Enabling Innovation in the Workplace
Develop purpose among employees by creating a workplace community where everyone has a shared goal.
In a recent survey by PwC, 1,200 CEOs from around the world said that innovation, along with increasing their existing business, was the most critical factor for future growth*. But the creative process that drives innovation—one that relies on people working together seamlessly—is often inhibited by workplaces where the surroundings (the physical space), furnishings (the chairs and tables), and tools (both digital and analog) are out of sync with people and their work.
Examples of this are easy to find in the conference room—the place most organizations expect their people to work together. In these spaces, you’ll often see people awkwardly seated at a table, not engaging with the expensive digital tools in the room, or each other. But why not?
Perhaps there isn’t enough space around the perimeter for people to comfortably move about the room and interact with the technology.
Or perhaps the seated-height table makes it seem like people who get up to use the technology are awkwardly towering over their colleagues. No one sets out to create experiences like this, but it can happen when the surroundings, furnishings, and tools in a space don’t work together to support people and their work.
It’s clear that we need a new model for the workplace—one that puts people first—and a more aligned process to design and deliver it. Herman Miller’s solution is Living Office, a research-based framework that helps organizations and their design partners create workplaces with a variety of purposeful settings that support people’s activities and fulfill their needs. In this type of workplace, people are empowered to be their most creative selves, and to meaningfully connect with others.
* https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/pdf/14th-annual-global-ceo-survey.pdf
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