Have you ever wondered what the cost of replacing employees could be ?

We would like to share some insights with you. Did you know that the true cost of replacing an employee earning the average UK salary could cost up to £12,000.  For more senior employees, this cost can dramatically increase to more than £20,000.  This means the cost to a typical UK business which loses just five employees a year, can be between £60 to £100k.  With the true cost of employee turnover being so substantial, it has never been so vitally important to attract and retain a talented workforce. 

Global recruiter Hays reports that 63% of workers believe that cultural fit is just as important as salary in making their next career choice. 48% of candidates said they have been deterred from pursuing a role during the application process specifically as a result of a negative first impression. Employee happiness and satisfaction is just as important.  Did you know that unhappy people take more sick days off work?  Some estimates claim it to be as high as 15 days per year!  A well designed, flexible and progressive workplace is one of the fundamental ways in which you can keep workers engaged and happy. 

The cost of a fit-out or refurbishment has historically been viewed as an unnecessary overhead that should be kept to a minimum.  But if a well designed workplace is proven to improve worker happiness, employee engagement and productivity, you stand a much better chance of retaining your best people, avoiding significant employee turnover costs in the process.  That’s why return on investment is something that can be genuinely measured.

There are a few things that you may want to consider when thinking about having an office fit out or refurbishment:

Why do you want to redesign your office? What are you trying to achieve?

Having goals and a clear understanding of why you want to change your space is vital to the success of the project.  We advocate involving everyone within the business.  As part of our workplace consultancy, we engage with people in every department.  Understanding how they currently work, what challenges they face in their day-to-day tasks and most importantly, what makes them happy, gives an invaluable insight and starting point for a new design. 

Increasing Productivity and Efficiency

Offices that haven’t been refurbished or fitted out for some time, tend to accumulate clutter.  People grow accustomed to the messy surroundings, which blunts productivity.  Think about how your mobile phone or PC hard drive starts to slow down with the amount of photos and videos you accrue over time.  In much the same way they slow down and become less productive, so does your workspace.

Working in a new space is like pressing the reset button.  Everything is designed around making life easier.  Multifunction areas, quiet rooms, pods, bleacher seating and the humble office desk, combine together to ensure tasks can be performed in the optimum working conditions.  The biggest change of all is in the behaviour of the people.   Workers take pride in their new surroundings, actively avoiding clutter and wanting to keep the space clean and tidy.  The by-product of this is an increase in productivity.

Improving the health and wellbeing of employees

In the past few years there has been a huge concern over mental health and wellbeing at work.  Long hours at work and high-pressured jobs are driving up stress levels and detrimentally affecting our work-life balance.  The onus is shifting to the employer to make sure that their employees health is taken care of and that they aren’t being worked into the ground.  If your office design increases productivity then there is no reason why your employee needs to take work home on evenings or over the weekend. Having a healthy work-life balance will help with their wellbeing and productivity at work during work times. 

Increase creativity

Creativity is important for all businesses and it comes to you at times and in places that you wouldn’t expect. There isn’t a business out there that can say they have a successful business without any creativity, it can set you apart from other businesses. Have you ever thought to have a meeting with your boss whilst playing pool?  Don’t dismiss it till you have tried it, a well thought through workplace design will help to inspire a creative mindset.  

Encourage collaborations and employee engagement

When employees are able to work as a team, staff morale goes up and they produce better work.  This makes the space more fun, happy, and laid back. This positive environment will always make your employees want to learn more by seeking multiple options, ideas, and solutions for the business.  A team meeting where you can casually throw ideas around the table, can be held in informal lounge areas where employees can collaborate in a more relaxed way.

 We specialise in creating amazing places for people to work.  Happy Spaces – Happy People is our philosophy.  Our happy client surveys show that 95.7% of our clients’ employees are happier in their new workspace.

Each organisation is different and in turn, what makes a great office for one company, won’t work for another.  We pay great attention to understanding these nuances and ensuring we create spaces which are uniquely tailored to the culture, ideals and ethics of each business. Our designers tailor the look, feel and functionality of your office to suit your company and employees.

If employee turnover, talent attraction and retention are big concerns for your business, we have a proven formula which can solve your problem.