How to Ensure Your Office Doesn’t Destroy Your Creativity
Regardless of the type of work your business does, you need your employees to push their critical thinking. To do this, you need to give them an environment that fosters creativity. Here are four simple ways to make that happen.
Create Spaces That Encourage Collaboration
“Teamwork makes the dream work” is a popular business axiom, and few managers would disagree with it. If your office doesn’t have some common areas that are conducive to employees meeting to brainstorm and workshop ideas, though, you’re cutting teamwork off at the knees. Make sure your staff has access to open areas with seating, or at the very least, conference rooms with tables. If it’s possible, an outdoor patio is always a nice option, too!
Provide Areas Where People Can Focus
Just as it’s important to provide open areas to inspire creativity for groups of employees, they also need private, quiet places to focus. Ideally, this would be a small office with the ability to turn off or dim lights, with a desk or workstation with a computer. Companies with an open floor plan have a challenge in this area, but it’s not insurmountable. Having a few cubicle walls or small private rooms can create a focus-ready environment.
Allow People to Move Around
As you can see, it’s critical to have the flexibility to inspire creativity. Managers must strike a delicate balance between holding accountability and keeping tabs on your team’s projects and allowing people to have the freedom to move around. The most organic way to do this is to schedule a briefing once or twice a week and “pop-in” once or twice a day to ask for an informal update and offer assistance. Make it clear that your main goal is to make sure the employee is feeling good and not stressed. This gives them a chance to ask questions or vent frustrations.
Make Sure Design and Décor Connect to Your Mission
This is a big-picture concept, but it’s useful if you are moving, renovating, or creating a new location. You know it’s important to design a functional office environment that includes spaces for teams to brainstorm and individuals to focus. In addition, consider your company’s logo, artwork, and mission statement. Whenever possible, you should take opportunities to incorporate branding statements, testimonials, and company-related iconography to inspire creativity.
Inspiring a team to think big while staying task-oriented is difficult, but if you keep these physical concepts in mind, you will be helping your cause, and helping your team succeed!
