Experiment Idea: Improving Utilization Using Design Thinking

If you've ever looked at your office utilization, you likely have some heavily used rooms and some that are not frequently used.  As the team responsible for ensuring a great experience, you'll want to determine how to make these less frequented rooms more desirable.  One practical approach to achieving this is running a workplace experiment that changes a room's furniture, technology, and/or accessories. Leveraging design thinking methods can ensure these changes are user-centered and impactful. Below, we outline how to design and implement such an experiment using design thinking principles.

Understanding Design Thinking

If you're unfamiliar with design thinking, that's ok.  Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that integrates people's needs, technology's possibilities, and business success requirements. The process typically involves five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.  Depending on the effort you're launching, these can be super simple or extremely complex processes.  Try to just enjoy the process though.

Steps to Run the Workplace Experiment

1. Empathize

The first step in design thinking is understanding the needs and experiences of those utilizing the space. This involves:

Qualitative Data

• Observations and Interviews: Spend time in the current workspace observing how employees use the space and conducting interviews to gather insights into their needs and pain points.
• Surveys and Feedback: Distribute surveys to collect broader input from employees about their preferences and challenges with the existing setup.

Quantitative Data

• Utilization Data:  If you already have a platform like Trebellar in place, you can look at the utilization and other data from the rooms you're looking to include in this experiment.
  

2. Define

Clearly define the problem you aim to solve based on the insights gathered. This stage involves:

• Identifying Key Issues: Summarize the main issues affecting space utilization, such as lack of collaborative spaces, insufficient technology, or uncomfortable furniture.
• Creating User Personas: Develop detailed personas representing different types of users in the workspace to ensure that solutions address the needs of all stakeholders.  You may already know these fairly well if you manage the space on a day-to-day basis, so this process can be a shortcut a bit.  Just avoid assumptions!  
  

3. Ideate

In this phase, brainstorm potential solutions to the defined problems. Encourage creative thinking and collaboration among team members:

• Brainstorming Sessions: Host sessions where all ideas are welcomed, no matter how unconventional. Use techniques like mind mapping to explore various possibilities.
• Prioritizing Ideas: Evaluate each idea's feasibility and potential impact and prioritize those that best address the identified needs.  If you've got a small budget, then totally revamping a room just won't make sense.  Even small changes help.
  

4. Prototype

Develop prototypes of the proposed changes. This could involve:

• Furniture: Introduce furniture, such as mobile workstations, adjustable-height tables, and more ergonomic seating.
• Technology: Implement new technologies, such as smartboards, and whiteboard cameras to enhance connectivity.
• Accessories: Add elements like plants, better lighting solutions, and privacy film to improve comfort and functionality.
  

5. Test

Finally, test the prototypes in the actual workspace to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments:

• Pilot Testing: Set up a pilot area with the new furniture, technology, and accessories. Allow employees to use the space(s) and provide feedback.
  

Monitoring and Evaluation

Once you've launched your experiment, you'll want to monitor and evaluate what you did so you can iterate on it to keep improving.  You can do this in a few ways:

• Utilization Metrics: Use occupancy sensors and booking systems to track how the space is utilized before and after the changes.  Set your target use rates, and make sure you include this in how you define success for the experiment.
• Employee Feedback: Continuously gather employee feedback to assess the changes' impact on productivity and satisfaction.  Often waiting for at least 30 days can be helpful to give the change time to settle.
• Data Analysis: Analyze the data to determine the experiment's success in increased utilization and improved employee experience.
  

Conclusion

Teams can create more efficient and user-friendly spaces by applying the design thinking methodology to workplace experiments. This approach ensures that the solutions are tailored to the actual needs of employees, leading to higher utilization rates and greater satisfaction. Embracing design thinking can help foster innovation and help build a more adaptable workplace that can meet the evolving demands of your teams.