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Office Space Layout Is The Key To Attract And Retain Talents

Office Space Layout Is The Key To Attract And Retain Talents

2022-10-03

 

 

 

In the past two years, enterprises have encountered many unprecedented adversity. After trying to

cope with the COVID-19 epidemic and the increasingly severe climate crisis, enterprises are facing

another challenge, namely, the global talent shortage. Whether we can create a good experience in

physical office space through design will be the advantage of the enterprise from other competitors. 

 

As more and more employees return to the company after working at home for months or even years,

the use of office space is also changing. New working methods and changing focus are gradually

transforming into differences in design, mainly in three aspects: advanced technology, employees’

happiness and flexible layout. These elements will work together to create a new office ecosystem that

will help attract and retain talents in the post epidemic era.

 

High tech office space

In 1976, all the work was done by hand. Just 20 years later, it has been digitized. Since 2020, our

use of science and technology has developed rapidly. Not only is everything digital, but applications

are also changing with each passing day. The office increasingly relies on mobile phones, laptops,

tablets and other personal devices, so the demand of wireless charging, mobile power supply, built-in

lighting and other conveniences for office tables and conference tables also increases.

 

 

 

 

According to the recent American Office Space Survey Report, compared with the ideal time that

employees think, most enterprises hope that employees can return to the office faster. However,

we also found that most employees would choose to return to the office to complete certain specific

work tasks in order to get better support than home office. Therefore, the design of office space

that can facilitate the use of personal equipment will help improve the company's office experience,

attract talents and decrease personnel loss.

 

Pay attention to employees’ happiness

In the competitive recruitment process, the biggest competitor of an enterprise is actually those

which provide the living room for employees. Many people enjoy working at home, because they

can have more freedom to go out, exercise and rest during the day. After working at home for two

years, they are unwilling to give up this freedom. Some companies that are very attractive to job

seekers realized that it is not enough to provide office gyms or juice bars for employees, because

these are the basic facilities that many companies can provide. Our definition of "health" is gradually

expanding, not only including facilities beneficial to physical and mental health, but also providing

more healthy space in general. Just like charging electronic equipment, no technology quiet room,

meditation room, yoga room or gym and other facilities can replenish energy for employees' body

and mind, so as to improve their sense of pleasure and work efficiency.

 

 

 

 

In order to retain outstanding employees, employers must first win their trust. One of the effective

methods is to carefully design physical office space that can reduce the possibility of contact with

bacteria and reduce the risk of disease transmission. During the epidemic, although the personnel

policy will vary from place to place and industry to industry, the use of new products in the office

can still play a role. The antibacterial lighting on the ceiling can continuously emit antibacterial

wavelength for cleaning, and the non-contact door and cabinet door handle can also help. In general,

happiness is related to personal feelings, which are different for everyone. Therefore, enterprises

must actively introduce new ways to create a workplace conducive to the physical and mental health

of current and future employees.

 

 

 

 

Flexible layout and furniture

The recent U.S. Office Space Survey Report shows that most enterprise employees have some form

of open office environment before the epidemic, but at the same time, only half of them think this

is the ideal state in the future. For some people, privacy has become another reason that they do

not want to give up working at home, while others who are not so lucky to work at home are more

eager to gain a sense of privacy in the workplace. Of course, the criteria for "ideal" conditions will

change over time.

 

We used to consider the expected lease term (about 10 to 15 years) when designing commercial

spaces, but now we realize that these will change over time according to the way the space is used.

Flexible layout and furniture is the most sustainable and wise choice. The partition system that can

be flexibly adjusted meets the requirements of various room sizes and privacy. The furniture with

wheels, as well as the furniture that can be disassembled such as modular lockers, allow tenants

to easily reassemble without the approval or help of the office building service office. These design

strategies allow enterprises and their employees to adjust the space freely according to their own

preferences and needs. For many employees who are unwilling to return to the company's office

(or are dissatisfied with the current office space), whether they can freely set up the workbench

may produce different results.

 

 

 

 

The office space needs to be designed flexibly to adapt to the diverse future development trends in

the commercial field, and also to meet the personal development and progress needs expected by

employees in the company. This is crucial to the long-term developing and training of talents. Now

is an exciting time to redefine the physical office space and design a space that focuses on providing

excellent office experience. Moreover, in order to win the competition for talents, enterprises must

also build a complete office ecosystem to enable  talents to develop greatly and fulfill their potential.