With the global war for talent significantly increasing and UK job moves at an all time high, its is becoming essential for businesses to consider how they can attract and retain employees. One main way businesses are creating a competitive advantage against others is by investing into people-inspired, high quality workspace design that align to their employees.
Previous ways of working, sitting at a desk nine till five in a restrictive and rigid office were proven to be unproductive, outdated and counter-intuitive with many employees preferring a more hybrid model of working initiated by Covid-19. As a result, businesses began to face the risk to loosing out on top talent if they did not adapt.
How can a workspace create an incentive for employees to stay?
Flexible Workspace Design
Offering genuine flexibility is essential which essentially involves completely rethinking the traditional office. Fortunately, the days of long commutes and being tied to a desk nine till five in a bland, magnolia office is over and employees no longer have to been seen at the office for long hours to considered as hard working. With the work life balance becoming a priority for most, workspaces now need to align closely to the values of employees and compliment their lifestyles.
The office now needs to be an immersive hub providing a variety of spaces for employees to support relationship-building, collaboration, connection, wellness and motivation. It is also essential for employees working remotely that they feel equally as connected and engaged with others which can be done through high quality technology such as cloud-based platforms, video conferencing and companywide communications facilities seamlessly integrated into the workspace.
People-focused Workspace Design
Workspace now need to be multi-functional and flexible spaces that can adapt to the needs of employees. Whether that be for presentations, planning, collaboration, private meetings, private work, prayer, exercise or relaxation, the workspace needs to support the lifestyle of employees not just their work life. Employees are also increasingly gravitating to employers who prioritise social and environmental change so it is important that businesses are conscious of this and are supporting the environment around them the best they can.
Click here to read more about what employees want from an office.