The media industry is famed for housing some of the world's more creative working spaces - and following an office move of our own, our CEO, Simon Rees, shares his tips on injecting inspiration into the workplace.
Media companies and ad agencies are setting new standards in creating stunning workplace environments. Google recently released plans for its new King's Cross headquarters which included a climbing wall between floors, a swimming pool and a roof-top running track. These plans were swiftly withdrawn however, as they wanted to be even more ambitious.
Meanwhile, Apple has commissioned Sir Norman Foster to design a space-ship like building for its California headquarters.
Our recent office move, which prompted a total reappraisal of our environment and how we work as a company, feels considerably modest in comparison, but the same principles apply - a belief that a fun, inspiring workplace will help spark collaboration, encourage people to be more playful, generate great ideas and, ultimately, pay back what is a significant investment by generating new business.
It made me think about what constitutes an inspiring workplace. When Google first installed a giant slide in their headquarters, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who did not want to work there.
A slide on its own, however, is a gimmick and one that won't necessarily work in every company, but when it becomes intrinsic to your company's cultural ethos, you have a powerful HR tool. And the media industry is one which naturally lends itself to more creative work spaces. Here are three ways to inject some inspiration into your workspace:
1) The more serious side of silliness
Some workplaces have taken 'fun' to the extreme - Corus Entertainment in Canada has followed the Google example with a three-story slide, HootSuite in Vancouver has a yoga studio and pop-up tent offices, while Missing Link, a South African company specialising in presentation strategies, has a fireman's pole, a deli caravan, a free tattoo studio called 'Missing Ink' and a shooting range where clients compete to shoot presentation clichés...
Some of these office activities may not be to everyone's taste, but injecting a bit of silliness into the office allows employees to de-stress, smile a little and in the case of yoga, improve their physical and mental well-being.
2) Spaces outside the box
The UK is home to some slightly less extreme, but equally creative and alternative environments, including a padded cell at Wieden + Kennedy, a full-length indoor pier at Brighton-based Man Bites Dog, a disco tunnel leading to a garden shed at Karmarama and a wooden treehouse at Mind Candy, the company responsible for the phenomenally successful Moshi Monsters.
Changing the office décor to something unexpected can get people thinking differently and numerous studies show that changing your environment can boost productivity.
3) Collaborative and creative environments can be inspiring
At Box's headquarters in Palo Alto, they have swings instead of chairs. On the simplest level, creating break out spaces enables colleagues to talk to each other more. Inject some colour and interesting seating and you're much more likely to get people to stay alert at meetings.
Most importantly, however, the office has to reflect and support our employees. At DCM, collaboration and creativity are two of our core values and we put reflecting and supporting this behaviour at the heart of the brief for the new environment we wanted to create.
Listening to our people and observing how we work as a team has enabled DCM to create a multi-purpose, adaptive environment that our employees can now start to put their own stamp on. Collaborative areas are combined with places to retreat for more contemplative tasks, giving people the freedom to decide on the stimulus they need.
Ultimately, we now feel pride in the place we work in, which will help with talent retention, recruitment, confidence and reinforcing our company culture. Our challenge is now ensuring our creativity and collaboration levels match our new environment and that we continue to re-shape our workspace as we evolve as a business.
This article first appeared on MediaTel NewsLine 04/03/2014