How Can Office Design Help Attract and Retain the Best Staff?

The Importance of Office Design in Retaining Talent

Just as your company’s values and culture shape the employee experience, the physical workplace plays a pivotal role. Employees need to feel valued and equipped to do their best work, and a thoughtfully designed space can communicate both.

According to a recent Leesman study, “pride” and “image” are two of the strongest predictors of an outstanding workplace experience. Yet only 51% of employees feel proud enough to bring guests into their office, and just 65% report that their environment truly supports their productivity. When pride and focus falter, so do engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately, retention.

“The office environment has to go beyond aesthetics. It needs to be functional, comfortable, and designed around the people who use it. We’ve learned that having a well-designed office is as crucial as having the right tools or technology to perform your job. It’s not just about a nice-looking office space,  it’s about creating an environment where employees feel supported, engaged, and able to thrive.”
— Chris Alldred, Design Director

It’s easy to chase design trends, but the real challenge is understanding how your team works, what motivates them, and what conditions help them thrive. Whether it’s biophilic elements that boost well-being, adjustable lighting to reduce glare, or acoustic zoning to minimise distractions, every detail should flow from real user insights.

It’s Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

Every organisation, and even each team within it, has unique needs. Research highlights that noise is a top pain point: among employees satisfied with noise levels, 82% say their environment supports productivity. That means before committing to a fully open plan, test solutions like quiet pods, bookable focus rooms, or sound-masking systems.

Likewise, a separate report on seating found that while 54% of workplaces have adopted unassigned desks, those offering a variety of settings, focus booths, collaboration benches, soft-seating lounges, achieve the highest experience scores. Variety, it turns out, is the secret ingredient: it satisfies solo tasks, teamwork and casual interaction alike.

By continuously surveying your people, prototyping changes, and measuring pride and productivity, you turn office design into a strategic retention lever. After all, your workplace isn’t just walls and furniture, it’s the stage on which your people perform at their best.

Attracting & Retaining the Best Staff

First impressions are as important as are lasting ones. Research shows that 70% of new employees to a company decided whether that company is the right fit within the first month, while 29% made that decision in the first week. 

Retaining high performing talent particularly in complex, information-rich roles can lead to productivity increases of 400% or more. This puts a significant emphasis on not just making the office look nice at first sight, but also having the right set of areas conducive to inclusion and balancing different modes of work, collaboration and play.

There are things that candidates and new joiners might expect to find in their new workplace. Where a good social space used to be “nice to have”, it is now expected. Communal areas can help different management levels interact easier with each other.

In addition, research in behavioural change shows that workplace design and facilities fall behind salary as key incentives when it comes to retaining talent but it is still significant that a quarter of employees say they’d take a pay cut for a better workplace. According to our Creative Director, Chris Alldred:

Good office design reflects a company’s ethos and values and respects staff preferences of the type of spaces they wish to work in, but all too-often companies create one-dimensional rather than multi-dimensional spaces. Those multi-dimensional spaces empower staff to choose the areas they wish to work in and are most suitable to successfully complete different tasks.

Great staff deserve great offices

With an increasingly challenging talent market, candidates now expect to work in an environment that allows them to maximise their potential. Investing in a workplace that attracts and retains the very best talent is crucial and should be viewed as an investment.

Employee retention directly affects a company’s bottom line, and losing key team members or failing to attract top talent can have serious consequences. Pause for a moment and consider “Does my office environment inspire?” Ask yourself when candidates arrive for an interview, “Does my office leave a good impression?”. If the answer to these questions is no, then maybe it’s time to reconsider involving a professional design team.

How Can a Design & Build Company Help?

Partnering with a design and build company can transform your office space in one that supports productivity, engagement, employee well-being, and fun. All of these factors in turn significantly contribute to employee retention.

By designing tailored, multi-dimensional spaces, D&B companies create environments that not only look great but also function optimally to support the various ways employees work. Whether that’s collaboration areas for group work or quiet zones for focused work, a well-designed office can enhance employee satisfaction and reduce turnover rates. In fact, research shows that employees are 3 to 4 times more likely to stay in their roles when their workplace is thoughtfully designed to meet their needs.

A key component of modern office design is accommodating the hybrid working model. Offering flexible workspaces that can adapt to different needs – whether for in-person meetings, touch down areas between meetings, or remote collaborations – all ensures that employees feel empowered to work in the way that suits them best.

Integrating advanced workplace technology, ergonomic furniture, and wellness areas further boosts employee well-being and productivity. Companies that offer these multifunctional, hybrid office environments will not only retain top talent but are also likely to see improved innovation and overall business performance.

Plan Early for Success

Engaging with a Design & Build (D&B) team early in the design process allows you to explore fit-out options. We can guide you through potential designs and solutions that foster collaboration and productivity from the outset. This early involvement enables you to make informed decisions, helping to reduce turnover costs and create a workspace that employees are proud to work in.

In a competitive talent market, a well-thought-out office design is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. As businesses adapt to hybrid work models and flexible environments, office spaces must evolve accordingly. Early planning provides the flexibility needed to design spaces that meet changing business needs, whether through the addition of collaborative zones, ergonomic workstations, or wellness amenities. By starting early, companies can ensure that their new office space aligns seamlessly with operational requirements and long-term growth strategies.