Want to make staff more productive? Try a puppy... and pizza parties

FOR SOME COMPANIES, employees might thrive in open offices where there’s lots of collaboration and open communication. Others may need a bit more quiet, personal space. The fact is, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Staff these days want to work in spaces that create a sense of work-life balance. That is exactly what we have tried to do with our new headquarters, which we only recently moved into.

It’s called the Dog House and it’s a funky, colourful and playful workspace. We created lots of quiet zones for people to get away from their desks, as well as the usual breakout rooms and a large, open-plan workspace.

An important element to it is our office dog, Jackson. His official job title is ‘fun director’.

He’s great for social media content. It’s nice as well to just relax with him and if staff are stressed they can take him out for a walk to help clear their head.

It all fits into the ‘office wellness’ category. Our office is a really fun place to be and we have really tried to etch our own personality into the design.

Functional

When people come through the door, they understand the type of business we are and what is important to us. People buy into that. When companies are kitting out an office, they want to create a space that reflects their brand and their culture.

But form always follows function. You can’t achieve your goal purely with cool design or following trends – it’s important that the space is functional.

It should be built around the diverse ways that your team works. Not everybody comes in at nine, goes home at five and takes an hour lunch. They want the option of getting away from their desk if they need some quiet time to focus on a project, tackling a barrage of emails or to make an important phone call.

Something as simple as working from a laptop can give them the freedom to move between difference spaces throughout the day or as projects take place and helps improve interactions with the team.

Motivation

If you don’t have the budget to build quiet zones or breakout areas, there are more subtle ways you can introduce that sense of work-life balance for staff.

You can use artwork and quirky mottos on the walls to give people a space that they just don’t expect in the workplace – motivational words and quotes that mean something to your culture and brand, reflecting the personality of the business and the team on the walls.

When I bring visitors on a tour of our office, I’ll always find they will stop in their tracks at some witty saying or picture on the wall. You are essentially creating an ‘experience’ for anyone who comes to explore your space, including potential new team members.

Having greenery spread around the office is also really popular right now. Office plants are a cost-effective way to not only improve office surroundings for your employees but they also provide a more welcoming place for clients.

If you have any outdoor space, let staff use it. If you’re near a park, you should encourage workers to go for a walk to clear their minds instead of slaving away or eating lunch at their desks.

We often grab lunch in groups at the nearby parks in summer to get out and relax in the sun, office dog in tow. This will be repaid tenfold in productivity dividends.

It is also good to earmark a day in the week to do something nice. For example, once a week somebody could bring in their favourite cake or cook a dinner for their colleagues. We always say that “a crew that eats together stays together”, so we’ll often cook lunches for everybody in the office and have the typical pizza and beer nights.

Even small things like being able to plug in your headphones and power down with some tunes or playing music out on the smart TV across the office might not seem like much, but is in fact great way to increase productivity in the workplace.

Breaks

I push my team to take more breaks at work so they can have downtime and network with fellow employees as some of your best ideas for work come from when you aren’t working.

One idea to encourage breaks is to ensure your kitchen is well-stocked. Providing compelling incentives like free food, snacks and coffee is a good way to encourage employees to step away from their desks. These little things can go a long way.

The community is one of the most critical components of a healthy co-working space. You want to be able to work in the office, but you also want to be able to break away have a bit of a laugh with your colleagues.

It’s important that not all corners of the office are just for work. I think that is what the co-working sector has been good at.

We create a strong sense of community which really makes people feel comfortable with their peers and allows them to focus on achieving their goals. When you work with a group of like-minded people, you all drive each other on and help each other out.

When you take that concept back to the more traditional workspace, it is important when you are building out your office that you’re doing it with like-minded people. Let staff have a say in how the space will be fitted out and how it will function.

Whether you are co-working or in a large business, the workplace should never be a dull place. Remember that your aim is to create the right environment for your culture, not to hop on the latest design trend.

Joe McGinley is the chief executive and founder of workspace provider Iconic Offices. This article was written in conversation with Conor McMahon as part of a series of masterclasses with some of Ireland’s most influential business people.

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