Good Workplace Design Starts Before the First Drawing

This is not the same as completing a design brief. The brief records the direction. The leadership work comes first. Here is a list of questions to ask the board and key stakeholders before any design work begins.

1. Why is the business changing its workplace?

An expiring lease may set the deadline, but it does not explain the business need. The organisation may be growing, consolidating, changing its hybrid model, improving the client experience or correcting problems in the current office.

Write the project purpose in plain language. For example: “Create a workplace that supports team-based hybrid work and can accommodate the expected growth range for the next three years.” That statement gives the project a test. A request such as “make the office more modern” does not.

If leaders name several aims, rank them. Priorities become useful when the project cannot maximise every outcome at once.

2. Who sponsors the project and who makes each decision?

A fitout crosses operations, people, technology, finance and property. Consultation is valuable, but it does not mean every participant approves every decision.

Nominate an executive sponsor and a day-to-day project lead. Then record who provides input and who has final authority over the brief, budget, programme and design. Include external approvals from the landlord, board or parent organisation where relevant.

This gives the design team a reliable route for questions and reduces late reversals from people who were not part of the process.

3. Which requirements are fixed and which are preferences?

Projects often begin with a long list of requirements. Some are fixed and non-negotiable, such as the lease date, approved funding, accessibility needs or a security standard. Others are preferences that can change when more information becomes available.

Labelling both groups helps the team make rational trade-offs. A preferred room type should not carry the same weight as a compliance requirement. Equally, an inherited assumption such as one desk per person should not be treated as fixed without testing how the office is used.

4. Whose input is needed, and when should it be gathered?

Staff input can reveal work patterns and problems that the leaders do not see, but it needs a clear purpose. Ask people about activities, obstacles and needs rather than turning design into a vote on finishes or individual desk locations.

A useful engagement plan may include leadership interviews, staff surveys, team workshops and observation of the existing workplace. It should also explain how feedback will influence decisions and where constraints limit the options.

5. How will workplace success be judged?

Opening day is not the best measure of a workplace. Define what the organisation expects to see after people have settled in.

Measures might cover use of work settings, meeting room pressure, staff experience, ability to accommodate change or operational performance. Choose measures that relate to the project’s stated purpose and establish a baseline where possible.

Success measures also help during design. When two options compete, the team can compare them against the outcomes that leaders agreed at the start.