As you know, the needs of your customers, your suite of product and service offerings, the dynamics of your marketplace, the size of your workforce, and the physical details of your office – both inside and out – all combine to influence how you can best achieve your business goals.
However, there is another somewhat lesser-known factor that both directly and indirectly supports efficiency and performance – or, in some cases, impedes and obstructs your progress: aligning your workplace with your business goals.
What Do We Mean By Aligning Your Workspace & Goals?
For example, if you work in an environment where interaction with the customers or public is minimal (such as some types of insurance companies, call centers, and so on), then you obviously wouldn’t have a large, elaborate waiting area. On the other hand, if you’re a professional services firm that is regularly engaging clients, then you definitely want to have a comfortable, professional and impressive reception.
Or, if you need to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among cross-functioning teams, then an “open office” may be the ideal option. This kind of layout eliminates (or at least dramatically reduces) the use of cubicles and other structures that physically separate workspaces, and therefore allows teams to efficiently and rapidly connect.
Conversely, maybe you need a more traditional layout – possibly because one of your business goals is to comply with prevailing privacy laws, which mandate that you protect computers and/or documents in a secure manner that would simply be impossible in a more open environment.
3 Steps to Align Your Workspace with Your Business Goals
Regardless of the layout solution that is right for your business, aligning your workplace with your goals essentially involves the following phases:
1. Needs Analysis
Before focusing on issues like cubicles (or lack thereof), take a step back and conduct a thorough needs analysis to determine what your employees (and possibly your customers) need and want. There may be aspects of your current layout that should remain unchanged, because they are supporting your business goals. Others, however, will be on the chopping block. A needs analysis helps you clearly see what should stay the way it is – and what should change, and why.
2. Assess Options
Next, you want to assess all of your options. As you might expect, there are many ways to align a workplace with business goals – and factors such as cost and downtime are obviously factors to consider. Don’t settle for a one-size-fits-all solution, because there are many possibilities.
3. Build a Plan
Your office reconfiguration plan is a comprehensive blueprint that identifies what has to change, and in what order. Your plan will include what new furniture (or other items, like fixtures, lighting, etc.) that you need to purchase, as well as a timeline to minimize or, if possible, eliminate any disruption to your day-to-day operations.
Extra Advice: Don’t DIY
Before wrapping up, we have a word of advice: please don’t DIY! A seemingly “simple and straightforward” office reconfiguration can drift sideways in a hurry, and before long you’ll likely be forced to hire consultants who will charge premium rates. Plus, what should have been an exciting and energizing experience for your staff, will turn into one that is frustrating and stressful.
Contact Precision Today
To learn more, contact the Precision team today. We’ve helped numerous businesses over their years successfully align their workplace with their business goals. We’ll work with you through each of the phases noted above and help you make decisions and choices that move your business forward!
