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6 Steps to Define Your Workplace Strategy: Insights from SGI Architects

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Your employees have high expectations from their workplaces, and your business has important goals. A clear and well-defined workplace strategy can ensure you, your business, and your goals align towards a great workplace solution.

25 July 2023
  • Arch. Alexander Daw
    Managing Partner, CEE

Step 1: Align Your Business Objectives

To develop an effective workplace strategy, it's crucial to consider the broader context of your business. Identify whether your company aims to boost revenue, reduce costs, or enhance employee engagement. Your workplace strategy should align with these objectives.

Take into account your company's current priorities and anticipate future ones over the next three to five years. For instance, determine if your company plans rapid expansion after securing new funding or if you're focusing on employee retention while reducing expansion efforts.

Craft your workplace organization's objectives based on these considerations. These objectives should outline what your team aims to achieve within a specific timeframe.

Step 2: Understand Your Employees' Preferences

Employees bring their passion, energy, and ideas to the workplace, making it essential to consider their preferences when defining your workplace strategy.

Conduct a company-wide survey to gauge how employees would like to utilize the workplace. Determine their ideal number of on-site workdays, the amenities they frequently use, and their openness to new programs.

Include a suggestion section to encourage employees to contribute unique ideas. For example, they might request more small meeting pods for phone calls or 1:1 meetings. Gaining a better understanding of your employees' work preferences and workspace perceptions allows you to outline a hybrid work policy that meets their expectations. It also provides valuable insights for effective space management.

Step 3: Understand the Current State of Your Workplace

Before charting the path for your workplace strategy, evaluate your current workplace's alignment with your goals.

Consider key metrics to assess your workplace's current state:

  • Space management: Determine the daily number of people using the office, utilization rates of desks and conference rooms, and the amount of vacant or unused space.
  • Operational costs: Calculate the cost per square foot, cost per employee, and total workplace costs as a percentage of revenue.
  • Security and compliance: Ensure compliance with health, privacy, and building access regulations.
  • Employee satisfaction: Gauge employee satisfaction with the workplace environment and provided amenities. Track workplace maintenance and tech issue reports and the speed of issue resolution.
  • Employee engagement: Assess employee happiness and engagement levels within the workplace.
  • Energy efficiency: Measure energy consumption of your real estate assets, including the proportion from renewable sources.
  • Revenue generation: Identify potential monthly revenue from tenants, events, or short-term leases.

Once you have an overview of your workplace's strengths and areas for improvement, incorporate suggestions into your workplace strategy to optimize your workspace.

Step 4: Determine the Tools You'll Need

A well-functioning workplace relies on tools that facilitate interactions among employees, workspaces, and the building. Just as remote companies rely on collaboration tools like Zoom and Slack, your workplace requires appropriate tools.

Invest in tools that support your initiatives and keep employees connected and productive on-site. For example, if you're implementing a hot desking strategy, you'll need a desk booking tool. If employees will be meeting clients on-site, a visitor management tool is essential.

Evaluate your existing workplace tools and assess their suitability for your new strategy. The right tools will ensure your workplace strategy becomes a reality, rather than merely existing on paper.

Step 5: Get Specific and Document Your Strategy After conducting thorough research, it's time to document your workplace strategy. Specify what you aim to achieve with your new strategy, ensuring specificity to guide your journey from the current state (point A) to the desired state (point B).

Rather than listing tactics, explain where you'll focus your efforts and the reasoning behind those choices. For instance, if your objective is to reduce cost per square meter, decide whether you'll maximize existing space or explore leasing a new space with a lower cost. When balancing cost reduction.

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