2016: A time for decluttering and fresh starts

Boosting productivity for the New Year

Date: Monday 14th December 2015

By Aisha Oakley, Head of Consultancy & Outsourcing

Over the last few weeks there has been a flurry of articles detailing the advantages and benefits of ‘re-organising’ the office.  What with a new year upon us, everyone’s attention turns to thinking about how to regroup and refresh for the year ahead.

But how beneficial is it to move employees around the office and what impact does that really have on motivation and engagement levels?

According to HR magazine, who recently featured organisations that have done just that, by decluttering and redesigning the office it can have a huge impact on productivity levels.  An example given included National Grid’s redevelopment of their building after employees complained that they could not book a meeting room because there wasn’t enough space when the building was actually only fully occupied for 40% of the time.

National Grid employed a scientific approach by testing a variety of office settings to see how long it took teams to make decisions.  The trial was rolled out across multiple buildings and offices and overall the redesign of the building has helped increase productivity by 8%, achieving a £10million saving in operations for the business.  In addition, the business has said that there has been an 8% rise in employee comfort and satisfaction levels.

Impressive? Yes, but this is all very well for a large company with allocated budgets for such a move.  So what can SMEs do to improve productivity and engagement within their offices on a much smaller scale?  We’ve got some tips to help you:

1. Tidiness – I know it sounds obvious but ensuring a clear desk policy can really help to keep the office clutter free and keep mind sets clear and motivated on getting the task done.
2. Standing meetings – On average we spend between 35-50% of our working time in meetings, so it might be worth taking a leaf out of Richard Branson’s book by adopting ‘standing’ only meetings meaning that you get down to talking about business more quickly and decisions are reached in a more timely manner.
3. Divide workspace into zones – encouraging your employees to compartmentalise a daily routine into particular areas on their desks will create more space and therefore enable them to be more efficient.
4. Floating workstations – this allows and encourages employees to move workstations to maximise productivity and encourages teams to work together, creating a better working environment.  If this is not possible then why not create break out areas which can help your employees to bond creating a happier and more relaxed atmosphere.

Getting HR involved to help roll out these changes and ensuring that they are adhered to from the top down will allow organisations to boost productivity and engagement among employees allowing for a more collaborative and decluttered way of working.

For any HR queries or questions, please email Aisha on aisha.oakley@bradfield.co.uk or call us on 0207 977 9200.

Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/boosting-productivity-through-workplace-design