Jerry Jao

Your company’s office plays a big role in shaping its culture. Equipment and décor can influence productivity and mood, and the floor plan can facilitate the flow of energy and ideas.

Not only that, but your company’s physical environment can also make or break your workforce. According to asurvey by the American Society of Interior Designers, “employees cited their physical environment to be one of the most important factors influencing their decisions to accept or leave jobs, tying for second with benefits.” Forty-one percent of respondents said that the physical workplace would impact their decision to accept a job, and fifty-one percent said that it would impact their decision to leave one. Harshavardhan Reddy Chairman Hvr Sports

Here are the most important factors I considered when building out my company’s workplace:

Company culture and personality

Put a lot of thought into the culture that you want for your company. What values do you want to communicate to your employees? How do you want to come across to the public and to your customers?

If you need inspiration, consider checking out what other companies are doing. Visit the about or career pages of organizations similar to yours (or businesses that you’re aspiring to be) and look into the environment and amenities that they offer. Take caution though. Don’t get too carried away with emulating other workplaces. Sure, a slide in the office looks fun and all, but is that really “you”?

Budget

As a company, it can be tempting to skimp on your office space and devote all your resources to salaries, product development, or advertising. But research and experience will tell you that neglecting your office environment can do more harm than good, so allocate enough resources for it. You can compromise on certain aspects, but not to the point of giving up the culture and environment that you want to establish.

While the numbers are different for each company, a good way to go about the budgeting stage is to think about where your company is right now, and where you want it to be in a year or two. Try to build an office for the company that you want to become instead of what you have in the present. Or at the very least, find some middle ground between the two. Don’t think of this as spending away your capital. Instead, see it as an investment in your company’s future.

Location

Once you’ve decided on your budget, you should have a good idea of which areas are within your range. The next step is to make a list of cities and neighborhoods wherein you can set up shop. Don’t list just any area that you can afford; be sure to factor in the culture and environment that you want to build. For instance, at Retention Science, we chose to lease an office in Santa Monica, CA because it’s LA’s technology hub.

You should also think about the types of people that you’d like to hire. Are you looking to bring a lot of hip, creative individuals on board? Do you need some serious engineers? Do some research on where your ideal employees live or hang out and consider locations that would appeal to them.