Office branding strengthens your company's relationship with employees, communicates your values, inspires trust, and helps drive success. As an example, when you think of McDonald's, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
Maybe you picture the golden arches or think of Ronald McDonald. Maybe you remember your first happy meal or suddenly have a strong urge to eat some fries.
Do you know what separates great brands from the average ones? It’s not just the imagery shown on commercials, billboards, and social media ads. It's what happens under the surface.
It is the employees and company values — and how they embody those values. Great workplace branding bolsters your ability to support the company mission in a way that resonates with your employees.
Building a brand with a true competitive edge can be difficult. Workplace branding, however, helps redefine what that edge means.
From a business perspective, your employees play a huge role in your success. The reality is that your brand can provide employees with a sense of pride and belonging. Workplace branding helps accomplish that and more.
A good office design helps support and create company culture. When employees believe in your values, commit to your mission, and are loyal to your brand, success will naturally follow.
Many elements of design play a big role in their experience at work — things such as aesthetics, atmosphere, comfort, flexibility, personalization, and emotional response.
People are becoming more aware of design in their everyday life. It's all around: in things they see, products they use, and everywhere they go — including the workplace.
As awareness increases among those who spend time in your office — from your employees and clients, to your investors — it is increasingly important for you to implement strategic office design.
In our Workplace Branding & Design webinar, design veteran Timaree Later discusses how office design plays a role in workplace branding — and vice versa. As she states, it's about leaders "really owning the culture first and foremost and showing their company and their people how to live that brand and culture, which really creates a sense of buy-in."
Thinking of it more broadly, it's the integration of your brand, culture, vision, mission, and the design process. You should incorporate and emphasize workplace branding in your office design. Here are the three key reasons:
When we talk about connecting your brand with the workplace, it's about backing your values up with the decisions you make, actions you take, and things you provide. Employees will naturally connect and engage with your company when you project and reaffirm those values. And if that's well executed in your office design, it puts your brand in a stronger position.
Too often, companies think painting walls company colors and slapping a few graphics on windows of your company logo is all it takes. But that’s not effective branding. It’s just decorating.
There's a difference between amenities, culture, and activated spaces.
Later in the webinar, there's an important point about amenities, culture, and activated spaces. It's not simply a question of what perks to provide for a stronger company culture, because as Timaree mentions, "offering those amenities does not build a culture."
At the end of the day, employees need to feel connected to something, which relies largely on emotional experiences. People engage when the environment creates a positive experience — and to things that make us feel happy, intelligent, effective, useful, or connected.
As Brian Brindisi, senior associate and design director at Gensler, said in an interview with Metropolis, “A good brand does more than establish a visual language; it creates an immersive experience for every person who enters their workplace. ... Today, everyone wants to work in spaces that closely mirror a particular lifestyle and makes them feel engaged, valued and connected to a company.”
If you don't understand how how to improve workplace experience, you need to start thinking in terms of connection. Improve the workplace with your employees in mind — and do it in a way that reinforces company values. Most importantly, connect those values with every aspect of your business.
Here’s how you can do all that.
Employees expect to have all the tools and resources they need to do their job and do it well. A branded workplace is one of those tools. Incorporating workplace branding into your office is more than just trendy decor or quirky amenities. Remember to make your workplace a reflection of your brand, products, and the office space itself. When you take that approach, you'll be creating a space that informs guests, inspires employees, and aligns with your culture.
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