Employee Engagement and Workplace Productivity
These goals can be very different from one project to the next. In workplace projects, employee productivity is the goal. Multistudio’s research-based design practice helps clients quantify the metrics that matter most for their business. These data ensure each client can see where and how their facility provides a return on their investment.
The modern workplace requires employees to work creatively, efficiently, and in cooperation with teams that might be down the hallway or around the world. Not every organization can host a sprawling campus with specialized spaces for every situation, so we are often designing work facilities that provide flexibility to adapt to shifting needs without disrupting colleagues or delaying employees.
In fact, research has shown knowledge workers spend as much as 85% of their time in meetings. Research that expanded the WELL building certification to examine workplace issues reinforced that noise and lack of privacy impair productivity in an office environment by disrupting focused meetings and independent work.
Multistudio’s own research has also measured the impact of space design on employee productivity. Data from our new studio in New Orleans showed how the improved space design was associated with an increase in employee productivity of 47%.
At another office, we did a study with early career staff to measure the interplay between in-person team collaboration patterns and project communication efficiency. Working alongside more experienced staff is a key opportunity for young designers to grow professionally, but that highly collaborative studio culture also predicted an 8% reduction in communication efficiency for those early career team members.
This finding led our team to explore ways to sustain our collaborative design culture while realigning how teams communicate to reduce time loss and miscommunication.
We designed our Kansas City studio to highlight our entrepreneurial spirit and improve collaborative work efforts. The office was adapted to preserve the historic building’s unique bones while integrating a wide variety of supportive workspaces. Primary desk areas interweave with heads-down working pockets, technology enabled team pin-up areas, a state-of-the-art modeling and maker space, and an outdoor patio for social gatherings.
This flexible, human-centered design allows the studio to host a wide variety of team activities that stimulate creative, productive discussion. We are also able to welcome community partners into the space to feed the dynamic studio culture that is a centerpiece of the Multistudio identity.
For example, in the spring of 2026 we hosted an Interior Architecture studio from the University of Kansas as they presented their findings from an intensive study of Multistudio projects for their integration of Universal Design for Learning. The office plan integrates high energy collaboration spaces to ensure each team has space for their work needs on any given day.
Principal Dan Zeller shared his approach to leading his team in the collaborative environment, saying, “The reason I come into the office every day is that I want to collaborate with people. I want to be here. I can be available to answer questions from younger staff and get my own questions answered, too. You walk around and say 'Oh, that’s interesting,' when you see something in a pin-up space or on the wall.”
Vice President Katie Dunn has seen similar trends with the interiors team.
“Our interiors team uses the materials library often, and that’s our space to craft and create together," she shared. "However, we are evolving that space to be for colleagues beyond interiors as well. The way the space promotes collaboration opened our eyes to the studio-wide opportunities for more frequent teamwork on project design.”
Each client’s workplace needs are unique to their team and business model. This need for customization is a common element through many projects that seek to create a shared sense of culture. Cultivating curiosity for how we can innovate in our own spaces nurtures the creative spark we bring to each workplace project with our clients.
Design exploration and internal research in our own studios continues to reveal the importance of workplace design for employee productivity, satisfaction, and well-being. We go beyond the expected to find balanced design solutions that allow each employee to successfully contribute to their organization’s mission.
