How To Create an Interactive Office Floor Plan and Improve Workplace Experience

Danielle Aihini

Published on

June 20, 2019

It’s your first day on the job at a new company. Your morning itinerary probably looks something like this:

9:00 am - Arrive at the new office
9:15 am - Quick office tour
9:30 am - Receive seat assignment
10:00 am - Panic about finding your way to your first 10:30 meeting in a conference room named “Cherry Blossom”
10:15 am - Stare at the office map taped on a random corner wall
10:35 am - Show up late to your first meeting because you got lost

This scene is all too common in offices with outdated office floor plans and wayfinding signs. New and remote employees unfamiliar with the office layout have no way of knowing where to go and end up wasting time circling the floors looking for the right space.

For a long time, traditional floor plans taped to a wall worked just fine. But with a growing need for companies to provide flexibility to their employees, outdated office floor plans don’t cut it anymore.

Interactive office maps help people in office more easily find the places they need to be.

The Benefits of an Interactive Office Floor Plan

An interactive floor plan changes the game for employees and employers alike. It gives people the clarity they need to navigate the office and ensures everyone knows where they're going.

Executives, directors, managers, and employees are all affected by the flow of the office and a simpler experience for employees means a simpler experience for employers as well.

Fewer Distractions and Higher Productivity

When you don't know your way around the office you spend a lot of time asking questions like, “Where’s Linda sitting?” or “What meeting room is available right now?” An Atlassian survey found that the average employee is interrupted 56 times and spends two hours recovering every day.

Enabling employees with an interactive office floor plan allows them to go in and locate the right space or person immediately without interrupting anyone. According to a UC Irvine study, when workplace distractions are reduced:

75% of employees are more productive
57% have increased motivation
49% are overall happier at work

Interactive floor plans eliminate confusion, remove hurdles, and simplify the office experience.

Positive Experiences for Remote Employees

Over four million people in the U.S. work remotely at least half of the time, which means almost every company needs to foster a positive remote work culture. For remote employees, visiting the office from time to time can be an unfamiliar and uncomfortable experience.

Swap out the outdated, handwritten floor plan for an interactive, software-enabled map, so remote employees have immediate access to where people are, what meeting rooms are available, and where they’re supposed to be at any given moment.

Digital maps enable easier wayfinding for everyone.

Saving Time and Saving Money

There’s a growing need to provide employees with visibility into various office spaces in order to be productive. Neglecting to provide that type of workplace experience has costly effects.

Forty percent of people waste up to 30 minutes a day searching for space to collaborate, yet 70% of the workday, meeting rooms around the world go unused. Why? Often it’s as simple as a lack of visibility into the office floor plan and schedules for the day.

Updated office floor plans with real-time availability help keep employees in the know, so you can stop wasting valuable resources. Streamline the process for everyone involved and get the most out of your office investments.

Building a Stronger Culture

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, frequent in-person interactions lead to commitment, support, and cooperation among people on teams. If getting people into your office will boost their dedication to their work, then ensuring they have an easy time getting around is crucial.

Gallup says spending two to three days in the office each week boosts outcomes for engagement and wellbeing and Robin's recent report found that 64% of respondents were more likely to come into the office if they knew their team would be there.

Interactive floor plans give people direct insight into the office, so they can come in, get to work, and embrace company culture.

The less frustration there is in the office, the easier it is to build a strong team culture.

Simplify Office Management

Historically, the office floor plan lived in an IWMS system only accessible to IT and Facilities. In today’s workplace, that type of internal confidentiality doesn’t sustain a modern workforce. When employees feel frustrated because they have no way of accessing the office floor plan, satisfaction decreases, negatively impacting retention rates.

With an interactive office map, IT and Facilities have full control over what end users see, providing access to important wayfinding information while keeping confidential information private. As the office layout changes, admins can go in and edit visuals, space, and schedule details that are then available to end users immediately.

How to Create a Dynamic Interactive Floor Plan

If you're ready to set up your interactive floor plan and improve your hybrid workplace' experience, here are 4 tips to help you get started.

1. Gather Workplace Data

The most important part of creating a dynamic interactive floor plan is making sure you have the right data. Record space dimensions of each room, obtain floor plan blueprints and gather details on office furniture and fixtures to help you accurately represent your space on a digital map.

Data is your friend. Be mindful of how spaces in your office are being used.

2. Create a Clear Layout

Interactive floor plans are all about functionality and usability. Designing a clear and user-friendly space will make it easier for people to understand the layout and find their way around. Using consistent icons, shapes, and symbols will keep things aligned, and labels and room signs will make navigating the space easier. Hint: utilize a wayfinding software for simple customization.

3. Roll Out to Your Team

Once your first interactive map and floor plan is set up you'll have to introduce it to your people. Consider testing out the new map with a smaller group of employees before introducing it to the entire office. This will allow you to identify and correct any issues you didn't anticipate. Make sure to include clear instructions and guidelines, so there's no confusion.

4. Maintenance

Like many things, your office space will always be a work in progress. People's needs change and your own office plans will need to follow suit. Don't be afraid to make edits and adjustments as needed. And if you're looking for guidance, employee input is a great place to start.

Modern office spaces require modern wayfinding solutions.

Modernizing Office Space

Your people deserve the best and that includes the best workplace technology. Supporting a flexible working modern office starts with finding the right software and technology to make everyday processes easier.

Easy-to-use wayfinding software gives people a real-time view of the office making it easier to get around and find the desk or conference room they need. Start improving the workplace experience today. Learn more.