FUTURE TALENT November - January 2019/2020 | Page 45

the office must act as a
conduit for culture, creating
a positive atmosphere , HR
must be involved.
Sarah Dowzell, founder
and chief operating officer
of start-up business Natural
HR, agrees “it’s imperative
that HR is involved in the design and location of any
office. Design should foster
productivity, collaboration,
f l ex i b i l i t y a n d s o c i a l
interaction between
colleagues.” During her
firm’s move from a small
office with a shared kitchen
space to its own premises in the Jewellery Quarter of
B i r m i n g h a m , D ow ze l l
factored in the growth of the
business, selecting a space
that was comfortable for
both its current and potential
future workforce.
Shopping around for
premises like a consumer, and finding spaces that fit
with financial expectations,
allows a business space in
which to grow organically.
“Look at your business
plan and be realistic,”
advises Dowzell. “We have a
model that interlinks our
financial forecasting and
resource planning so we’ve
mapped out which roles will
be coming into the business
over the next three years.
We chose an office that will
allow for that growth.”
Whether allowing for
grow th or maximising
teamwork, it’s clear that
effective office design is
integral to getting the most
o u t of yo u r p e o p l e .
Regardless of budget ,
creating a flexible space
where people can interact
w i t h t h e i r wo r k a n d
colleagues in different ways
should lead to a happier and
healthier workplace.
Hopefully then, our brains
will keep working when we
get into the office.
2 3 4 5
People
like working
in their
local café
FREEDOM TO ROAM – AND A
PLACE OF OUR OWN
We may require a variety of
environments to suit different
modes of working, but we also
crave a place of our own. A survey
of UK workers by HR consultancy
Brickendon found that 92% have
issues with ‘hot desking’; eight in
10 report that such arrangements
have had a negative effect on
their mental health. At video game
developer Valve’s headquarters
in Washington DC, all desks are
on wheels, allowing staff to move
freely around the office. Staff are
divided loosely into clusters called
‘cabals’ and individuals, but are
free to wheel away to a quiet
corner, or attach themselves to
another bank of co-workers.
ON TOPIC
DELIVEROO HOLDS
TOWN HALLS ON ITS
‘ROO-BALL’ PITCH
BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN
Flavie Lowres, associate
director at building science centre
BRE Group, describes ‘biophilia’
as “listening to the principles of
nature and bringing some of these
principles back into building”. For
example, The World Wildlife Fund's
Woking office, the Living Plant
Centre, is a large open space, built
on top of a car park, and filled
with plants and natural wood,
providing high air quality and an
abundance of natural light.
CO-WORKING COMMUNITIES
By 2020, two-fifths of the US
workforce will be independent
contractors or freelancers. For
both freelancers and small start-
ups, co-working spaces have
become a popular workspace
solution, giving businesses the
ability to recruit without fear of
out-growing a fixed location.
Melanie Paronson runs the social
app Panion with her three
employees out of Minc, a city-run
co-working space in Malmo,
Sweden. “Being in a co-working
space really allows you to expand
your network,” she comments.
“People are willing to collaborate
on shared marketing information
and promotion.”
O
HOME FROM HOME
Many co-working spaces
now look more like swanky
student complexes than offices.
Take Second Home, whose
spaces (in the UK, Portugual and
US) offer features such as
showers (with towels and
products); in-house cafes for
breakfast, lunch and dinner, and
lending libraries. Its Hollywood
offices boast a wellness garden,
recording studio, editing suite and
rooftop bar. The company aims
to develop a creative community
and “to build
spaces that help
members unlock
the potential of
their business”.
November – January 2019 // 45