Attracting and retaining top talent and valuable employees depends on many different things.  While often overlooked, workplace design is an important aspect of recruitment and retention  After all, an office is a physical embodiment of a company and its culture. By strategically planning your workplace design to support your company’s culture and mission, it will have a direct impact on your company’s recruitment and retention.

When thinking about workplace design to support recruitment and retention, consider the following:

Your Space Should Support Your Mission and Culture

Your brand and your company’s culture should be clearly represented as a new recruits and longtime employees walk through your doors.  When your mission and culture are consistently displayed through your office design, not only will your employees/recruits feel a sense of unity, but they will get a feel for the personality and culture of your business.  Making strategic choices about logo, colors and furniture will connect everyone that walks through your doors to the values and attitude of your organization. Further, productivity can increase by as much as 20% when employees are in a workspace that they admire and feel positive about.

Your Space Should Be Flexible

For top talent, a workspace that is flexible and has a variety of areas to work in has a lot of appeal to both top talent and current employees.  The new workforce, many coming from a collegiate atmosphere, want to be able to have the choice to work in space that suits them best.  The type of work environment that works best can change often based upon the type of work an employee is asked to do, so including a combination of areas for employees to work will enhance recruitment and retention.  Consider including open and enclosed areas for collaboration or focused work and places to relax and socialize such as comfortable seating areas, kitchens or cafe areas.  Recent studies have shown that employees that are given choice in their work environment have higher growth rates and one-third the turnover.

Your Space Should Have Easy Access To Technology

Flexibility is a big selling point in attracting top talent and keeping current employees happy–having a workspace that is integrated with state-of-the-art technology will not only provide a flexible work environment but support an atmosphere of innovation, creativity and collaboration.  When employees have easy access to technology, it becomes a very important benefit of their jobs. In a workspace where technology is up-to-date and easy to use, employees will have the option to work remotely, have improved collaboration and added flexibility.

By investing in workplace design as a way to enhance your recruitment and retention, you can strategically create not only a space where employees and recruits will want to work, but create a space that will inspire and engage them, making your company a place that will stand apart from the rest.