People are so complicated. How is it possible to predict what will make them more productive?

When creating an effective workplace, there is no need to make wild guesses about how people would respond to different design options or workplace strategies. Research studies and case studies can give us reliable answers for many questions about design. For example, we know that people can focus and work better in a well-lit, comfortable room with clean air and good acoustics, than in a dim, noisy, hot and stuffy place.

When research does not provide clear direction, we can very often get the right answers when we ask the right people. These could be your clients, partners and team; since they see your business form a different perspective than you do. Listening to people (and giving them what they ask for) can create miracles.

A high performance workplace is also flexible and adaptable. This allows people to change their environment and work out for themselves how to organise and use their workplace, even after the design is ‘officially complete’. In other words, in today’s fast changing world, a great design is never really complete and final.