This extra productivity could generate £20 million per annum according to an impact assessment. Other benefits include a 250% increase in support space, office capacity boosted by 27% and desk utilisation improved by 15%.
Simon Carter, head of corporate property at National Grid, said that “providing an inspiring work environment is not just a ‘nice to have’, it is fundamental to our culture.
“Our study has objectively proven that giving our colleagues spaces to collaborate and work together has enhanced productivity by 8% and enabled people to flex the way they work, making it easier to act as a team,” he said.
Hilary Jeffery, workplace strategy director at professional services firm AECOM, which headed up the redesign, said: “This study has allowed us to make significant strides in measuring the impact of the workplace on employee output, something that our industry has only been able to gain through subjective measures in employee surveys to date.
“Real estate is the second highest cost for a business, yet all too often it gets little attention at board level. By taking a more strategic view of an organisation’s real estate and the workplace environment employers can significantly increase the value gained from their biggest cost: their people.”
The £20 million saved by improving staff performance sits within a total financial impact of up to £30 million per annum, with an £8 million to £10 million reduction made on annual operating costs. Some of these savings came from a decrease in energy usage of 16%.
