Workplace Design Strategies for Top Talent

When you’re trying to attract top talent to your company (and you should always be trying to attract top talent to your company!), you’ve got lots of variables to consider. Salary, benefits, opportunity for advancement, career enrichment.

How about the workspace itself? It matters more than you may think.

According to a study from Hassell Studio, a leading international design firm, shares this astonishing fact: the workspace has a greater impact on job seekers than salary. They also found that physical amenities are the top influencers in job decisions–amenities such as childcare services, parking and gyms.

Whether you’re considering major renovations or just a spruce-up, consider these factors to ensure your physical workspace has maximum appeal to existing and potential employees.
Cultivate Collaboration

If you want to cultivate collaboration among employees and departments, remove those barriers. Make flexible open spaces available for formal and informal meetings, conversation and general collaboration. Take note of the kinds of activities employees depend on to advance collaboration and provide them, whether that means white boards, monitors, or other tools.

Target Your Demographic

Choose amenities which appeal to the type of employees attracted to your field. If you deal in health and wellness, express those values and attract talent complementary talent by offering perks like a gym, onsite massage, and healthful snacks. If your ideal employee is the gaming type, keep them happy with video games, ping pong and a Wii. AirBnB reflects its role in the hospitality industry by providing meals for staff. Search “best employee perks” for more ideas.

Millennial Preferences

A collegiate campus-like setting attracts millennial employees, that huge segment of the workforce born between 1982 and 2004. They’re a laptop generation who came of age in an untethered atmosphere, and they cultivated their habits in dorms and campuses where they could work in a variety of environments, from libraries to cafes to dormitory lounges. These team members will resonate with a variety of spaces where they can plug in several devices and multitask. If their role allows them to embrace the paperless workplace we’ve been promised, they won’t feel tied to a desk. These are the employees who’ll enjoy couches, outdoor patios, open floor plans, standing desks and other options. Consider touring your local college campus to get design ideas.

Stimulation Beats Boredom

Both job seekers and employees prefer modern, colorful workspaces more than predictable grey workspaces. Creative, bright workspaces cultivate creative thinking and increased energy. Design firm Gensler asserts that employees prefer a creative workspace over extra facilities.

Share Your Workspace

Have you redesigned your offices with employee satisfaction in mind? Share them! Make sure interviews include a tour of the business, and make sure to include a visit to bonus amenities like gyms and dining rooms. Include images on your website, especially where job hunters will see them. If you’ve made a change and noticed improvements, spread the word in a blog post.

The bottom line: While there’s no universal one-size-fits-all ideal workspace, it pays to critically evaluate what your ideal candidates look for in a jobs physical amenities. Features like an appealing office layout, multiple workspace options, creative use of color and texture, along with attractive perks, have a huge influence on employee recruitment, satisfaction, and retention. According to Gensler, only 25% of workers are in their optimal work environments. If those are your employees, you’ve got a huge advantage over the competition.