The Value of Employee Input During Office Renovations
Effective office renovations take a lot of careful planning, not just in terms of staying on budget and scheduling, but in terms of overall goals. Office renovations aren’t something companies deal with every day, so it’s only natural to make sure the final outcome supports as many of your company’s needs as possible. But how do you figure out which goals to focus on?
In some cases, problems are easy to spot. A growing company, for instance, might have simply outgrown their space and needs to move into a larger office so that people can be more comfortable and the company can grow more effectively. Or a company that’s switching to a hybrid work model might want to move to a smaller space with lots of support for video conferencing. But what about the problems that aren’t so clear? That’s where employee input can be extremely valuable.
Employees have a very deep familiarity with your space and can have very good insights about what, exactly, is working well in the current space and what could be improved. Let’s say an office layout leads to people walking further than necessary when they need to talk to people in other departments or to access the copy machine. Or maybe some parts of the office have a problem with sun glare that makes it hard to work at certain times of the day. An employee will be able to directly tell you about those types of problems which would be more difficult to identify otherwise. Employees might even have recommendations that you hadn’t thought of before.
If you’re considering adding special amenities to your new space, getting feedback from employees can help you figure out which ones will be the most appreciated. For example, you wouldn’t want to add an in-office fitness center if a game room is something they’d be more excited about.
Involving employees while planning a renovation not only helps you get valuable input, it helps people feel happier, more appreciated, and more engaged with their jobs. It’s a simple way to let them know that you value their input and care about making sure they have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively.
If a company wants to engage the company as a whole, especially when they are large, it’s important to do that prior to kicking off the design. You may want to have a company-wide meeting to discuss the project or send out a survey. It’s also important to stick to small groups when forming the group that will have decision making power when engaged with the architect and construction team. This will keep the project streamlined and on time. Too many opinions tend to cause delays if a tight timeline is required.
Ready to take the next step toward a new office? Premier Construction & Design has experience working on commercial renovations for businesses in a wide range of industries. Take a look at our portfolio to see some examples of other projects we’ve worked on. Contact us so that we can learn more about your project.
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