Best Companies to Work for: Expressing the Culture Through the Workplace - Part 1

Why does "good design" matter for a company? Good design matters because the physical workplace sends messages to the stakeholders, according to Kahler Slater's Workplace Experience Strategist, Barbara Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong was featured last month on Forbes website, where she discussed four characteristics needed in a "Best Place to Work." These are brand alignment, visible culture, gathering spaces and story-telling. We introduce the first two characteristics today and the last two in the following days.

Brand alignment means that the work-space has to reflect the anticipated characteristics that someone would expect from a particular company. The expectations can be identified in the firm's website, advertising and general values. Kahler Slater analyzes whether the expectations match the physical places. Ms. Armstrong mentions that great examples of brand alignment are Google and Zappos.

The physical space can also communicate the organizational values and culture. Barbara Armstrong shares an example of trust-building by the CEO of Ultimate Software. He promised a basketball court in the office if the sales team reached a competitive goal and when that happened, he followed through.

In a few days the Center will share the second part of the video.

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