6 Ways to Reimagine the Office as a Culture Hub

Hybrid offices need to be dynamic. The office should be a center for collaboration, innovation, and community. A space that brings people together and reflects a company’s mission, history, and beliefs.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, frequent in-person interactions lead to commitment, support, and cooperation among people on teams. So make sure your team has a space they want to be in.

Design, layout, and creativity can all help brighten up your space and make it a more desirable location to work. Here’s 7 ways to rethink traditional spaces and turn your office into a culture hub.

1. Don’t Stifle Workplace Socializing – Promote it 

Traditionally, managers would bristle if they saw subordinates chatting about non-business matters.  But studies have shown that informal socializing is what creates the kinds of bonds that make it hard for employees to leave - even for better opportunities - because they have friends at work. Free-form chatting can also spark innovation and solutions to tough problems.‍

2. Use the Environment to Tell Important Stories 

Your space should visually tell the history, successes, and plans of the company. Can someone walk in the lobby and learn something inspiring? Decorate your office so it highlights your company’s culture. Let your walls speak for themselves and visually narrate your company’s story.

3. Create More Complex Networks of Interactions

The best predictor of a team’s performance is their energy and engagement outside of formal work meetings. With data from systems like Robin leaders can actually see who is interacting with whom and then engineer ways to get people talking outside their limited silos. Companies have done this in simple ways - like having everybody take breaks at the same time, or putting in longer tables at cafeterias. You can find ways to display ongoing work that might spark spontaneous conversations.

4. Replace Individual Offices 

Create spaces that fit creative and collaborative tasks. If you are implementing a hybrid work plan, use data and policy to re-think how many individual offices you have and replace them with small “hotelling” spaces and other rooms that are specifically designed for collaboration, decision-making, long-term projects that involve prototyping and testing, and so on.  

5. Create Neighborhoods and Pods 

Groups of workstations promote collaboration; they can be achieved with moveable walls and partitions so that the space can be used in more than one way. Your work and projects are constantly changing, so make sure your space reflects that. Optimize all of your space, so your employees can too.

6. Provide Performance “Nudges” 

Adding interactive displays that communicate output statuses, posters that remind people of goals and where they are on the journey, and inspiring artifacts of the company can help boost morale and motivation. Be bold about goals and values, and make sure everyone else can see them too.

Hybrid: More Than Just a Workplace

Getting people back into the office is one thing, but getting people to want to go back is another. Show your employees you care about their comfort and enjoyment by turning your office into a community rather than just a place of work. 

By leveraging design creativity and data from systems like Robin, you can make your organization a great place to work. Recreate your space to represent who you are and what you want to get done.