O
ver the past few years, many companies are asking the same question: How do we entice people back into the office? Through many years of experience, we’ve unlocked the answers — and now, we’ve put them to the test in our own new headquarters. Here, we share three tips on delivering an office environment that makes people want to show up — and how we embraced these suggestions ourselves.
1. Invest in an ideal location.
After operating in the suburbs for years, we purchased and restored a historic building in Downtown Columbus. It has completely changed the daily lives of our entire team, me included. We feel invigorated by a new kind of energy being in the city’s heart. We can walk all over, whether it’s to a client’s office for a meeting or to any number of coffee shops for a mid-afternoon break. Lunch suddenly holds endless opportunities: We can eat at myriad restaurants, carry a sandwich to a bench on the river or enjoy food trucks at the park. And happy hour is, suddenly, a real thing.
2. Create a beautiful,
functional space.
I’ll start with the beautiful part: Environment affects how people feel. Every day, your office space is shifting people’s moods — whether it’s intentional or not. We wanted our space to feel welcoming, comfortable and inspiring. The top floor, for example, includes sweeping, 15-foot ceilings and natural light streaming through giant arched windows. It’s stunning. So, instead of making it leadership offices, we made it our team living room. It’s a warm, inviting space with fireplaces, custom bookshelves and comfy furniture where people can hang out any time, either solo or in groups. That’s just one of many examples.
The functional piece is just as important. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the space is if it doesn’t function for your needs. We wanted to give our team lots of choices on where and how they want to work. We found the right mix of formal collaboration spaces (like the reservable library and conference room); open, casual collaborative spaces (like the kitchen, the living room and larger tables between people’s individual desks); and private spaces (including soundproof pods that fit up to four people). And we ensured that the collaboration spaces are close to where people are already working so it feels organic to move into them when wanted.
3. Culture is key.
We can help clients find a great location. We can design an incredible and functional space. But an excellent culture is not something we can create for anyone but ourselves. It is, however, the secret sauce. Hire the right people, and then create and nurture a culture where they can thrive. For us, that has always meant offering a flexible schedule and not burning people out, among other things. If your team likes being together — and if you’ve provided the optimal space for them to do it — they’ll crave that in-person experience. And whatever you do, whoever you serve, will benefit from that synergy. I know our clients do.
Bhakti Bania is Co-founder and CEO of BBCO
