More than you think. Here’s a true story about the power – and importance – of business environments.
A friend of mine is the president of a bank. Over casual conversation with him and one of his vice presidents, they both expressed frustration in not being able to hire bright, young MBAs to come to work for them at their corporate offices.
Photo via SFU Public Affairs & Media Relations
Frustrated by continually being turned down, they started asking every person they interviewed if they would consider working at the bank. The unanimous answer was “No.” The reason: “The office is so boring and old fashioned I would go crazy working here.”
Eager to fix the problem, the president called in an interior designer to fix the problem. The solution looked suspiciously like the current space. The proposals of two additional designers had the same, predictable results. This really isn’t necessarily the fault of the designers. In fact, it happens more often than we realize.
What’s the problem here? The bank is struggling to adapt to radically changing expectations concerning work environments. Perhaps the designers hear the word “bankers” and assume
“conservative.” Ordinarily, this translates into traditional wood décor, private offices, thick carpet…and quiet.
Photo via the justified sinner
Now, bankers should be a conservative lot – especially considering their recent performance. But that’s still not the issue. The central issue is that the space is not in sync with the new generation of workers or with the evolving attitudes of the president and his management team. Business casual rules. iPhones and iPads are ubiquitous. But no one could look beyond the walls and the stolid, dark wood furniture to see that they were the real impediment to a productive work environment.
The bank doesn’t need to install foosball or pool tables and stock the fridge with beer (after all, managing other people’s money is serious business), but they do need to seriously look at how the physical layout, the function of the furniture, and the other “invisible” amenities like access to sunlight, the welcome sound of coworkers interacting, proper seating and task lighting play a key role in shaping an environment. Addressing some of these issues might have made all the difference.
Instead, they invested in some potted plants.
-Tom Miller