Category Archives: Creative Culture

People or servers go here?

From Burl Gilyard’s October 13, 2010 article in Finance and Commerce: – A discussion of the current state of corporate real estate was on the menu at Wednesday morning’s monthly meeting of the local chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

“The employees are driving some of the amenities,” says David Wright, vice president and asset manager with U.S. Bancorp…the company now weighs issues including access to transportation, green space and proximity to other amenities when considering real estate decisions. Wright alluded to an annual U.S. Bancorp spring survey of its employees – all 65,000 of them. “One of the key elements of that survey now is the workplace,” Wright said. As a result of the survey, Wright said, the company is investing in upgrading office furniture. At the same time, the company is using less space per employee, a trend among all office users. “We’re knocking down the amount of square footage per person,” Wright said. “You’re starting to see the need for less and less square footage.” In the past, industry benchmarks generally suggested that companies needed 250 square feet per employee. Those figures count common space, break rooms, conference rooms and other shared office space. Today, Wright estimates that the company is using about 185 square feet per employee.

When it comes to work performance, environment is one of the most underrated issues of success.  The work environment is the most important source of focus and inspiration a company can provide its employees. A company’s mission, leadership and ability to provide personal purpose often take a back seat to environment when it comes to the reason why people stay or go. The physical space & systems and the people that use it all make up a work environment. An environment must clearly support you and your employees’ goals in your for both to be successful.

The key aspect a physical work environmentmust provide is productivity. Space, equipment, lighting, work flow -all physical systems need to enhance the ability to be productive.  If you are too packed in a space with no natural light with old computers you may save on overhead but you will loose on the bottom line.

The key aspect to the people work environmentis to provide energy and collaboration. Within the company, the building and in the community, the people that provide a synergistic vibe will attract others to do the same. The unproductive will be weeded out and the businesses and individuals that remain with thrive.

So you have a good business and you say why does this matter? Because recruitment and retention should matter to anyone that has employees. Don’t have any employees? What about you? Want to stay happier, more productive? Surround yourself at a business center, executive office center or co-working space.  Surrounding yourself with the right digs, people, equipment and light will, at the very least, keep the happy worker vibes and potential collaboration rolling.

Know you need to improve the environment but not sure how? Contact us.Well, help you get started. Its can be as simple as starting a conversation with a firm like Adam Commercial Real Estate that provides corporate services.

Photo Credit  By Great