You’ve made the big decision to move, and now comes the exciting part – picking the finishes, the furniture, and the layout.
But before you fall in love with a Pinterest board of “cool office ideas,” there is one critical step to ensure your project is a thriving success: staff consultation.
At Bluewood, we’ve seen that the most productive workspaces aren’t just designed by the professionals, they are designed by the people who actually use the desks, the coffee machines, and the meeting pods every day.
Why Guesswork is Your Biggest Risk
When leadership teams design an office in a vacuum, they often solve problems that don’t exist while missing the ones that do. You might invest in a high-tech “Idea Lab,” only to find your team actually just needed more quiet booths for private calls.
Consulting your team isn’t just a “nice-to-have”; it’s about creating alignment.
3 Effective Ways to Consult Your Team
1. The Structured Survey: Not everyone feels comfortable speaking up in a boardroom. An anonymous survey allows you to gather data on the “nitty-gritty” of office life.
- Ask about: Commuting habits, how many hours they spend in “deep focus” vs. collaboration, and even the temperature or lighting preferences.
2. Stakeholder Workshops: Bring together “Champions” from different departments. Because a creative team’s needs for whiteboards and open space will differ vastly from an accounts team’s need for privacy and storage.
3. Space Utilisation Audits: Sometimes, people don’t know what they want until you show them what they do. Are those 10-person boardrooms always occupied by just two people? That’s a sign you need more “Huddle Rooms,” not more boardrooms.
Addressing the “Change Anxiety”
Change can be daunting. Employees often worry about losing their favourite desk, changes to their commute, or increased noise levels. By involving them early, you turn “change” into “opportunity.”
- The “Quick Win”: Sometimes, listening to a small request, like better kitchen facilities or more bike storage, can build more goodwill than a total aesthetic redesign.
Balancing Desires with Reality
Of course, you can’t please everyone. The key is to manage expectations from the start. Frame your consultation around the project’s goals (e.g., “We are creating a space for better collaboration”). This ensures the feedback remains actionable and stays within your budget and timeline.