Did you know that a well-designed office leaves a direct impact on a company’s productivity? Ask any interior designer, and they will tell you that a smart office space balances form and function. A US government report titled, “Hallmarks of the Productive Workplace”, says workplaces that manage this combination—of being aesthetically pleasing and conducive to work—become strategic business tools, encouraging high-performance. Well-designed offices help organisations do more, faster and better, and boost bottom lines. Smart employee-oriented spaces are also one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to retain workers and encourage them to tap their potential. In fact, half of all employees that responded to a survey by Gentler, a corporate architecture firm, said they would work an extra hour per day if their workplace was nicer. Also, in these days of soaring rentals and shrinking office sizes, businesses need to work with carefully thought-out designs to make the most of the space available. Joby Joseph, CEO of Freshersworld.com, a company that helps fresh graduates find their first job, has put design to good use. His 2,000 sq ft office is designed to ensure that his 35 employees are comfortably seated, without the space appearing congested. You can work magic with your office, too. Read on to see how you can design an office that has the right ambience, and helps maximise performance and profits.

Customise your space

Plan Well

Size up space: The first step in designing a productive office is to size up space available to you at its most basic level–does it offer suitable temperature control, air quality, noise control, and sufficient natural and artificial lighting? “These essentials must be in place since no amount of shoe-shining can change these basic attributes,” says Aparna Kunde-Kowli, partner at K+A, a Mumbai-based architectural firm.

“Considering that employees spend most of their waking hours in office, employers owe it to them to create n environment that is conducive to well-being,” says Vinod Panjwani, director of Aura Global Furniture. If a space comes pre-installed with services like air-conditioning and water treatment systems, check out whether they are reliable. Otherwise, select systems that will hold good for the maximum number of employees.

Map the layout: Next, plan what goes where. Typically, the reception lobby and visitors’ area should be at the entrance. Others should be laid out so as to facilitate information flow—more so in offices entertaining clients. This also involves understanding how employees communicate and noise levels. “Usually, partitions are required to prevent sounds from spilling over from noisier departments and collaborative areas, and to offer senior managers some privacy,” explains Geeta Uppal, principal architect, Sandeep Geeta & Associates. Technology and services needs also determine the layout of an office, as does running cost. For instance, locating departments that regularly work late hours in one section helps reduce air-conditioning costs. The area you need to be most secure should generally be centrally located. Server rooms and computer network centres require specific wiring and should be planned to accommodate future expansion.

Provide for facilities: You’ll also need to allocate space for amenities like toilets, pantries and drinking water dispensers. Rule of thumb suggests creating one easily accessible washroom for every 15 to 20 per cent employees. For areas where a water connection isn’t possible, Kowli recommends creating a dry pantry with an espresso machine, a vending machine, and a water dispenser. “Most multi-storey corporate offices also have a common cafeteria catering to one-third of the staff at a time,” she adds. A pantry on each floor and a cafeteria go a long way in helping people love their workplace. If you’re designing a new office, you may also see benefit in reducing the size of cubicles or in moving employees out of offices into cubes. The extra space can be utilised for other perks.

Evolve A Style

Colour schemes: “Colour offers employees some respite from monotony. An office’s colour scheme speaks volumes about its ‘formality’ quotient,” says Uppal. Bright colours, with or without jazzy metallic shades, help create fun spaces. On the other hand, shades of brown, beige, grey, cream, or white infuse spaces with a seriousness.

“Our partitions are orange and blue since these colours are lively and also part of our logo. We opted for walls painted white as this amplifies artificial lighting,” says Fresherworld’s Joseph. Companies are increasingly including their logo or brand colours in their architectural palette—walls, floors, ceilings and furnishings.

Corporate culture: Use your office to reflect your corporate culture. This involves designing spaces that mirror the image the company wants to project. For instance, Joseph wanted to foster an open culture. “So we opted for no enclosed spaces other than discussion rooms and lower partitions between cubicles.” The materials chosen to do up an office can also emphasise its corporate values. Kowli observes that offices adhering to an open theme usually opt for meeting rooms that are glass-walled or fully-glazed with frosting film bands for privacy. Where partitions are the office norm, meeting rooms may be shut off by painted gypsum or laminate-clad wooden partitions, or in some cases, acoustic panelling for sound control.

Vastu rules: Many business owners want to ensure that office space is aligned with the principles of Vastu. Harmonising the two isn’t always easy. There were no office buildings of the kind we see nowadays around when Vastu was written. Still, rules can be applied broadly. For instance, Vastu suggests that a home’s entrance be oriented towards the north-east. Office entrances may be oriented likewise. A home’s north-west corner usually houses the safe. So, finance departments of an office may be situated in the north-west. A CEO’s cabin, corresponding to the master bedroom, should be located in the south-west. Vastu says a home’s north-east corner should be open. In an office, it becomes a good place for a lobby. The pantry goes where the kitchen should be—in the south-east.

Flexible Design

Some offices, such as those of IT, accounting, engineering, legal, and architectural firms, may benefit from flexible seating arrangements, which help team-building and make it easy to regroup to execute projects.

Information technology and software industries are increasingly moving towards workspaces that aren’t personalised. Temporary and mobile staff needs separate seating as well.

Technicians and employees working on sites need a place to touch down to understand their work assignments and write out reports. Hi-tech lighting and temperature sensors are also fast changing the concept of comfort in the workplace.

Be Cost Smart

An office re-design can cost you anywhere from 1,500 to 3,500 per sq ft depending on the frills. 1,800 per sq ft is a reasonable thumb rule for a well-done up workspace. Higher end spaces, with quirky add-ons, may cost up to 4,500 per sq ft. Typically, retail or hospitality outfits spend that much. Kowli recommends growing firms to keep 5 to 10 per cent of unused square feet; it helps to take care of future needs.  A roadmap that considers your future work flow helps to ramp up when you need to without growth pangs.

Align office design to your goals

Aligning your office design with your business objectives will reap benefits. Here’s how:

1. Aim: Employee retention and enhancing productivity levels

Design: Show your employees how much you care by giving them seats that are usually allocated to more senior managers–open spaces by windows. Also, keep your employees happy by ensuring spatial equity–avoid spacious executive offices and give rank-and-file workers larger cubicles.

2. Aim: Encourage collaboration

Design: Measures such as free seating and open offices encourage information exchange and flexibility. Spontaneous collaboration may also be fostered by creating small enclosed spaces that are more accessible than meeting rooms, which often need to be booked in advance.

3. Aim: Seat employees from branch offices

Design: Create drop-in workstations for employees from other offices. These spaces will also be useful for those who work from home, or those who visit occasionally.

4. Aim: Balance privacy with collaboration

Design:  Companies with small offices find it difficult to strike this balance. Open offices encourage collaboration by assuring plenty of visibility. But they can be noisy and distracting. Lower cube walls may be the way out.

Space guidelines

A critical question when designing an office is—how much is enough? Your employees might differ with you on how big a workstation area needs to be. The International Facilities Management Association proposes the following:

Executive office space: 241 sq ft (291 sq ft in 1987)

Senior professional: 98 sq ft

Call centre employee: 50 sq ft

And here’s what the Corporate Facilities Group of Cambridge, USA, has to say:

President, CEO and Chairman: 250 to 400 sq ft

Vice President: 150-250 sq ft

Executive: 100-150 sq ft

Employee: 80-125 sq ft

Conference room: 25-30 sq ft (per person)

Dining room: 15 sq ft per person for dining. For food preparation roughly one-third of the dining area

Reception area: 150-350 sq ft