Understanding organizational Culture — the values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of a business — is key when planning or strategizing the layout of a workspace. Why? The design of your floorplate should encourage maximum productivity from employees and if the layout doesn’t match the culture, members will not have the tools available for optimal output.

POE exists to plan and create highly functional workspaces for our clients that result in a measurable ROI. We do our best work when we understand the organizational culture of the client. When it came time to adjust our own workspace, we used those same principles and tools to determine how we work best.

Over the past year we have been collecting data, implementing surveys, listening to member’s needs, and deploying sensors to understand space usage and workflows. The POE Workplace Consulting team worked alongside the Haworth Workplace Strategy Team and utilized the Competing Values Framework to determine the POE culture map. This map identified the dominate cultures and subcultures that impact how our teams operate.

Our unique culture map guided us to develop informed planning and communication methods. By aligning our physical and virtual workspace with our culture — and taking into account the physical safety and emotional wellbeing of our members — we will improve performance, innovation and member satisfaction.

To learn more about the Competing Values Framework download the PDF here.