JLL’s new Chicago HQ features an café with booth seating and inviting design elements. Image courtesy of JLL.
Before you sign a lease, consider how the location will support and help realize your brand. If you wait until after, you could be stuck with a location, building features, or even neighbors that detract from your ability to build the culture you envision.
Too often, branding is considered after a lease is signed—to the detriment of the overall brand experience. When executed properly and thought of as part of the site selection process, cultivating an immersive brand experience in the workplace can bring organizational culture and values to life in countless ways. It can infuse a space with more meaning, warmly welcome guests, and spark employee engagement, pride, and productivity. Ultimately, successful brand dimensionalization can help organizations deliver the powerful human experiences that are becoming vital in the future of work.
But these advantages are hard won when brand is an afterthought. Similar to retail, the time to think about branding comes well before you sign a lease or engage a designer. Many executives are just starting to learn about the immersive experience retailers have been shaping for their customers for many years.