As a leader in the people space, workplace environment has always played a role in my thinking about the evolution and scaling of culture. Last week, I had a tipping point moment.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a summit that focused on the future of the workplace. Though the whole trip was a sum total of 30 hours, including travel, it had a tremendous impact on jolting my perspective on a topic that candidly. I hadn’t given a significant amount of time to except during times of busting at the seams and needing to move space.
Let me start with some backstory. At Rapid7, we have grown significantly during the almost seven years I’ve been here. When I started, we were in classic startup mode. Seventy-five people, three small offices, and incredibly modest space. We grew quickly and needed a new headquarters a few years later. The new office was no doubt an upgrade -- in a prestigious building -- with elements that nodded to the company we aspired to become. That said, it was a little like a teenage boy wearing his dad’s suit to the prom - it just didn’t fit us. We felt we had really made it three-and-a-half years ago when we became the anchor tenant and the first big technology company to move into the Financial District. We relished the opportunity to become a trendsetter - sure, Kendall Square and Seaport are hot locations, but we thought we could pioneer the new “cool” destination for tech in the Boston community. And we did. Working with some fantastic designers, we finally created a space that felt like it truly represented our company, and our culture, well.
Zoom ahead to present day. Given our current size, our days of being able to be really flexible are gone. We have hundreds of people in our primary location to provide for. After having attended this off-site session last week, I have to admit, I’m thinking about the future of workspace very differently as I consider what edits I’d make if I could start over.
Here is what I learned. Read on, and see if these learnings prompt you to ponder your own workspace a little differently.
Workplace must reflect your culture
The space we create to work in is a physical manifestation and expression of who we are, and what we value. Simply stated, it’s the body language of our culture. And while it’s truly difficult to manage culture, you can manage the behaviors that contribute to your culture. When you tie the core elements of what’s important to your culture to your work environment, you are making a clear and impactful visual statement about what’s important to you.
Note to leaders: you can’t just invest in a creating a super cool space and assume it’s going to support your culture. Leaders need to embody both the culture AND how that is lived in the workspace. As I understand the story, Twilio asks their customers to send them their own shoes, and once received, they hang them in their customer area. It’s a constant reminder to walk in their customer’s shoes. While that symbolic move might not resonate with all, it speaks volumes both emotionally and visually as to what’s important to them.
Workplace is all about engagement
In fledgling startups, the Ikea desks you need to assemble as a team can feel like a true luxury. As you begin to grow, however, where you work plays a key role in your ability to attract and retain talent. It’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition, however. Different types of workers need to be able to work authentically. While a salesperson might elect to bolster their energy levels by standing up the majority of the day and enjoying bright natural sunlight while speaking on the phone to potential customers, developers historically have opted to configure their workspaces to a quieter locale. When designing your space, you need to consider all workstyles; not just configure the same way for all. Many companies are opting to provide a “kit of parts” to their people; essentially allowing to select from some primary options, but configuring them in a way that it speaks to their individual work style.
Workplace must inspire innovation
Here’s the harsh reality: if you are hell bent on solely working from a fixed cubicle, you are going to end up jobless. A bit of a dramatic statement for certain, but the general thesis is a trending reality. Workspace needs to be able to tap into the intersection between spatial, social and informational work. That suggests that rather than focus on the budget on the fixed workspaces of the past (think offices, permanent cubes, conference rooms), there is a move to create an equal split between that primary space, and “ancillary space.” People like choice and control. Sitting at your desk all day, it turns out, isn’t particularly inspiring. Providing people with plenty of different spaces to have impromptu conversations, spark ideas, or just brainstorm together is really critical in fostering innovation. This might just mean old school practices of sitting teams in their own clusters is no longer the right approach. Providing people the flexibility to truly work cross collaboratively on projects with co-workers in whatever space makes sense for them for optimal innovative is the more forward-thinking approach.
Workplace spaces must advise
“Big data” is everywhere these days, and many of us suffer from volume overload. And yet, being able to cut through the numbers and really understand the story behind it is essential.
Einstein said, “learn to measure what matters.” We need to measure and support the elements of our culture and how people truly work best over the coming years to learn of the trends to inform and support our choices. In the workplace of the future, spaces will become much smarter, and ultimately educate us on our behaviors so that we can edit organically over time - rather than just making point in time changes when you’ve found it is time to refresh.
One of my favorite parts of my job is being able to step outside of my everyday world and go learn something new. I know it’s been a good day when I don’t just take in new input, but when it truly transforms my perspective. My trip last week did just that. And I sure look forward to applying the learnings to transform, as my company considers new space as we grow.
Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.
Image courtesy of Unsplash.