The Components of a Business Location That Serves Your Employees Correctly

It’s safe to say that modern business owners have a significant amount of things to contend with. Running a business comprises so many different aspects, we can find ourselves working overtime to ensure that each of these disparate elements works effectively. The hardest thing when it comes to tying it all together is the location itself. As a business location should be the place where everything comes together, we’ve got to put as much focus on this as possible. But the business environment comprises the physical, as well as the motivational aspects. So what can we do to create a business location that really does work to serve our employees effectively? 

Focusing on the Simple Foundations

Employees need to come to business premises that serve their needs in a number of ways. The fact is that we have to make life easier for them so they can do a great job. And this is why we’ve got to remove any seed of doubt from their minds. A business needs to be as good as its weakest employee. Therefore, if employees don’t have faith in your ability to lead or they don’t have faith in the premises, you’ve got to make sure everything is up to code. This means there’s a lot to factor in here, including health and safety, physical structure, as well as giving your employees the basics for them to thrive. 

Something like a car park may seem trivial, but if you’ve got employees that are constantly frustrated they can’t find anywhere to park near your business premises, this means they’ll be starting their working day on the wrong foot, which will impact their productivity. The fact is there are paving services (like Mcconnellassociates.org) and a variety of other components that will make a big difference to your employees’ frame of mind. Giving them these little things by making sure that they don’t even have to think about them may seem trivial, but this is what provides the foundation for a consistent employee experience. 

The Accessibility

An accessible location is arguably less important now that people are working from home more. But the business premises is pivotal because it is the focal point of your company. This is where people will come to congregate to take part in meetings and to actually bond with other employees. This is why many organizations look for business locations in the middle of city centers. However, you don’t need to go for a location in the dead center of a city, especially if it’s costing you a lot of money. 

But you may want to think about the long run, especially if you’re trying to cut back on practices that are detrimental to the planet. An accessible location is all about having the right transport links. There is a lovely article on the importance of transport links on Minutehack.com that can highlight the importance of this more definitively. 

A central location is vital in many ways, but it isn’t the defining factor for your business. What is more important is getting your employees to start the day on the right foot. As the location is pivotal to harnessing effective business relationships, you need to make sure they can access everything. 

Ensuring the Environment Is Conducive to Productivity

A business environment is not just about the layout, but it’s about making sure that your employees can do their work in an effective way. So many people have used the open-plan layout as a default setting. But the reality is that if you are looking to make sure your employees are productive, there are many subtle components that you will have to think about. Take, for example, the dreaded artificial light. Many employees can’t maintain their productivity because they don’t have access to natural light. The harsh overhead lights can have a major impact on their ability to focus and can cause headaches and eye strain. We can tell employees to get up and have breaks, but the fact is that they need to maintain productivity and will feel obliged to cut back on things that are not good for them. So what is the solution? 

Ensuring that you can give them what they need so they are productive at their desks. Getting rid of artificial lights and making the space more open with large windows is one little thing, but you also have to look at what makes an employee productive in an office environment. These can include some of the following: 

• The Colors. While many offices are painted a simple white, if you want your employees to be more productive, you may want to think about incorporating different color schemes. There’s a lot of debate on the types of colors that can impact productivity. You’ve got to find the right ones that will work for your teams while making sure that each space is conducive to a certain notion of productivity. You don’t want the colors to be overly distracting in, for example, a meeting room. 
• The Smells. Incorporating different scents can make a big difference in productivity. They can also help to relax people so they will be focused. When we think about this very little thing, we can turn to the employee and see what they think about it. Some people may not have given their two cents to the topic of scents, but it’s very important to get this component right. 
• The Sound. Some people get distracted by external noises and with neurodiversity being a very contemporary topic, it’s definitely worth addressing in terms of your physical location. Many people are more productive when they have the physical space to focus on their work. While it may prove difficult to give employees their own space inside an office environment, you can tiptoe around this issue by allowing employees to focus by incorporating certain tools, for example, binaural beats. Binaural beats of 40 Hz or more have been shown to trigger focus and productivity in the brain. 

The Importance of Flexibility

This is even more important in a post-pandemic world. COVID hasn’t gone away yet, but the lesson we’ve all taken away from it is that employees need more flexibility in their lives. A business location should be a haven for people to work, but it should also be a place that provides a number of options. Organizations can create a sense of unity by allowing more flexibility. The best way to do this is to focus on the outcomes rather than the processes. 

When you give employees more free rein in an office environment to do their job, it’s amazing how effective the results are. Processes are important in many ways, but there are countless examples of leaders who are happy for their employees to do what they want as long as the job is done within a reasonable timeframe. The business location, therefore, needs to factor in ways to help employees become more flexible. This could include: 

• Catering to Their Approach To Work. For example, providing numerous spaces for them to work and different scenery to inspire. Giving them more time to do their work is not necessarily about stretching the deadlines, but could be about keeping the office open for longer. 
• An Open-Door Policy. Finally, ensuring that you, the leader, have your door open is such a minuscule thing that will make a big difference in employee morale. 

If you want to create a business location that pleases your employees and makes them more productive, there’s a lot to think about, but incorporate some of these and you and your company will go in the right direction.

This is a contributed post.