Workplace Branding: Elevating Employee Experience

In this 21st century business climate where many products are increasingly commoditized and where quality of service and experience separate the so-so from the successful, many leaders are naturally (and appropriately) focused on their clients and customers. These leaders dig deep into the details that matter most to their clients, setting strategies that help customers overcome their challenges now and in the future. After all, the success of an organization often depends on the success of its clients. 

But there’s another group that is just as important (if not more so) to consider: employees. In reality your organization depends on them – the people on the inside. The people who take care of your clients and customers. The people who go home to talk about their jobs and their bosses and colleagues. The people who (hopefully) live and breathe the company’s brand. Are they getting the same level of attention – the same quality of service and experience – that clients and customers receive?

The High Cost of High Turnover

Creating a platform for employee engagement might come more naturally to a consumer brand, or to a technology company that has built a fun and fulfilling place to work. Browse Glassdoor’s 2019 list of best places to work and you’ll likely recognize many of the names at the top of the list as companies whose products or services you use both personally and professionally. This shouldn’t come as a surprise; these consumer-facing companies understand the nuts and bolts of experience and engagement and can apply them to both customers and employees with relative ease. But it’s important for all of us, in every industry, whether we’re a small family business or large corporation – and now more than ever as a younger workforce has a bigger presence in the workplace. This is a generation that prizes experiences and that moves from job to job in order to try new things and find and more fulfilling opportunities, with or without a defined career path. According to a survey of 2,000 millennials, 53% have already had at least three jobs. On average, it takes a mere 20 months in a job before a millennial will start looking for a new one. As Gallup reports, that kind of turnover costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion every year. 

Want to improve employee retention? Think again about those strategies that you employ to attract and retain customers and consider how you might apply similar strategies internally. Experiences that today’s employees seek include flexible schedules and options for occasional remote work, powerful technology, a great office environment and culture, and a clear path for career growth with strong support along the way. People want to feel like they’re having an impact and want to know that they matter.

The ROI of Workplace Design

That can sound like a lot to deliver, but fortunately by focusing first on one of those elements – a great office environment and culture – the other elements can more easily fall into place. Consider that your real estate and your employees are your two most valuable (read: most expensive) assets. By applying thoughtful design strategies to your physical space, you’re generating tremendous ROI in the form of happier, more productive employees, and lower turnover. And when your workplace embodies your organization’s mission and culture, you inspire a deeper connection with your brand – creating a place where people want to work.

Workplace branding that represents the visible elements of your brand are a great first step in developing an engaging workplace. In fact, given today’s prevalence of social media, a strong visual workplace can often turn into a series of “selfie moments” – spaces that people will be excited and proud to pose within and snap a picture for all to see. This can take the literal form of your logo, or perhaps it’s a more subtle, artistic representation of your organization’s legacy, or even of a future goal that aligns with your mission or values. Elements of art and design can remind your employees of those goals and of the contribution they can make, and they become tangible backdrops for all kinds of personal interactions.

Bringing Your Legacy to Life

A thoughtful design strategy also supports recruiting efforts, as well as ongoing employee engagement and training programs. Interviewees are already carefully scoping out their potential workplace, looking for a mix of quiet personal space and comfortable collaboration zones that will support the way they work. But because a sense of impact is so important, adding a strong visual system of branded graphics, whether they’re digital or static, is just as critical to the recruiting experience. Graphics can be used to illustrate an organization’s mission, values and goals – showing potential employees what they can be part of.

Current employees also benefit from these visual displays. Exhibits or timelines that tell the story of an organization’s history can instill a sense of pride and can motivate and inspire team members to be part of the company’s next chapter. Branded graphics are also powerful tools for teaching employees about the organization’s culture and brand – the mission, values, purpose, as well as its products or services. By defining your reason for being with authenticity and clarity, there’s little room to doubt why you do what you do, and your employees feel a much deeper connection by sharing in that core purpose. 

There are many layers to an organization’s culture, and your workplace should address each one. Through design, employees not only gain a clearer understanding of the corporate vision, they also benefit from touchpoints that teach them about learning and development initiatives, inclusion and diversity practices, health and wellbeing initiatives, and other programs and policies that go deeper than day-to-day work. While many aspects of the culture and brand remain steadfast and consistent over time, others may evolve with new programs and practices. Digital design assets can be used to educate employees and visitors about initiatives that are more fluid and flexible to current needs, while more permanent installations emphasize the strength and stability of other organizational fundamentals.

Thinking Through Every Touchpoint

Consistency is key to successful engagement strategies, so every interaction must be on-brand – representing your mission and culture with honesty and authenticity – from recruiting and interviewing to rolling out employee policies and procedures. Even everyday tasks like staff meetings or new technology installations that might otherwise feel mundane are additional opportunities to engage when they’re linked to your brand. 

Look at every touchpoint that your employees (both current and future) have with your organization from their perspective, just as your organization probably does for its clients or customers. When you consider every interaction as an opportunity to connect and engage, you remind people that you care about them. And just as customers often become more loyal to the companies and brands that show genuine respect and appreciation, employees become more loyal when they feel supported and valued, too – and a loyal employee is your best brand ambassador.

Greg Nelson is the founder and Principal of Altitude Design Office. Greg has created custom workplace experiences for brands including Sony Pictures Entertainment, MUFG, Takeda, Sprint, MTV, Amgen, Hulu, Mars Food.

Bringing Donors' Gifts to Life in Buildings and Spaces

In today’s market where public-private partnerships, crowdfunding, and charitable donations are a big part of project funding, finding a way to bring donors’ gifts to life within buildings and other physical places is increasingly important. Brass plates on bulletin boards and the ubiquitous donor tree are things of the past, as many organizations want to say thank you in more meaningful ways and make the donor proud of their association with the organization. Designers play an important role in bringing this relationship to life.

Like most design projects, it’s important to start with research, but for donor recognition programs that research might follow a slightly different track. Designers must work to understand the organization and its mission or purpose, as well as its history. After all, these are the attributes that have drawn donors to the organization in the first place–they feel a strong emotional connection–so the mission, purpose, and history deserve to be highlighted in the donor recognition program.

The fact that people and relationships are at the core of the project and its donor program must also be emphasized–even if the gift is a corporate donation. There is deeper meaning behind it that needs to be uncovered in the design process and illustrated in the resulting design. Listing donor names is a nice way to say thank you, but by going deeper to demonstrate what’s behind the name, that ‘thank you’ turns into a more emotional expression of the gratitude felt by both the donor and the recipient, and of the relationship between them.

Adding this kind of depth to a donor recognition program also makes it more interesting and engaging for the visitor who might have walked right past a more typical donor wall, but is drawn into one that feels like art. The passerby is more likely to pause and reflect on the names and the stories behind them. What drew these donors to this organization? What connection did they feel? What inspired them to give so generously? How can I too be part of this organization? Design has the power to tell that story, even subtly, and inspire new connections.

While charitable giving has been a popular form of philanthropy for generations, Millennials and their younger “Gen Z” counterparts are known for their social awareness and desire to work with (and only with) organizations whose mission or purpose they feel a connection to. They’ll actively shun those that go against their personal beliefs. This not only impacts the type of employer they seek, but also where they choose to shop, dine, travel, or simply hang out with friends. Donor recognition programs have the power to give today’s youth something to connect with, even if they’re not ready to become donors themselves. They’ll see tangible evidence of the relationships between the individuals and companies whose names and logos they recognize, and the organizations that they admire and want to support. This can pave the way for future relationships, financial support or activism, all of which can be motivated or inspired by thoughtful design elements.

Digital displays are increasingly incorporated into designs to add layers of information and insight into donor programs through the use of more dynamic media; they often connect with mobile devices to tell even richer, more personal stories. This can be especially meaningful with legacy gifts, where a donor has bestowed a gift in their estate planning. The donor’s story can be told in parallel to the organization’s, with a variety of media illustrating the intersections between them.

Other forms of signage must also be considered in a donor recognition program, such as directional or wayfinding signage that directs visitors to spaces that are named after specific donors or sponsors. The hierarchy of design is important to keep in mind, as signage must always remain simple and straightforward to help a visitor navigate a space effectively. Even though pointing the way to a specific place is the sign’s number one priority, respecting the person or company who made that space possible is equally important and a thoughtful design can accomplish both.

Finally, though philanthropy professionals and the organizations they support will always have to balance the need to continue recruiting donors with the need to bring a project to completion, donor programs are rarely finite. Relationships will continue to expand and new partners will bring new gifts to the table for years to come; thus the organization’s relationship with the designer is often one that’s long-lasting as well. This timeline is important to keep in mind.

In the early days, the designer can help a philanthropy professional with marketing collateral that helps them recruit donors by illustrating, even in conceptual drawings, the way the donor’s gift will eventually be reflected in physical spaces. Later, once a donor exhibit is installed, blank panels or other similar placeholder elements can be incorporated into the design to allow for future donors’ names to be added later. And when it’s time to add those names, the designer can be brought back in to manage each addition; or the organization can self-manage future installations by following the designers’ original plans and instructions with the direct technical support of the fabricator.

Many places and spaces wouldn’t exist without the donors who supported them–and continue to support them–through financial donations as well as volunteer participation. These are the relationships that deserve a spotlight in the form of a thoughtfully designed installation that shows genuine gratitude for what’s already been given, and that inspires others to follow that lead.

Organizations Embarking on a Design Project Can Promote Success by Involving the People They Serve.

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a designer is witnessing a person’s positive experience with something that we’ve helped create. Design has the power to stir emotion, whether you’re talking about physical space, branded communication, product design, or any one among dozens of other touchpoints. It’s what sparks connection and reaction, and that spark is what we’re always looking for as designers. We want people to engage with our designs, and (even subconsciously) recognize the impact their experience has on their relationship with the company or organization.

Design for the people, by the people.

In order to reach that goal, research is critical. We have to understand as much as we can about the people who’ll interact with our designs in order to design effectively for them. Research gives a design project’s end user a voice; it makes design more democratic and drives more positive results for the client. When thoughtfully embedded throughout the design process, research creates a better understanding of the design problem, and provides a better business case for making design decisions. It makes the connections clearer and stronger between us and our clients, and between our clients and their customers or end users, and it improves the outcomes of the design for everyone involved.

Of course there are many different kinds of research that can be relevant to a specific design project rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Quantitative research like surveys and audits allow us to measure and test different topics, and to gather data that is objective and precise. Qualitative research, on the other hand – like focus groups, interviews, visual image exercises, or observation studies – requires interpretation of patterns and themes and can be more subjective, but more personal and emotional. There’s also secondary research, which leans on existing studies and reports written by outside authorities, versus conducting new, original (or primary) research. And all of it can inform the creation of personas, scenarios, or experience maps. Any and all research methods can be relevant and effective, as long as they’re thoughtfully planned and implemented with the end user in mind.

Look (closely) before leaping

I believe that research should always be step one in the design process. It’s never appropriate for a designer to propose fast-tracked solutions and immediately implement without some sort of research and testing along the way. It’s imperative to understand the design problem and to recognize that the real problem is almost always a little different from what’s initially stated. We have to dig in to understand the underlying issues. Think about what, why, and for whom are we designing. Dig deeply into that end user, their current situation, and the impact design can have on their future situation. And then after completing initial designs based on that early research, create prototypes that can be tested at a small scale, researched further, and redesigned. And only after the best solution is reached, implementation can occur.

Some might argue that this prolongs the process or adds expense, and this is why it’s important to execute a research strategy customized to each specific assignment that is actionable and that adds meaningful value. Information gathered just for the sake of information, or analysis to the point of paralysis, is never fruitful. You have to be able to do something with the research you’ve conducted. Done right, research is worth these extra steps and ensures return on investment every time.

Here’s why: Consider that many (if not most) of the design projects we take on are about major organizational change. A company is moving to a new office building. A town is redefining its brand. A hospital is implementing a new wayfinding strategy. A shopping center is being reborn as a mixed-use development. A sports venue is integrating new technologies with new sponsors. The list goes on, and each example involves significant change that impacts hundreds if not thousands of people – customers, employees, tenants, fans, students, patients, partners, travelers, shoppers, and so on. Each of those individuals has specific needs, wants and desires, and yet also wears many different hats. One day that employee is also a traveler and a shopper. Another day, that same person is a student and sports fan. And on yet another day she’s a patient, all while every day she’s a mom. Each of her daily experiences informs the next and means this one individual is a wealth of information and insights, whether she knows it or not. So when she’s asked to play even a small role in her organization’s change – through research – she feels valuable, and more importantly, valued. Asking your project’s stakeholders for input along the way often equates to buy-in, and that goes a long way toward creating powerful emotional connections and spark. You’re engaging people throughout each phase of the change, which makes the end result less disruptive and much, much more positive for everyone involved.

Empathy for the end-user.

It takes an innovative client to let designers talk to and co-create with the end users, but I encourage all to consider it. Take the company that’s moving to a new office building as an example. The way that company manages this change is critical, after all it’s not just a person’s workspace that’s being disrupted but also their commute and many other aspects of their professional and personal lives. Maybe moving offices means they have to find a new daycare center for their child, or a new dentist to visit a couple times a year during lunch breaks. Maybe it means someone on their team chooses to leave the company and needs to be replaced. These are not small details to the person who must deal with them. The process of managing change requires two-way communication – asking questions (research!) and providing answers (information!). This is where design come in. Every touchpoint can influence attitudes and behaviors, and must reflect the company’s mission, culture and values. Employees are the living brand – the ambassadors of the company who interact with customers or partners or clients or even future employees. When they feel like valued and informed participants in the bigger picture, then they pass that positive experience on to others inside and outside the company, and they share excitement about moving and changing, rather than fear or frustration.

Mapping out goals and messages can help the communication be clearer and more effective. With a framework like the one illustrated above, we map out goals – the outcomes we target – on the right, and we identify how and what we communicate with tone and manner, messages and content on the left. And all of it is funneled through the people we serve in the middle. This is the crux of user-centered design: people are always at the core. Sure, research can (and often needs to be) very rigorous, and this is why a framework and an organized research plan is always necessary, but when implementing research into the design process, we have to focus on people and experiences, which isn’t always that straightforward. It requires designers to be great listeners and observers, and to operate with unassuming empathy.

Design to Move People Forward®

Through research and by constantly looking through the end user’s lens, designers and our clients can make informed design decisions at every step along the way. This is what democratic design is all about – empathy for the end user. We investigate the who, what, where, when, how, and (perhaps most importantly) the why. We analyze and interpret without bias, without prescribing solutions based on our own experiences, but rather by observing their experiences through a variety of research tools and tactics, and really listening. We – and our clients – show that we care about the people we’re designing for. That care will show in the smile you’ll see when the person experiences your design for the first time, and to me that’s the greatest reward.

This article is based on Greg Nelson’s presentation, “Designing for Your Users: Integrating Research into the Design Process” at the 2018 SEGD Branded Environments conference in Las Vegas, NV.  

Design Team Announced for the new Cayton Children's Museum

Altitude Design Office is pleased to be part of the design team for the new Cayton Children's Museum, operated by ShareWell. Altitude is designing the brand signage, wayfinding and experiential graphics for the new museum slated to open early 2019 at Santa Monica Place.

Designed by R&A Architecture + Design, the new museum will be located at 395 Santa Monica Place on the popular open-air shopping center's third floor.  The 21,000 square-foot facility doubles the museum's current exhibition space on Wilshire Boulevard in mid-City and will accommodate an expected 300,000 visitors each year.  The flagship location will house an expansive exhibition space, support facilities, community/workshop rooms, an art studio, a gift shop, and ShareWell's corporate and administrative offices. For more information read the press release.

Rendering of the new Cayton Children’s Museum at Santa Monica Place