How to Create a Collaborative Workspace
What's one tip you'd give to an entrepreneur who is designing a new office space that promotes a collaborative company culture? (e.g. ping pong tables, cool meeting rooms, cubicles, etc.)The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons. Email your questions about best practices for starting up and/or managing a small business to smbs@foxbusiness.com.
No. 1: Put Everything on Rollers From Emily Eldridge of Book'd
Put tables and chairs on rollers, allowing maximum flexibility in the work space. If a few people are working together, they can simply roll over!
No. 2: Create an Open Work Space From Bhavin Parikh of Magoosh Test Prep
Create an open work space. We have one conference room for the occasional meeting, but otherwise, we have a wide open workspace. The team invests in headphones when they are heads-down, but the openness promotes collaboration between all areas: engineering, marketing, content, etc.
No. 3: Keep Everything Configurable From W. Michael Hsu of DeepSky
Ditch the large conference table that's too heavy to move, and keep everything small, nimble and configurable. When we had our office, we kept the floor plan open with configurable desks and shelves. That way, the teams can build their own working area or collaborating space based on their needs at the moment.No. 4: No Assigned Seating From Kelly Azevedo of She's Got Systems
Let the work spaces be flexible and allow groups to form and reform as needed. If you find after a while that seating has stagnated, you can mix it up and get team members from different disciplines to sit together.No. 5: Stage Sofas for Napping From Christopher Pruijsen of Letslunch.com
Make sure you have some sofas or beanbags for napping, especially if you intend to organize Hackathons and if you're a business that is not dependent on regular working hours.
No. 6: Ban the Cubicle for Video Games From Eric Corl of Fundable LLC
We recently completed an office renovation to create an open office environment with no walls. It promotes interaction among the team throughout the day and tends to keep the environment positive and energetic. We also have an arcade game (NBA Jam), an XBox, regularly grill out, and play street hockey as a team.No. 7: Make It Fun Somehow! From DC Fawcett of Paramount Digital Publishing
I encourage any type of fun in the workplace, so my recommendation is to set up the office environment to enable this. Set up a break room that’s actually a fun/learning room, with ping pong tables and learning tools like training courses, books, etc.
No. 8: Include an Outdoor Space From Abby Ross of Blueye Creative
An outdoor space is crucial. Being outside fosters innovation and community. Each fall, we have a few “work outside” days, where we line up on the street and work on laptops.
No. 9: Grab That IdeaPaint From Logan Lenz of Endagon
In order to extract everyone's creative side, equip your office walls with IdeaPaint, which is a wall paint that serves as a whiteboard. Not only is it fun to have around, it looks sleek, and inspires the entire office to share their ideas wherever they want to.
No. 10: Put In a Kitchen From Thursday Bram of Hyper Modern Consulting
Put in as much of a kitchen as you can manage and encourage your employees to use it. Whether it's at home or in the office, people naturally congregate around food. A good kitchen, usable for more than just storing and eating lunches, can be a great opportunity for collaboration.