Genius Bar
Centrally located and open IT help desk locations, with walk-up assistance for IT trouble-shooting.
Millennial Appeal: This more modern approach to handling technology issues, with fewer hindrances than submitting tickets and waiting for help, is attractive to younger generations, increasing Generation X and Y Appeal scores.
Collaboration: Since Genius Bars make IT less isolated by positioning physical help desks in centrally located areas, they have a positive effect on Collaboration scores.
Interaction: Since Genius Bars make IT less isolated by positioning physical help desks in centrally located areas, they have a positive effect on Interaction scores.
Leveraging Technology: Genius Bars and the infrastructure supporting them increase an organization’s Leveraging Technology score. Genius Bars aim to create a smoother relationship with technology and eliminate barriers to productivity.
Mobility: Genius bars lead to slight gains for an organization’s Mobility score, as this concept encourages quicker IT response around the office and encourages employees to come to a central location when they need IT assistance.
Hospitality Bar
A food/beverage display station that is typically located near conference and meeting facilities with possible access to catering kitchen.
Millennial Appeal: The social activities that a hospitality bar affords appeal to younger Generations, contributing to a positive Generation X and Y Appeal scores.
Collaboration: A hospitality bar provides a space for gathering, typically around conference or meeting facilities. This fosters Collaboration as employees and visitors have a place to congregate, talk, and work.
Interaction: A hospitality bar provides a space for gathering and socializing, which may facilitate Interaction.
Mobility: A hospitality bar contributes to positive Mobility scores as it provides an additional space in the office for employees to gather, collaborate, and socialize.
Easily Divisible Conference Room
A meeting room with move-able walls that can be divided into smaller meeting rooms or opened up into one large meeting room.
Flexibility: By its nature, an easily divisible conference room creates a flexible environment that can easily be modified based on the activity and number of people present.
Scalability: An easily divisible conference room has a positive effect on an organization’s Scalability score. Large meeting spaces can be transformed into divisible conference rooms with the addition of moveable walls. If the need for such a meeting space decreases, divisible conference rooms can be transformed into large open meeting areas or communal gathering areas.
Collaboration: Easily divisible conference rooms can accommodate meetings and gatherings in a range of sizes, promoting collaborative activities of all types and sizes.
Huddle Room
A small, enclosed meeting room with space for 2-4 people. These rooms are typically equipped with a desk, seating, monitor(s), and adequate A/V and power connections.
Flexibility: Because huddle rooms are interchangeable workspaces, organizations can change how they use these spaces as their needs change over time. Huddle rooms can become private offices with a simple rearrangement or addition of furniture.
Focused Work: Huddle rooms provide private, quiet spaces for small groups of people to meet. This decreases the amount of collaborative work performed in open areas and creates a better focused work environment for those in the office. Huddle rooms can also be used by individuals to do heads down, focused work.
Scalability: Huddle rooms increase an organization’s Scalability score. They can be scaled up in number by adapting private offices or they can be scaled down in number by repurposing the space for private offices.
Collaboration: By providing dedicated spaces for small groups to meet and collaborate, huddle rooms increase an organization’s Collaboration score.
Interaction: As employees leave their offices and desks to collaborate in huddle rooms, the chances for impromptu interactions increases.
Mobility: Huddle rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Small Conference Room
An enclosed meeting room with seating for 3-6 people.
Collaboration: By providing dedicated spaces for groups to meet and collaborate, conference rooms increase an organization’s Collaboration score.
Interaction: As employees leave their offices and desks to collaborate in conference rooms, the chances for impromptu interactions increases.
Mobility: Conference rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Med. Conference Room
An enclosed meeting room with seating for 6 to 8 people.
Collaboration: By providing dedicated spaces for groups to meet and collaborate, conference rooms increase an organization’s Collaboration score.
Interaction: As employees leave their offices and desks to collaborate in conference rooms, the chances for impromptu interactions increases.
Mobility: Conference rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Large Conference Room
An enclosed meeting room with seating for 9 or more people.
Collaboration: By providing dedicated spaces for groups to meet and collaborate, conference rooms increase an organization’s Collaboration score.
Interaction: As employees leave their offices and desks to collaborate in conference rooms, the chances for impromptu interactions increases.
Mobility: Conference rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Project/Case Room
Enclosed meeting area and workspace teams can use for the duration of a project. Typically include storage and display space.
Collaboration: By providing dedicated spaces for groups to meet and collaborate on long-term projects, project/case rooms increase an organization’s Collaboration score.
Interaction: As employees leave their offices and desks to collaborate in project/case rooms, the chances for impromptu interactions increases.
Mobility: Project/case rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks when there is an ongoing project that requires extensive layout space. This provides employees with the flexibility to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Interior Stair
Open, typically centrally located stair case that can act as a meeting/gathering space and promotes informal interactions.
Collaboration: Interior stairs facilitate the movement of people between floors more effectively than elevators or fire stairs. The fact that they are in a central location and can visually link multiple floors, makes it more likely that employees will seek someone out on another floor for a work related task.
Interaction: Interior stairs that are centrally located and open can create a natural gathering and meeting space in the office. As employees flow between floors more easily and pass one another, it creates opportunities for Interaction.
Mobility: Interior stairs promote the Mobility of employees by facilitating easier movement between floors, making it more likely that employees will use resources on various floors and visit colleagues on various floor.
Health: When the only stairs connecting floors are closed-off fire stairs that are dark and dank and hidden away, employees are unlikely to use them regularly, turning to elevators instead. By making the stairs bright and open and in a central location, employees may be more likely to use the stairs as opposed to the elevator, contributing to their physical health.
Open Collaboration Area
Open gathering area equipped for collaborative work. Typically equipped with monitors, A/V and power hookups, modular and move-able furniture, and ample vertical display space.
Flexibility: Open collaboration areas, by design, are flexible spaces that can be reconfigured to best suit the needs of the team. Open or expandable space and moveable and reconfigurable furniture create a flexible environment that can adapt over time.
Scalability: Because of their flexible nature, open collaboration areas can be scaled up or down easily and cheaply. Workstation areas can be reconfigured to scale up the number of open collaboration areas. Open spaces, with the appropriate mix of furniture and design, can be transformed into collaboration areas.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are looking for a variety of spaces to do their work. They are attracted to the open, informal nature of these spaces and the type of collaborative work styles that these spaces support. Our surveys show that Millennials are the most likely of any generation to use these types of spaces. Seventy-two percent (72%) of Millennials say they would use a less formal, open meeting area.
Collaboration: Open collaboration areas contribute to a positive Collaboration score by providing the spaces for groups to come together to collaborate on a project.
Interaction: When centrally located or near high-traffic areas, open collaboration areas can become a place where employees cross paths and increase the chances of Interactions.
Mobility: Open collaboration areas provide alternate spaces around the office for employees to work and facilitate employee movement throughout the office.
Central Coffee Lounge
Centrally located area with informal, lounge style seating. The space can be modeled after a typical coffee shop. It should have space for employees to sit alone or in groups.
Attraction/Retention: People like caffeine. Perks such as coffee along with an informal place to work or meet with colleagues is an enticing attribute to employees.
Flexibility: Coffee lounges can be outfitted with flexible furniture and minimal walls to accommodate individual workers, small groups of employees, team meetings, or social events of a variety of sizes.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are attracted to the informal, lounge-inspired spaces that central coffee lounges provide. Coffee lounges may be modeled after a Starbucks concept where employees can work in “crowded anonymity”, a concept that younger generations are becoming more comfortable with. Our surveys show that Millennials are most likely to use these types of informal, open meeting areas.
Collaboration: Central coffee lounges draw employees away from their primary workspace and provide an alternate place to collaborate with colleagues.
Interaction: Central coffee lounges draw employees away from their primary workspace and provide an alternate place to interact with colleagues.
Mobility: Central coffee lounges provide alternate spaces around the office for employees to work and facilitate employee movement throughout the office.
Wellness/Nursing Room
A small, enclosed room for nursing mothers or those needing to rest in a quiet and private space. Typically outfitted with a microwave, miniature refrigerator, and comfortable seating.
Attraction/Retention: Wellness/nursing rooms are amenities that better the employee experience and make it easier for new mothers to continue working.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations, especially working mothers, are attracted to amenities that make it easier for them to continue working.
Health: Wellness/nursing rooms are spaces where employees can manage their health and wellbeing and signify an organization’s broader commitment to employee health and wellbeing.
Showers
Can be part of a gym or independently located.
Millennial Appeal: Shower facilities make it more convenient for employees to commute by bike or exercise during the course of the day. This may be particularly attractive to younger generations.
Health: By making it more convenient to exercise throughout the day, shower facilities increase an organization’s health score. The also signify an organization’s broader commitment to employee health and wellbeing.
Daycare
Childcare on the premises or close access to childcare, not necessarily managed by the client.
Scalability: Daycare facilities take significant capital and space investments, making it hard to scale up or down. One way around this would be to locate the office near daycare facilities and/or partner with nearby facilities.
Millennial Appeal: The convenience of nearby daycare facilities may be attractive to younger generations and may make it easier for parents to remain in the workforce.
Health: Daycare facilities reflect a greater interest in health on behalf of the company. They may also reduce parental stress and response time by having their child onsite or nearby.
Roof Deck/Patio
Outdoor space that is accessible to employees and can be used for social functions.
Focused Work: A roof deck/patio contributes a small, positive score to Focused Work as it provides a separated, outdoor space that employees can go to work when they need to escape a louder environment. It also provides a space for social activities that is less likely to disturb work in the office.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are attracted to a wide variety of workspaces that can best support the work or activity that they are engaged in.
Collaboration: A roof deck/patio provides an informal space that can be used for group collaboration that is separate from individual work spaces.
Interaction: A roof deck/patio provides an informal space for social gatherings, lunches, and company events.
Mobility: By creating an alternative space to work, collaborate, or interact, a roof deck/patio encourages employees to use more of the office space and find the space that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Health: Access to fresh air and natural light greatly improves employees’ health, wellbeing, and productivity.
Cafeteria
Food service on site, not necessarily managed by the client or used exclusively by the client.
Flexibility: As a cafeteria may have open, unobstructed spaces and plenty of seating, the space can be used for a range of uses and group sizes as needs change over time.
Scalability: A cafeteria contributes negatively to an organization’s Scalability score. A cafeteria requires significant capital and requires physical infrastructure that cannot easily be scaled up or scaled down.
Millennial Appeal: A cafeteria is a workplace perk that younger generations are coming to expect from their workplace. Younger generations appreciate the convenience and affordability of an onsite cafeteria.
Collaboration: A cafeteria provides a space for group meetings or gatherings over food. When employees have the opportunity to eat together, it increases the likelihood of collaborating on a specific work task.
Interaction: A cafeteria provides the space for informal gatherings and social interactions over food.
Mobility: By creating an alternative space to collaborate, or interact, and eat, a cafeteria encourages employees to use more of the office space and find the space that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Grab n’ Go
A centralized location that dispense pre-prepared food.
Flexibility: Grab n’ Go amenities can change selection, layout, and location easily as needs and preferences change with time.
Scalability: Because a Grab n’ Go takes much less capital and physical inputs than a cafeteria, it can be scaled up or down as needs change. Grab n’ Go amenities can typically be placed in any pantry or common area.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations appreciate the convenience of easily available food in the office. Readily available food is becoming a more expected amenity by younger generations.
Interaction: A Grab n’ Go may draw employees from around the office to a centralized location increasing the chance encounters and interactions with colleagues.
Focus Room
A small, enclosed work room with space for one person to make private phone calls or conduct heads-down, concentrative work.
Flexibility: Because focus rooms are interchangeable workspaces, organizations can change how they use these spaces as their needs change over time. Larger focus rooms can become private offices, although 60-90sf rooms are too small for private offices.
Focused Work: Focus rooms provide private, quiet spaces for employees to conduct heads down, focused work or make private phone calls.
Scalability: Focus rooms increase an organization’s Scalability score. They can be scaled up in number by adapting private offices or they can be scaled down in number by re-purposing the space for private offices.
Mobility: Focus rooms create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Quiet Area
Dedicated area of the office meant for quiet work where phone calls and talking are not allowed.
Focused Work: Quiet areas provide quiet spaces for employees to conduct heads down, focused work. These spaces are typically not adjacent to busy circulation routes or areas of high traffic.
Interaction: Quiet areas contribute a slight negative score to an organization’s Interaction score by creating an area that discourages employees from talking and interacting with one another.
Mobility: Quiet areas create alternate spaces for employees to work away from their desks, allowing them to work from the setting that is most conducive to the task at hand.
Integrated Communications
Instant messaging, videoconferencing, screen sharing, soft phone technology, or other integrated technologies that promote communication among employees.
Flexibility: Integrated communications depend on software and mobile technology that can easily be used to address changing needs over time.
Focused Work: Integrated communications facilitate employees working from focus rooms, their homes, or anywhere that provides a more distraction free environment than their primary workspace.
Scalability: Integrated communications require little physical infrastructure and can be scaled up or down as the workforce size and needs fluctuate. As technology costs continue to decline, integrated communications will become even more scalable.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are coming to expect seamless communication technologies in the workplace and are extremely comfortable using these technologies to communicate and collaborate with colleagues.
Collaboration: Integrated communications facilitate virtual collaboration with employees in dispersed locations.
Interaction: By connecting employees who may not be in the same location, integrated communications facilitate more seamless interactions.
Leveraging Technology: Integrated communications depend heavily on utilizing the most up-to-date technologies to create seamless connections among employees.
Mobility: Integrated communications make it possible for employees to work from the place that is most conducive to the task at hand, on travel, and to communicate with employees in disparate locations.
Dual/Large Screens in Public Spaces
Monitors in public work areas that allow seamless laptop hook up for working. Can be located in focus or huddle rooms, conference rooms, or other collaborative work ares.
Focused Work: Dual screens in focus and huddle rooms allow employees to seamlessly transition to these spaces to do heads down, focused work. Surveys have shown that employees are more productive with a dual monitor setup.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are used to working in the digital space and value large screen real estate to lay out their work and reference multiple documents simultaneously.
Collaboration: Dual/large screens in collaborative work areas make it possible for the entire group to be able to see what is being worked on.
Flexible Hours/ Alternate Schedule
The flexibility for employees to set their own hours or make up time outside of standard work hours.
Attraction/Retention: Employees value the flexibility and autonomy of being able to set their own schedules. The ability to set one’s own hours or shift one’s schedule around when personal matters arise helps to attract and retain employees, especially working parents.
Flexibility: Flex hours and alternate scheduling allow workers the flexibility to do work at times most convenient for them. As family, medical, or other responsibilities arise, employees can adapt their work schedule to accommodate these events.
Focused Work: When employees are able to set their own hours or work alternative schedules, they are able to perform work that requires focus and concentration at times that are most beneficial to them, whether in the office or elsewhere.
Scalability: Flexible hours and alternative scheduling require no physical infrastructure and may only require minimal investment in developing policies and training employees. Because of this, these policies can be scaled up or down easily and with minimal costs. Flex hours and alternative scheduling can also be used to adapt to employee growth without expanding an organization’s footprint.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations, especially working parents, appreciate the flexibility to set their own schedules. The traditional 9 to 5 workday is becoming less common as younger generations become more comfortable with virtual collaboration tools.
Collaboration: Flexible hours and alternative scheduling negatively effects an organization’s Collaboration score. With flexible schedules, it is less likely that employees will be in the same place or even working at the same time. This may make collaboration more difficult. Over time, as virtual collaboration tools become more pervasive and employees become more comfortable with these tools, the negative effect on Collaboration may decrease.
Interaction: Flexible hours and alternative scheduling negatively effects an organization’s Interaction score. With flexible schedules, it is less likely that employees will be in the same place at the same time. This may contribute to lower levels of Interaction in the office. Over time, as virtual collaboration tools become more pervasive and employees become more comfortable with these tools, the negative effect on Interaction may decrease.
Mobility: Flexible hours make it easier for employees to work outside of the office, increasing an organization’s Mobility score.
Health: Flexible hours allow employees to fit personal care and exercise into the day, attend medical appointments, run errands, etc. as needed. Health scores increase as employees are able to take time off when they need to and make it up later.
Remote Access
The ability for employees to access the office network, communication tools, and applications from places other than the office.
Attraction/Retention: Remote access has a positive effect on an organization’s Attraction and Retention scores. Employees like the flexibility, efficiency, and autonomy that come with remote access and many studies find that employees rank this flexibility almost as highly as salary in job satisfaction (should probably find a stat for this).
Flexibility: Remote access allows for a more flexible workforce. Remote access tools and processes can easily adapt to changing needs. During weather events when coming into the office is hard, employees can remain flexible and access necessary files remotely.
Focused Work: Remote access has a positive effect on Focused by allowing employees to work from more private areas and access the files they need from these places.
Scalability: Remote access allows organizations to remain flexible and adaptable during periods of growth. Rather than expanding the office footprint or increasing the density of offices and workstations, organizations can manage growth by allowing a percentage of employees to telecommute. Remote access can easily be scaled up or down as employee numbers fluctuate.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are coming to expect some level of flexibility in where and how they work so remote access contributes substantially to an organization’s Generation X and Y Appeal scores.
Collaboration: Remote access increases an organization’s Collaboration score by enabling virtual collaboration when employees are out of the office and in disparate locations.
Leveraging Technology: Remote access depends heavily on leveraging the most current technology to create as seamless an experience as possible between the office and other places of work.
Mobility: Remote access has a substantial effect on increasing Mobility as it frees employees to work from the location that is most beneficial for the task at hand. Employees can work more seamlessly from home, a client site, the airport, cafés, etc.
Electronic Document Management
The ability to store and/or manage documents electronically and decrease the reliance on physical files.
Flexibility: Electronic document management are flexible systems that can adapt to an organization’s changing needs. The infrastructure and processes are easy and cheap to change.
Scalability: Electronic document management decreases an organization’s reliance on physical file storage and the associated space and costs that go with it. As organizations grow or shrink and document storage needs fluctuate accordingly, organizations will not need to modify the physical workspace to accommodate these changes. Once the digital infrastructure for electronic document management is implemented, it can be scaled up or down at little marginal cost.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations are increasingly comfortable with storing documents digitally and searching for and recovering those documents. They want the flexibility to be able to access files from any location.
Collaboration: Electronic document management increases an organization’s Collaboration score by making it easier to share documents across groups of employees. It may also allow multiple employees to work on a document simultaneously.
Leveraging Technology: Electronic document management depends on the most up to date technology.
Mobility: Electronic document management supports employee Mobility by enabling employees to be able to access documents from wherever they may be.
Secretarial/ Support Teams
Teams of secretaries and/or assistants that can be utilized by multiple people as opposed to secretaries assigned to individual attorneys.
Flexibility: The makeup of a support team can change over time as needs change. It is easy to add or subtract employees with different skill sets to make a team more effective.
Scalability: Support teams can be scaled appropriately by rearranging or hiring employees.
Collaboration: Secretarial/support teams encourage employees to work together and collaborate on work products by their very nature.
Interaction: Secretarial/support teams encourage employees to interact with one another as they require employees to get up and go to where the support team is.
Mobility: If an employee wants to talk to a secretary or assistant in person (or vice versa), they have to get up and move around. The secretarial/support team location becomes like an alternative place to work in the office.
Ergonomic Workspace
A workspace equipped with ergonomic and mobile furniture that can be adjusted to individual preferences.
Health: Ergonomic workspaces protect employees’ health by ensuring employees retain the appropriate position and posture for the task at hand.
Standing Desks
Desks that can be raised or fixed to standing height. Can be assigned to individuals or located in a public areas and available to all.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations may be particularly attracted to standing desks.
Health: Studies have shown the negative health effects of sitting for extended periods of time. Standing desks promote better posture and health.
Gym
A gym on the premises or close access to a gym, not necessarily managed by the client.
Scalability: An onsite gym requires significant capital and a dedicated physical space making it difficult to scale as needs change. Gyms contribute slightly negatively to an organization’s Scalability score.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations, especially working parents, may be particularly attracted to onsite amenities such as gyms that make it more convenient to exercise.
Interaction: An onsite gym, especially one with group classes, may increase the likelihood of employees interacting with one another.
Health: Onsite gyms make it significantly more convenient for employees to exercise throughout the course of the day, increasing an organization’s health score.
Bike Storage
A protected and/or locked area where employees can store their bikes.
Millennial Appeal: Younger generations may be particularly attracted to onsite amenities such as bike storage.
Health: Onsite bike storage makes it more convenient for employees to ride their bikes to work, contributing to a positive Health score.
Videoconferencing
The presence of videoconferencing technology and infrastructure located at individual desks or in meeting rooms. This technology can be inexpensive and integrated into the computer or part of a dedicated videoconferencing facility with high quality cameras and microphones.
Flexibility: Videoconferencing hardware is becoming cheaper and more compact, allowing rooms to be converted to videoconferencing facilities as needs arise. Videoconferencing is increasingly being conducted on personal computers, making it easy for organizations to adopt these tools.
Scalability: The physical infrastructure needed for videoconferencing facilities is minimal and non-invasive, making it easy to scale up or down.
Collaboration: Videoconferencing facilitates collaboration by allowing employees to collaborate across disparate locations.
Leveraging Technology: To be seamless and effective, videoconferencing must utilize the latest audio and video technology.
Training Space
A dedicated room for training employees, holding new employee orientation, or training sessions.
Attraction/Retention: Employees are coming to expect more on the job training and professional development from their employers. A training space that promotes this employee development is attractive to employees.
Interaction: As employees come together for training in a central space it increases the chances of employees interacting with one another.
Natural Light in Workspaces
The percentage of workspaces that are reached by natural light.
Attraction/Retention: We consistently see natural light being ranked as one of the most important design attributes for employees. When employees are more satisfied with their workspace, they are happier and more engaged.
Focused Work: Studies have shown that natural light promotes concentration and productivity.
Health: Studies have shown that natural light promotes health and wellbeing.
Glass-Front Offices
Offices with glass fronts instead of opaque walls. Glass-fronted offices increase transparency and visibility. They can be completely transparent or treated to allow light to pass through, but with limited visual transparency.
Focused Work: Glass-front offices have a minor negative effect on focused work scores as they create the opportunity for some visual distractions for people in private offices. This effect is small as our client surveys show that visual distractions are much less of a problem than acoustic distractions.
Collaboration: When employees can see if a colleague is in their office it may increase the chances of them approaching them for a work-related task as opposed to using email.
Interaction: When employees are not hidden behind opaque walls and closed office doors, it may be more likely for them to interact with one another.
LEED Certification
Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council that grades buildings on levels of environmental sustainability.
Millennial Appeal: Environmental sustainability is increasingly important to younger generations and they are coming to expect their workplaces to embody these values.
Health: LEED certification results in a healthier office space by rewarding points for natural light penetration, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and the use of low VOC finishes low emitting materials and furniture, among many other health and sustainability measures.
Mentor Program
The presence of a mentorship program pairing veteran employees with more junior employees.
Millennial Appeal: Mentor programs facilitate institutional knowledge and culture transfer to younger generations. Generation Y, in particular, may be seeking career advice and guidance.
Collaboration: Mentor programs may lead to increased collaboration as connections are made and skillsets become more widely known.
Interaction: Mentor programs help create connections among employees that may lead to increased collaboration.
Live Plants
The presence of greenery in the office, which has been shown to improve air quality and have positive mental health benefits.
Health: Live plants help to clean the air and contribute to better indoor air quality. Studies have shown that plants and natural elements increase employee health and wellbeing.
Expected Growth
The future expected growth rate of the organization.
Attraction/Retention: Employees are attracted to growing organizations as it may provide more opportunity for career advancement and personal growth and suggests more job security.
Scalability: Organizations that are expecting growth must manage their physical and virtual infrastructure to this growth.