A people-centric, optimal office is the path to success
How to create the ideal office environment
The Irish workplace has irreversibly changed. It is no longer defined by rows upon rows of desks and chairs, nor by a nine-to-five routine five days a week. People want flexibility, brought about by a number of factors, both economical and personal.
From employees choosing organisations that value work/life balance, to a workforce that finds itself adopting a commuter lifestyle, business leaders need to create an environment – an optimal office – that is people-centric, enables greater productivity and drives company success.
Transforming space
Recent Ricoh research found that, after staff, offices are the second largest cost to businesses.
Considering that most meeting rooms are empty half of the time and people are increasingly craving greater fluidity, it’s clear that simply having four walls and dozens of desks is no longer the most effective set-up.
By providing an office environment with adequate space, well-equipped workstations and communal areas that encourage better communication and collaboration, business leaders can enable team members to be more efficient, creative and productive.
Utilising technology
It is vital to introduce the technologies and strategies that work for your employees. That could mean providing the tools to allow people to work remotely and securely wherever they are and whenever they want. It could also mean adopting digitised workflows to manage, archive and access confidential information.
By choosing the right solutions and systems for your organisation, you can streamline your processes, allowing staff to work more efficiently and freeing up resources to focus on business-critical tasks. In turn, this will result in greater output, better customer service and a bigger bottom line.
Consulting experts
In order to ensure the success of your optimal office, it is important to consult those with expertise and experience. At Ricoh Ireland, the team has a wealth of knowledge about what makes a productive workspace and an engaged workforce.
The first step is finding out what your optimal office should look like, based on the needs of your people. The second is making it a reality with a trusted partner. The third is reviewing this people centric approach and continually building upon it.
Gary Hopwood, managing director, Ricoh Ireland, said: “People will continue to evolve in terms of how they work and Irish businesses need to keep up. The traditional concept of the office has become rigid and impractical. Not only does it hamper team members in terms of productivity and motivation, but it also has a negative impact on business performance and growth.
“Organisations have to realise that success is not determined by the amount of time people spend at their desks but rather how people are enabled to make the most of their time when working. Employees are driven by the environments in which they are, the tools they have and the processes they follow.
“The workspace can therefore be agile but that doesn’t make it any less collaborative or productive. Cutting-edge tools mean that companies don’t have to cut corners in terms of their time and resources. Processes can be digitised but also secure, while people can be more agile and more effective.”
