I must have walked through a thousand office buildings during my career.

By the time you reach a meeting room a strong impression of the company is already formed in your mind. Without a conscious effort, you can quickly adopt a fixed image of the culture. Unfortunately such premature reaction is the norm.

This is very much like unwittingly locking-in opinions of a person in the first 7 seconds of meeting; a very human behavior already well reported and known.

It’s said that in many ways we are what we eat and read, so too we easily become a reflection of the workspace in which we dwell.

The walls, colors, furniture and layouts all constantly scream at us and it’s hard to believe most people aren’t affected.

I can recall visiting an expensive office facility overseas which had huge, open, yet sparsely populated desk spaces for employees. Unfortunately, color selections were drab, almost military and the place had the air of an unwelcoming prison office. Sadly, the senior managers carried that same aura in their persona; their business, too, was devoid of imagination and not surprisingly quickly faded away.

All workspace styles send a message. Bad impressions can be offset by colors, lighting, layout adjustments and the addition of unique features.

You often won’t get frequent opportunities to address changes in workspace, but if you’re moving to new facilities it’s essential to act thoughtfully.

In many cases cost is an overriding factor in decisions and choices. This often forces basic layout-type selection, but this need not prevent you from optimizing other layout details, furniture, lighting and related selections.

However, there remain significant pros and cons for every basic office layout-type choice:

 

Open-Plan (no cubicles)

• Inexpensive (for both installation and moves)
• Spacious and efficient
• Great for communications/sharing/leveraging enthusiasm

But, also generally

• Lacking privacy
• Missing quiet for reflection and concentration
• Can suggest cheap and uncaring management, if not done tastefully and supplemented with accessible meeting rooms, quiet areas, décor and so on
• Messy areas stand out/often require frequent communal care
• etc.

 

Cubicles

• Medium expense (though fancy-featured cubes can be quite pricey)
• Flexible/configurable
• Mostly conceals untidy desks and spaces
• Reasonable employee interactions remain possible
• Elements of employee privacy

And, also

• Still generally lacks opportunity for quiet/privacy/concentrated thought
• Can sometimes appear like animal-testing mazes
• Larger areas often seem devoid of visible personnel and so appear impersonal
• etc.

 

Walled offices

• Most expensive: for installation and when moving
• Best for privacy and quiet work
• Generally highly valued by employees
• Promote strong air of professionalism

Yet, still

• Isolated from ready communications and interactions
• Prone to appear devoid of humanity and can seem sterile
• Present tough adjustment for interactive, expressive individuals accustomed to human contact
• etc.

 

There is also the sensitive matter of how executive seating is planned and integrated (or not) in the general population as a part of the floor-plans described above. However, established norms and expectations can often help and guide those arrangements.

So, no space and overall layout is completely ideal.

You can pick your poison to match your pocketbook and hopefully best support the culture you wish to enhance or establish.

With all these floor-plans you can incorporate open areas, readily available meeting and/or break rooms, good equipment and lighting, furniture choices, colors, plants and quality to offset the negatives in the fundamental layout choice. Good selections on these details all help ensure alignment to the culture you want.

And don’t second these choices to supposed experts unless you’re convinced they capture the culture you envision.

Best of all, when you get the chance you should also work on that curbside appeal. How the place looks from the outside will greatly affect those who enter, whether as inspired employees, or visitors.

Tying culture to the physical appearance of the environment is an important matter. Just take a look at the campuses established by the likes of Apple and Google etc. The focus on brand, self-image and culture is profound.

Consider the properties of top universities; Ivy League schools, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge colleges etc. all boast facilities with palpable culture and implied standards.

Workspace appearance matters. You want to make a constant statement to your people about who you are and what you value? Then don’t forget the facilities.

What people see all around them will typically affect demeanor and hence behavior.

Have you got an opportunity to improve your workplace? As a minimum, maybe there’s a chance to tune-up appearance and up-grade some facilities? After all, this all sends your cultural message.

 

Ever walked into a place that had such poor appearance/layout it gave you a bad opinion of the company?  Leave me a comment about it…or send a tweet @ianrmackintosh

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh