INSPIRATION OFFICE
Inspiration Office - the workplace plays a crucial role in a company's ability to generate intellectual capital and create wealth in an age of innovation.
For decades, offices have been struggling with the negative image of being a waste of money and space. The sad truth is that most orgnisations today are so busy coping with the challenges of a global economy - to improve their business process, cut costs and install new technology infrastructures - that they often have little time to think about how to inspire their knowledge workers. The workplace has been treated as a capital expenditure - the office is there for people to work in - nothing more.
At Steelcase we know differently and we have a passion for studying the ways people work. Our research and observations have revealed that offices not only represent a considerable investment but are also a source of important potential and opportunity. The office is the visible framework for people, processes and the company's culture. It is a strategic resource and can exert a decisive influence on a company's results.
What is Inspiration Office? First of all it is a philosophy. The more inspiring the workspace, the more motivated and effective the staff will be. At the same time, it is about improving communication and redefining structures and processes. By taking a holistic approach to these objectives you can see that they have a direct influence on the company. The workplace becomes a strategic asset.
Steelcase has developed a powerful process, based on scientific principles, and unique in our line of business, which results in what we call an Inspiration Office. This process starts with our customer's aims and objectives. Then we research the staff's needs and perspectives, reveal communication structures and deficits and analyse processes and ergonomic efficiency. The result is a rounded picture of our customer complete with strengths and weaknesses, which we then break down into specific office requirements. We apply this to the company as a whole and also for each department and then break it down again for each team.
These objectives can be very varied: for example, networking specialist teams together, reducing move management costs, creating atmosphere, strengthening team spirit, improving brand awareness and much more.
Our planning methods are based on six essential elements, which are crucial to the creation of an Inspiration Office. By analysing how people work and by implementing our planning methods to actual working businesses, we can create workspace solutions to help people work more effectively and, above all else, create a better work experience. These planning principles are:
1. Balance privacy
Staff need to be able to decide for themselves how much privacy they need for individual and team work.
2. Make work visiblem
Our observations of teamwork prove the importance of making information visible. For example, this can be past, current and future task lists, organisational guidelines and other important information.
3. Manage connections
There are three types of connections to be made at work: between people and technology, between people and paper and people to people (which is often neglected).
4. Creating inspiring spaces
We want to create spaces which awaken curiosity, which encourage an informal atmosphere and which help people to relax.
5. Support diverse workstyles
No two people work alike, and each task has different requirements. A workspace must therefore be suitable for each individual employee no matter what task they undertake.
6. Manage facilities strategically
This planning principle is focused on finding a balance between the need for EFFICIENCY whilst balancing the EFFECTIVENESS of the user. Managing a high performance workplace demands that all of its facilities are planned, provided and managed strategically - within a budget that fits the business goals of the organisation. It means not only being efficient about the way facilities are managed, but also effective - for example, with regard to people's productivity or the office's flexibility to changing needs. In short, at the heart of an Inspiration Office is business effectiveness - issues like faster time-to-market, faster decision-making and higher employee retention. Inspiration Office is all about creating the conditions under which people can perform at their best and add value to the organisation - where they feel inspired to come up with the company's next innovation.
