Retain employees using innovative work areas

I read in Think magazine (Issue #26) that a Singapore company, muvee, has found a unique way to keep its employees happy and retain them.

Most companies stick to the traditional approach of paying employees competitively and providing them relevant continuous learning opportunities. muvee, which employs some 80 persons, has gone further by empowering employees to design their workspaces.

Each employee is given a budget and certain rules to follow in customising the individual work area.

Additionally, when muvee moved into its present office space in Bugis, it asked its employees for a wish-list and delivered this list. As a result, its present premises now incorporate "games rooms, cinema, American style diner, many many Fatboy bean bags, steam shower, focus groups suite and a war room, where company strategy is concocted amidst fake guns and camouflage gear". There is even a "kiddy style area with ABC matting and bouncy balls".

This indeed reflects the power of involving your employees proactively in issues that are likely to affect them.

muvee achieved substantial cost-savings in innovatively designing the present premises; it saved 40% of the budget allocated for its new office space.

Its approach has also been welcomed by both its employees and customers.

Now, give your boss the same idea about designing your workspaces, and persuade your employer to visit muvee for inspiration!

Happiness,
Dharmendra Yadav