The benefits of a brand-reflective workplace: Enhancing employee and customer engagement and building your brand
When it comes to employee and customer brand engagement, the workplace environment plays a significant role. A well-designed space that reflects the values of the company can set the tone for employee morale, productivity, and ultimately help create an atmosphere that is both comfortable and congruent to the employee and customer brand experience.
Designing workplaces that enhance engagement
In Step One of our Seven Steps to Brand Engagement we highlight the importance of considering every aspect of your company brand and the way it engages consumers and employees. This includes the intentional design of workspaces to create a space that not only meets employee needs, but also reflects the brand, values and mission of the organisation.
On the one hand there are the physical and practical work considerations - providing comfortable seating, ample noise reduction materials, ergonomic workstations, and other amenities that allow employees to feel comfortable and productive. On the other, employee brand engagement should be reflected in the physical appearance of the office, from furniture choices to branding and artwork on the walls that reflect the employee experience.
For customers visiting the office, it is important for them to be able to identify and appreciate your brand’s values through its physical presentation. Elements such as welcoming signage, colours, lighting, and artwork can all help to make an instant connection with customers and communicate the core values of your brand.
Whilst some companies have large budgets for big refurbishments, it is not imperative to do a complete makeover. Basic cosmetic changes to the environment can have a real impact e.g placing an espresso machine and fresh fruit in a breakout area for employees and clients, and creating relaxed, casual areas where people can come together and collaborate.
CASE STUDY: Patagonia
Patagonia is well-known for their employee and customer brand engagement, and this is especially true of their office space. Located in Ventura, California, their headquarters are designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and sustainable, reflective of their brand.
Patagonia is a brand that stands for much more than fashion and outdoor apparel; their core values focus on sustainability, employee wellbeing, and quality of products. Patagonia's mission is to use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. The company actively works to reduce their impact on the environment by pledging 1% of their profits to help preserve and restore the environment.
The employee experience at Patagonia is a direct reflection of these values, from the building materials to their office furniture. The workspace features furniture made using recycled materials, such as recycled plastic bottles for chairs, tables and desks. Additionally, employees are encouraged to use alternative methods of transportation to get to work, including biking and carpooling.
Employees enjoy ergonomically designed desks and chairs that offer comfort and support, while their customer space features locally sourced artwork that celebrates the beauty of the outdoors. This attention to employee satisfaction and customer brand engagement is evident throughout their office, from furniture choices to branding to décor.
Source: Optie A
When a workplace doesn't reflect the brand
When a workplace does not reflect the brand that it represents, employee and customer engagement can suffer. This includes employees feeling disconnected from the mission and values of the business, lack of motivation to work, low employee morale, and customers not recognising your brand or feeling uneasy in the space.
For example, if a company promotes sustainability but their office space is filled with furniture that was not produced sustainably or made with eco-friendly materials, this will have a negative impact on employee and customer engagement.
CASE STUDY: Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo is an American multinational financial services company with a mission to “help customers succeed financially” and offer “products, services and the most convenient ways to manage their finances”. Despite the grand mission statement, employee satisfaction and customer engagement had been on a steady decline for many years.
The physical workspace was not designed with employee wellbeing in mind, nor did it reflect the company’s core values and modern way of working. Employees felt stagnant and uninspired while customers were not able to get a sense of what Wells Fargo stood for as a company.
In 2017, Wells Fargo launched the “Workspace Effectiveness” project in an effort to create a workspace reflective of the company’s values and employee satisfaction. This included employee surveys and focus groups to identify employee needs and preferences for furniture, branding, artwork and more.
The result? The employee satisfaction rate saw a significant increase, and customers visiting offices around the world experience a more dynamic Wells Fargo.
Source: Archello
Conclusion
The physical workspace can have a huge impact on employee and customer engagement, and it is important to ensure that your office reflects the values of your brand. From furniture choices to décor and artwork, having an employee-focused workplace will not only make employees feel more connected to their work and your brand, but also provides customers with a more positive experience.
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