It’s not a secret: if you want to run any type of company successfully, you have to prioritize team productivity. A number of factors factor into how productive your employees will be, but many of them can suffer if you’ve decided to construct a new office building or renovate your existing one. Here are 4 tips to keep productivity as a top priority during your office building construction project.
1) Plan Your Timeline
Especially if relocation is involved, you have to minimize friction for your office workers as much as possible. Rather than requiring a move into a temporary office, try to plan out the construction process so that by the time your existing lease expires, you can easily move into the new space.
A similar strategy should exist if you are building a completely new office space. Don’t hire workers that don’t yet have a space to work; instead, try to time out their first day to coincide with a recently-finished building, so that you can ease the transition.
2) Incorporate Employee Input
Happy workers are proven to be more productive. At the same time, workers who feel that they have an input in how their work is structured tend to be be happier than their counterparts. Your office building can improve both by soliciting your employees for ideas on its structure, design, and interior layout.
Of course, the final decisions on each of these topics should be made by you and the construction company you choose to engage with. But incorporating at least some of the ideas will pay off big-time down the road.
3) Strategically Build Out the Space
Similar to workplace happiness, the layout of your office space has a very tangible impact on how productive your workers will be. That means your floor plan should be strategic, not just in fitting as many desks, cubicles, and offices in as possible but also by creating a layout that will be conducive to productivity.
For example, plan for shared office spaces that can help employees who tend to work together. On the other hand, those that need privacy and concentration should get their own office. Conference and break rooms are another important consideration for the layout.
4) Plan for Multiple Tenants
Most office buildings will be occupied by more than one company. But what types of companies are likely to become your tenants? The more you know about your local market, the more strategically you can plan the construction process.
An advertising agency, for example, will need a very different space than an accounting or law firm. Know what companies you’re likely to attract, and plan your office building construction accordingly so that you can ensure productive, long-term tenant relationships.
5) Work With Experienced Professionals
Finally, never underestimate the importance of experience when it comes to working with a construction company. Office buildings require a very different type of expertise than ice rinks or religious facility would. The materials may be different, but as the above points suggests, the varying purpose requires a very different approach.
As a result, especially when you work with design-build contractors, you need to find a partner that has experience not just in commercial construction, but building office buildings specifically. The more you can learn about their past project, and to which degree they incorporated each of the above tips in their construction process, the more educated your final decision can be.
Are you looking to construct a new or renovate an existing office building, but worried that your employee productivity will suffer in the process? If so, the above tips can help alleviate that worry. For more help in the process, reach out to us to see how we’ve helped others like you successfully complete their office building construction.
