Obviously the last 18 months has seen a significant upheaval in business, with age-old practices (thankfully some would say) finally falling by the wayside.

It won’t return to normal.

Not anytime soon and probably never as in decades gone by. “Yesteryear” from an operational business sense is “as much yesteryear” as VHS, print-editions of Cosmopolitan Magazine and sharing group hugs around the office water cooler.

Well, maybe the “hugs” still stand a chance of sporadic comebacks but, in general, we accept that our workspace is a forever changed beast.

This brings with it new demands on office amenities and location preferences, – also most definitely impacting on building size, use of space, the overall experience of employees and visiting clients.

The decision to downscale, relocate or redesign the current office environment is a topic that many business owners, HR Professionals and the like are considering at present.

Ask and ye shall receive

While company C-Suites will have their opinions the reality is that, now more than ever, inputs from across the staff-spectrum are required to uncover exactly what is needed, desired and operationally-practical as businesses look to design spaces that are fit-for-purpose.

Now is a great time to consider the total impact of your business location(s) on the people who need to work and/or visit there. Asking the right questions can give employers real insights into travel-patterns and other metrics that can help inform their “office of the future”.

Before any redesign, relocation or other property-project is embarked on, we suggest running a short survey to staff (and customers/regular visitors if your company is in that type of space) – with key topic-categories along these lines:

• Travel:
  • From which general direction do people travel to your business? North, East . . . you get the idea.
  • How long does it take them to get to and from work?
  • How do they get there? (public transport, carpool, own car)
    
    
• The current office location:
  • Which amenities in the surrounding area do they like (shops, services, etc)
  • Which amenities are missing, etc
    
    
• The current office building/premises:
  • Amenities they make use of most
  • Amenities not on site but preferred

And a whole bunch of other question categories, of course, pending how granular you need to be.

While you are at it, it may also be a good idea to combine this type of survey with general employee-wellness / employee-engagement type of research – as all these elements tie together in gaining insights into:

• How your people feel in terms of their current environment / state of mind
• What type of support they need to perform against company goals
• If your business is in a position to accommodate those needs

“It’s not on top it’s inside”

There’s a lot of research available, outlining trends in office space, employee engagement and what companies should consider in the “new normal”.

While taking research from Gartner, McKinsey and other groups on board is of value, our opinion is that nothing beats real insights from your own people.

NERO considers this the fundamental and most relevant exercise of all when reimaging your workspace.

Know what is really needed and then trust a Commercial Interior Design company, like NERO, to help create an environment that works – for you, your company and all your people.

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. . . Contact NERO for more insights and advice on your next office move >> https://nero-create.com/