Aligning Organizational Culture and Collaboration Spaces
Over the years, workplace trends have pushed collaboration as the answer to a wide range of business challenges, claiming to solve everything from employee engagement to the need to innovate. With one of today’s challenges being collaboration overload,1 we need to be smarter about how to leverage working together at work. We need to honor the different ways we accomplish our best work, by ourselves and with others. Here, at Haworth, we always recommend starting with culture. Pairing the Competing Values Framework™ with understanding different modes of collaboration can start you on the path to providing the right kind of collaborative spaces in your workplace.
“It is important to understand how an organization works, its culture and competencies, before you can effectively design a workspace where innovation happens.”
Jeff DeGraff, PhD
Professor, University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Key Takeaways
-
It’s human nature to work together. Innovation and problem-solving rely on it. The ideal way to do this is in shared physical space. How can we best facilitate the natural drive to work together and do it safely? First, consider health and safety guidelines for shared spaces. Then, examine the existing and desired organizational culture and subcultures. Finally, build on how people behave in those cultures to create spaces that afford them intuitive modes of working together while still preserving individual activities.
-
Organizations remain viable as long as they innovate. How much innovation are you seeking? How quickly do you desire to achieve it? Leverage the Competing Values Framework of organizational culture to strengthen and evolve your organization for the desired outcome.
-
The physical workplace should reflect organizational goals and values. While people will gather to inform each other, connect
socially, think strategically, and do work simultaneously to reach those goals, parts of the organization will have preferred ways of working together. Understanding and designing for these preferences will set the stage for your people to do their best work.
Next Steps
When space is designed with an understanding of organizational culture and different collaboration modes, individuals, the groups they form, and the organization within which they work can all be more effective. Connect with a BOS Workspace Expert today to learn how apply this knowledge and research to your organization and workplace design.
Useful Links:
