neon sign, wall art, or a decal sticker.
Allow for employee personalisation
While branding can help yourself and other employees feel passionate about your brand identity, it’s important to let everyone feel comfortable with expressing their own personalities in the office too. Décor that is meaningful to yourself and your team, such as pictures of friends and family on desks or beloved pieces of art, can have a positive impact on work output. In fact, research has found that those with personal effects in the office felt a greater connection with the space, which in turn made them more enthusiastic about their work (Harvard Business Review).
Create a productive office
No matter your branding, one thing that all businesses will benefit from is a practically-designed office which helps boost productivity. As well as finding the right place to show off your branding, you should also focus on choosing an office which is designed to help employees put in their best work. One way to do this is to choose a space with plenty of natural light before you even begin laying out the design and décor. As well as reducing eyestrain, natural light has also been found to improve productivity (Cision).
You should also make sure your office suits the needs of your eclectic mix of employees, as we all have different working personalities. For example, social and extroverted workers are likely to benefit from a lounge area in the office designed to host more relaxed meetings, while creative and visionary employees are sure to appreciate a large whiteboard to note ideas down and help them make bring their visions to life. And when it comes to workers who need to focus intensely on tasks, designated quiet spaces can be a big help. Consider the way your employees like to work and choose an office which you think will suit their needs best.
If you use the tips above, you can create the best office for you and your workers, which reflects your business and brand perfectly. Looking for further inspiration on office interiors and more? Make sure to check out the rest of British Style Society’s articles.
Images: Unsplash
