Your Environment Matters, Not Just at Home But at Work!

Something that we often that we forget is that people do better, even thrive, in environments that they feel comfortable and welcome in. Jennifer Rundell reminded me of this, she taught me a couple of tricks for my own space and has great advice on how you can make employees more productive with a couple of simple changes. We all know that sitting all day is not good for you and sitting under bad lighting is even worse, but there is so much more that goes into creating a healthy environment. It is not enough just to eliminate the bad things we also have to focus on offering the healthy. Join me and Jennifer for a great conversation about how a couple of simple things can make all the difference.  

 

Contact Jennifer

LinkedIN - linkedin.com/in/jennifer-rundell-7b904a19

Website - rundellredesign.com

E-mail - info@rundellredesign.com

 

Leighann Lovely  00:20

HR professionals, business owners and operations at all levels are struggling to figure out what needs to change. Our system has been shocked practices have been questioned, and conversations are finally happening. We all know there has been a huge shift in what people want. inclusion and diversity are common phrases. But often misunderstood generations are coming together more than ever on what's important. Mental health has been brought to the forefront of everyone's mind. Let's humanize these conversations. Let's talk about what's important for employees to be successful in life and at their job and how companies can create an environment to allow them to do both because successful people will make up a successful workforce. I'm Leighann lovely. Let's get this conversation started.  Today I am joined by an amazing woman who has helped educate me on the importance of the environment we work, play and live in Jennifer Rudell of Rundell Redesign. She has always had a passion for design. From the time she was little she was rearranging spaces in order to create a more harmonious feel. While her friends were playing dress up with their Barbies, she was busy setting up the furniture and accessories in Barbies home so she would be ready to entertain when Ken and all of his friends stopped by for a visit. Fast forward a few years. After countless hours, helping friends family members and coworkers redesign their homes, businesses and special events. It was time to open up Rundell Redesign. Owning her own business has not only given her the freedom to help her clients reimagine their best lives by redesigning their work life and play. It has also allowed her to create spaces where her clients can give their clients a memorable experience from the moment they walk through the door when she is not rearranging furniture or checking out the latest deals and steals in the Milwaukee's fabulous resale shops. You can find her soaking up some fresh air and sunshine on or near the water sharing a few laughs until you cry moments with her family or singing loudly in the car along with her favorite radio station. Jennifer, welcome to the show. I'm excited to have you.

 

Jennifer Rundell  02:43

Thank you, Leighann. It's a pleasure having the opportunity to chat with you.

 

Leighann Lovely  02:46

So from all of the guests that I've had, you actually run a very unique, a unique business. But in talking with you, you kind of educated me as to why this conversation is very important. So why don't you start off by telling us what you do and a little bit about yourself?

 

Jennifer Rundell  03:08

Okay, oh my gosh, boy, that's an open ended question. So my goal is I help people reimagine their best lives by redesigning where they work, live and play. So what in the world? Does that mean? People often ask me, okay, that's fine. But what does that mean? So I will go into a space and I will help design an optimal experience for your client. And sometimes your client is you.

 

Leighann Lovely  03:39

Excellent. So tell me how that relates to our conversation today? And what that you know what that means? You know, yeah, tell me, you know, again, tell me how you educated me on why this would be a great conversation.

 

Jennifer Rundell  03:58

So, employees function at a different level, depending upon how they feel in their space. And it's something that employers sometimes overlook. People don't give a lot of thought to, and you don't realize it's an issue until it's done. Right. So what does that mean? You know, what do you what do you mean? How does your face your space affect you? Well, think about it. If you're in a space that has a good combination, lighting, sound, color, texture, all of those things, you're going to feel more comfortable. So a perfect example of that is let's say you're going to spend a day on the spot which Hello, sign me up, I'm ready. And you know what to experience in that space. So you go to a spa, and you're picturing a combination of colors, textures light, you go to the spot the walls are dark red, The furniture is hard metal, the music is loud, all of a sudden your experience isn't right, it's just off. Well, employees have that same expectation when they go to work. So you go to work and you're picturing, you're going to be in an environment that feels safe, comfortable, the lighting is adequate. There's a choice of white noise versus music. All different things affect your functionality affect your creativity, and affect your productivity. And if people don't realize that if employers don't realize that they're not creating an ideal environment for their employees to have their top productivity,

 

Leighann Lovely  05:45

and that's, I find that wildly interesting, because, one, if you can, the audience can't see where I'm sitting right now. But I sit in literally in a bunker in my people have said Leanna kind of looks like you're in a bunker, right? And I'm like, I guess I kind of am. And there are days where I will choose to work upstairs in my home, because I do sit in the lower level of my home, which I have intentionally started to improve. Because it is it's a mess. And sometimes I get frustrated, because I'm like, oh my god, it's just so messy down here. And, and it does play a part into the psyche.

 

Jennifer Rundell  06:39

Absolutely. And visual clutter is so stressful for people and people don't realize it. And especially Okay, so now we've got this hybrid situation, and some people are working from home a little bit. They're working in the office a little bit, or they're totally working from home. And full transparency. First thing I thought when I saw what was behind us, I know somebody that can fix that for me. Right? Right, it does, it affects us. And we don't realize it. But there's so many studies that have been done that show, the increased productivity, when you're in a space that is cleaner has adequate lighting has a little bit of white noise, or music playing in the background, and not too loud, not too soft. So there are combinations of things. And it's very easy to set our employees and our entrepreneurial friends up for success by just altering a few things.

 

Leighann Lovely  07:35

So when we speak to that, how, how do we go about I mean, there are employees who work on the manufacturing floor. Right? So how do we how do we change that for those individuals? Is it? Is it about the break room? The lunch room? What how do we do better for those individuals where really their workspace is about safety? And making sure that they're? You know, yeah, it's about safety, you know, if you're running a big machine, so what do you how do you go into, you know, an environment like that to help them?

 

Jennifer Rundell  08:16

So you hit the nail on the head, it's about the common spaces. So what does the break room feel like? What does the lobby feeling? What does it feel like when they walk in the door every day coming to work? What is the tone that said, what's the combination of colors that are even on the floor in a manufacturing space, it doesn't have to just be gray cement and white walls. It doesn't have to be gray on the wall, it doesn't have to feel like they're in a prison. There are many ways to address the safety factor and make it a stimulating, comfortable place for people to be. And a very simple thing that I know you and I had chatted about previously, if some people do not know this, just the sight of a live plant, anywhere in the workplace, stimulates the environment, and stimulates the productivity for people. And here's the secret. It's because subliminally if people see a live plant anywhere, whether it's a network place on the floor, which wouldn't make sense a manufacturing militates in the lobby or the gathering space in their head, they think if a plant can survive here, so can I.

 

Leighann Lovely  09:30

So here's one thing that I completely love, or find interesting, some of these really large organizations you walk into, and they have complete and total walls that are just live plants. Yes. And for the longest time, I wondered, what's with what's with that? Right, right. And now I'm starting to understand And yes, this is actually a subliminal kind of message that you're sending people that if. And is it anything else is it? I mean, some of these walls are massive.

 

Jennifer Rundell  10:17

Yes, yes, they are. And it's funny because so my office is in expansive, and the Mayfair collection. And we have several giant walls in the lobby area that are the live moss. And there's something very calming about that there's something refreshing about it, and different colors stimulate different things in your brain. Now, green happens to be one of the colors that will in your mind, it promotes growth and freshness. Balance, it's a grounding color. And I do think there's something about bringing nature inside. I think it's so important. Because nature is good for us. Sunshine is good for us, fresh air is good for us. And if any way that a company or an organization can bring nature in the side, not only is it better for you to have the live plants, but even fake greenery is really good for your psyche.

 

Leighann Lovely  11:18

So do these does moss produce oxygen?

 

Jennifer Rundell  11:22

That's a very good question. And I'm not sure my guess is yes, because of course, live plants, the oxygen exchange is very important. And it's very good for your health. And I'm guessing moss must because these moss walls are kind of a big deal. And it's I mean, I don't want to say it's a newer trend. But I think it is kind of newer, because I don't remember seeing it ever before.

 

Leighann Lovely  11:45

Right? I mean, you would assume that, hey, here's the purest way to create natural oxygen in an air at a company that, hey, just got to water it.

 

Jennifer Rundell  11:58

Right, right. Yeah.

 

Leighann Lovely  12:01

Which I suppose is also could be expensive, but it's beautiful. It's calming. It's right. Yeah, I completely. It didn't occur to me that creating the intentional environment was such a big deal. However, as soon as you said it to me, I went, Oh, well, of course, because I'm constantly, I'm constantly trying to think how can I create a better environment for myself to work? Great, great. And I've already I've already talked to my dad who's a carpenter about because I don't really have walls to like, if you looked at my space, you'd be like, Oh, I don't know how. I mean, like, I'm sitting in an unfinished part of my, of my house, right, that needs to be you know, actually have drywall and actually needs to be built out. So it's not like, it's just that I'm lazy. And just having pick stuff up and put it up, I just am sitting in a part of the house that just needs work.

 

Jennifer Rundell  13:15

And there's lots of things you can do, because you're not alone. I mean, let's face it, quite a few people work from home now, or they work in an environment that maybe isn't all finished and pretty. There's lots of things you can do in a temporary situation like that until the walls are built, you can put up screens and there's some fabulous screens that have all the potholders so you put up a metal screen that has all those rings in it and then you dump in a bunch of you know, pots that have living plants in it Winner winner chicken dinner, it's a two for one special

 

Leighann Lovely  13:49

right but what happens if you have absolutely no natural light for living plants?

 

Jennifer Rundell  13:55

Then you then you do fake plants so you can see the greenery right you have the effect of the greenery without having to care from and there are some things that you can do like succulents will survive okay without the direct sunlight and you could go that route as well.

 

Leighann Lovely  14:10

Yep. So with with the you know, the change in obviously the world. Yeah. Do you think that organizations have got gotten smart on that and thought okay, so you know, we don't necessarily have the greatest work and, and I've spoken with, you know, many of my friends who are like, I now that I've had a taste of working from home, and I've found that I am that much more productive. My My desk is sit sits literally in the middle of you know, this massive room. Yes, all day long people are walking past me. Do you think that companies have finally realized wow, this this, this is working the rise of the Hybrid work environments? Or do you think that there is a rise? You know of redesigns? Have you seen that? Have you felt?

 

Jennifer Rundell  15:09

Yes and both. So I think that companies, what's interesting is COVID forced us to go into some of those spaces and create more elbow room for people, right, because we were all trying to be six feet away from each other. And all of a sudden, that felt better. You didn't feel so crowded, you weren't tucked right up, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, in a row, we had to put some dividers and some walls up, whether they were temporary, or screens are something to give people a little more space. And that felt better to people. Because I think you look at some of those bullpens where you've just got a million desks in a row. And your space is the space of the guy across from you and next to you and you feel like you don't have any, any personal space. I think that felt uncomfortable. And COVID caused us to reevaluate that. So yes, I think some companies are saying, well, wait a minute, this seems to feel better. And not just because we're afraid of catching something from the person next to us. It gives you some room to breathe, and space. And whitespace is really important, whether it's on our calendar, whether it's on a piece of paper, whether it's on our lives, or whether it's in our physical space where we're working. So if you can give people a little more elbow room and a little more space, that's all part of designing a high productivity environment for people.

 

Leighann Lovely  16:33

And it's interesting that you say that, because, you know, if you talk to a business owner, they're going to well, at least they would have argued the opposite point. No, no, no, I need to get, you know, 30 people in here versus the 20 people that you're talking. Right. Right. So have you still seen pushback from from some of these companies on that?

 

Jennifer Rundell  17:01

I think it's all about the education process. It's all about having conversations with employers about the importance of the environment and the increased productivity. And I think that sometimes it's hard for them to see the ROI. Why would I put any money into my space, my space is perfectly fine. When you are bringing somebody into a space, and you're the first thing somebody sees employers, clients, whoever it might be employees, and they walk in, and there's old sofas that are ripped, there's blinds that are broken, there's paint peeling on the wall, I mean, what does that say? I don't care enough about you to create a beautiful environment. Now it doesn't come right out and say that, but that's what they're thinking. And people behave differently. Think about when you walk into an environment that's pleasant, and it's professional, and it's welcoming, you're going to stand a little taller, when you walk in, you're gonna feel better. And it's so easy for these employers to set the tone right away for their employees. What does their workspace look like? What does their that lobby look like? And what is the break room look like? Sometimes the break rooms are like, Oh, my gosh, I wouldn't go in there. It's gross.

 

Leighann Lovely  18:19

You know, and it's, it's, as you were just talking, I it popped into my head accompany that I years ago, and that engaged me to recruit for them. And I remember, you know, back back in the day, well, it's still this is still going on, for general labor recruitments. You too, or every facility you go into? Absolutely. One for safety purposes, you know, you're walking through and you're looking for clutter, you're looking for risk factors of do I want to work with this company? Are they too high risk to work with, you know, am I going to send an employee in that's, you know, gonna end up tripping and falling on, you know, boxes that are laying all over the place? Or, you know, are they blocking major exits, that type of thing. Anyways, the other thing that I always looked for was, Is this a welcoming environment? Are they going to walk in here and feel like, you know, they get a good feeling when they come to interview? Yes. And I remember so, you know, so I suppose part of me knew knew this. And that's the key, right? But I still consciously it's, it's one of those things that you don't, you don't think about? Exactly, but I remember walking into a facility. And when I walked out, I thought, oh, my god, that was a blast from the 80s the company and again, I'm guilty of this. I walk around my house and I don't see all the flaws. You know, I I I'm waiting to have some drywall hung. And I took down a shelf but I never took out the nails. Yeah. And I'm sure that people walk into my house and they're like, why does she have nails just a nail in the wall? You become blind? Absolutely to the flaws in your own home. It's same thing with you walk into somebody's house and it smells bad. Mm hmm. You become nose blind to the smell of your own home. And, and I regularly asked people when they walk in my house, do you smell anything in my house? Does it smell good in here? Because I have a puppy now. Right? And I'm always like, I, you know, I can't smell my own home. So I'm always asking people. It doesn't smell like dog in here does it? Anyway,

 

Jennifer Rundell  20:37

Exactly. I don't exactly know. And you're spot on. And they're all things that we the average Joe is not conscious of. Because what I do is I create an environment that creates the desired feel. I'm very aware of all the pieces that go into creating that environment. Most people don't think about it, and you don't realize it until it's either really right or really wrong. Because I think when you walk out of someplace, you're like, oh, my gosh, I would love to work here. What a great environment. Right? You're not consciously thinking, Oh, they had some live greenery on the wall. That was really cool. Or, Oh, I liked how they layered? No, I do. Because I see all that stuff, right? And I'm like, check, check, check, check. But this is where, like, with anything, working with an expert, somebody that's that's their job, like whether it's the safety expert to say, oh, there's a tripping hazard. There's this, there's that? Right? I am more aware of it than the average job. But it's amazing. If you would ask an employee. Did you like working there? What did you like about it? What didn't you like about it? They might not know. But if you specifically said hey, how comfortable were you in that break room? What did you like? What didn't you like? And maybe if you give some guided questions, people wouldn't be able to say, oh, you know, there was an adequate seating or, gosh, this was always dirty. Or the colors in there kind of felt like I was in prison. And things that you don't you're you might not be consciously aware of. But they are affecting don't let anybody kid you. They're affecting their performance. They're affecting, do they want to come into work every day? Is that a place that they're looking forward to coming to? Are they if you're in a building, and you're excited to bring guests in? And to bring people in? Or are you going to the coffee shop or someplace else? Because you don't want people to see what your office really looks like,

 

Leighann Lovely  22:40

right? And here's the thing about the company that I was talking about, you know, that felt like you're walking into the 80s. They were a tech company. What does that say about them? When they're supposed to be forward thinking technology. But when you walk into their facility, they have couches that look like they were my grandma's couch.

 

Jennifer Rundell  23:03

They're frozen in time, Qur'an, without meaning to your right, the message they're sending, whether it's their clients, their potential employees, whoever it might be, is, we are not forward thinking correct? We are frozen in time. Yeah. Or we don't care enough that that's not important to us. Right, which sends the message to the client. You're not really that important to us. Yeah, you can come in don't mind or dust.

 

Leighann Lovely  23:28

Right. But and I could not for the life of me get anybody to work there. Because I would get them excited about the job. They would go interview there, and they go, Ah, I don't want to move forward with that. Okay, tell me why, you know what, it just wasn't the right position. And really, it was that subconscious. Like, oh, I don't know that I want to work in that environment. It wasn't the work. It wasn't the job. It wasn't the people. It was the environment. I don't want to sit in a in a building that reminds me of my grandmother's living room. No offense to my grandmother. But you know, everybody, everybody, you know, I had hand me down couches in my first apartment for my grandma. Absolutely. And I gotta say I was really excited to make my you know, make some money so that I could replace those couches because everybody walk in and be like, what's what the couches? Exactly? It's beautiful. Extremely well kept couches. Yes. But you know the floral pattern that you know was exactly that was really like that was the style, right Laurel or the paisley pattern, which is fine in some things you know, some clothes and I think that's coming back or or is it already come back and gone again.

 

Jennifer Rundell  24:58

If you wait long enough Most things make a circle. Right? But it's that's not the kind of statement you want to make. Right. And I think, again, you know, employers and business owners are really busy. And they're trying to make their product, create their service, whatever it is. And this might be something they don't think about. But there are some really easy, simple changes they can make. And I think people would be surprised at the retention rate at the recruitment rate at how things change without spending a whole lot of money.

 

Leighann Lovely  25:39

Right? I mean, that there's another company that they they didn't go and spend or blow a ton of money on changing the entire environment. But what they did do is install a really nice TV, that you could go and play games, video games on, on your on your break, a couch where you could go and lounge on. Yeah. And that, right, they're made all of the sudden the employees like, wow, we have like a little hangout area where we can. And you know, the cost of a flat screen TV nowadays is, I mean, it's under $1,000, for a very large flat screen TV. Exactly. And if you're all if you're a business that has over 50 employees, that cost is really nothing.

 

Jennifer Rundell  26:39

Oh, my gosh. And I, I always tell all of my clients, you do not have to spend a million dollars for your place to look like a million bucks, there are some very simple things, you know that the live plants throw a rug, and if you've got all cement floors, and they're very cool. And I love that, look, throw a few rugs down, give some texture, give some add that extra layer, and it's amazing what that will do. How comfortable are the seats that people are sitting in? If they're sitting there for eight hours a day? How about a standing desk, give people an opportunity to be we all know now that sitting is the worst thing for you. So let's create an environment where we can have a standing that if we can't afford for everybody to have a standing desk? What about some stations or some break stations or opportunities for movement? And it's really simple stuff. Look at your lighting? Because that's huge. If you're in Super, yes, I'm looking at your lighting.

 

Leighann Lovely  27:42

I know, I know, oh, trust me, I've I've, I've looked into all of this. But you know, when you're in a bunker there, yeah.

 

Jennifer Rundell  27:51

And there's, there's ways to and I would love to do that for you, I would love to do a video of a before and after your space. And how was some very simple changes, we can change that from feeling like a bunker to feeling like a nice workspace you, you would have

 

Leighann Lovely  28:09

to come and see my space before you commit to that because I think you're I think you're committing to, to something that you don't quite understand. See, this space, and I know the audience can't see. But the space that I'm in is a very large room, it doesn't look from it doesn't look like that from the angle because I am actually in a tiny little corner of it. Right. And it's a very, very large room. That is actually also or was originally my art studio, that my daughter and I and so what I did was I converted, you know, like probably, you know, 100 square foot portion of this into my home office. Yeah. And if you were to just look a little bit further, you know, to my, my right, you're gonna see complete and utter chaos. Yep, paint on the floor, paint over every surface. And that's an art and my daughter. My daughter is five and she always used to say Mommy, I got a little you know, paint, you know, on the ground and I said it's an art room. There's supposed to be paint everywhere. And that's so she loves coming in this room because it is the one room in the house where she can just express herself in any way by getting paints by getting what you know, glue, whatever the medium is that we're using. And she can be messy. Yeah, and then we have to hose her off before she leaves the room because glitter I mean it's, it's insane. And I And again, I am a believer in you know, arch, that kind of stuff. I'm going into a tangent here. So but before you commit, you should probably see the room.

 

Jennifer Rundell  30:06

So, sight unseen, there are simple things you could do. And I'm sure there's other people that are in your same situation, again, a temporary screen, if if looking at that, it sounds like you've created this beautiful green of space, which is fabulous. However, for you to be productive, and to be, for your ROI to be as high as you want it to be, and for your productivity to be high, block that visually. Simple screen, right? And, and I, and I really think that can be done. And think of all the other people that are working from home and have similar situations to, there are some simple tips and tricks that that people can do without spending a lot of money to change that up.

 

Leighann Lovely  30:51

And that's awesome. Because, you know, the scene that I have, that you can't see it and I used to have a shower curtain hanging. But now I've changed my angle. And so now the shower curtain would be hanging over a table that I need to because I needed to expand my you know, so now it's hanging in the wrong place. And that requires me to stand get a drill and under you. Right, that's the pure laziness of like, oh, and I glued it. So then I would have to chisel away the glue. I mean, it was like put up there to not come down. Because I don't do things halfway, like oh, yeah, I'm gonna hang this and it's never coming down.

 

Jennifer Rundell  31:44

Exactly. Exactly. Well, that's good. Oh, good thinking,

 

Leighann Lovely  31:48

right. And then when I realized, oh, I want to redesign my space. Oh, now I have to get this shower curtain rod down that I hung up to, you know, never come down.

 

Jennifer Rundell  31:58

So there's, there's always a workaround. Right. But I think outside of the box,

 

Leighann Lovely  32:03

yes. And I love I, like, I'm a very creative, I'm a creative, not a designer, by any means design. I mean, again, you know, my that's, that's, that's the extent of my design. And again, my I wish the audience you know, sometimes they wish that I did video, so the audience could actually see the, the chaos that is my space. But I am a creative and I love, I love the concept of creating that beautiful environment to allow people to be more productive and successful. And I believe in it. Because I have seen I've seen it on the flip side of kit, and I didn't even realize it until you had reached out to me and said, Hey, do you know? And then it kind of all dawned on me of Yeah, I guess I do. Because I've seen candidates go into companies and racking my brain as to why are they not taking jobs? Yeah, the environment. It's not that it's a bad place to work. But they're turned off by the way that it looks when they walk in the door. Absolutely.

 

Jennifer Rundell  33:19

And more than the way it looks. It's the way it feels. And it's the way it makes them feel. And I think, again, we just go through the motions during the day. And we are not aware of how all that works. I mean, there's an art to selling. There's a reason that certain retailers are very successful. It's the music that's playing, it's the lighting, it's it's the colors in there. And there's all sorts of studies that are done. And I think sometimes employers forget that that's equally as important for their employees. And it's equally important for their potential clients because how you make the client feel when they walk in the door. And I always tell people, I say your business tell your tells your story before you even say a single word. Because it's the experience they have before they even open the door.

 

Leighann Lovely  34:14

Right. And here's something else that's that's becoming very, like, very apparent. You because You brought up selling. Yeah, I have. Everybody has seen a shift in the way people dress. Yes. People buy from people they are comfortable with. Mm hmm. People are drawn to people they are comfortable with. Over the last couple of years you've seen the the ties, the business suits starting to become a thing of the past. Correct. And I have found that I am much more apt to approach somebody wearing something a lot more casual than when I see somebody wearing a very stuffy? Yes, suit and tie. Because we I think it's a subconscious mindset of oh, they're wearing very stuffy suit and tie. They're, they're more unapproachable,

 

Jennifer Rundell  35:21

right? Well, your space does the same thing. How are you dressing your space? How does it feel? Is it warm and welcoming? And we do like to do business with people we know like, and trust, correct. We also like to do our business in a space that makes us feel comfortable, right? And your space should be warm and welcoming. It should. And again, like if you're in a high tech space, and you've got grandma's furniture in there, there's a disconnect. In our mind. It's uncomfortable. And we often don't know what it is that's not sitting, right. You know, you walk out of someplace, you're like, man, that just didn't feel right. But you don't know why. Well, that's why. Because there's a disconnect, and what you expect and the experience that you expect. And I mean, every successful business wants to create an ideal experience for your client, whether your client is your employee, whether your client is yourself, whatever it might be, and setting the tone, setting the scene, creating that environment, that physical environment, allows all that beautiful stuff to happen, all the exchange that needs to happen.

 

Leighann Lovely  36:31

And you've and you've said it multiple times, and I haven't, I haven't, you know, kind of highlighted what you said, and I want to do that really quick. It has nothing to do with what it looks like. It has nothing to do with what I mean it does. But the most, the most important aspect of all of that is how it makes somebody feel. Exactly, exactly above all else, if somebody walks out feeling an emotion that is negative, they will never walk back in. And that comes down to I mean, everything again, the guy and the guy or the gal in the suit, if you feel they are unapproachable. That feeling becomes reality, if you walk out of a business and they feel something you feel something negative. You know, that's that's the that's the, the thing that becomes reality to you. Because we are humans. And we are driven by emotion. Not logic. Exactly, exactly. And I think that the world is finally realizing that because so many people try to sell whether it be a job, or a reason to stay on logic. And that is not how we we are biological beings, we don't make decision on logic. We make decisions on emotional, you know, reactions to the way that things make us feel. And then we justify on logic.

 

Jennifer Rundell  38:07

Absolutely. And it's all because it's sensory. Right? So it's what does it smell like? What does it sound like? What does it look like? What does it feel like? All of those things. And it's amazing the difference, you could take identical spaces, paint them different colors, and have people walk in and walk out. And there's lots of science behind it. And there's studies that have been done. And how does it? How does it feel just based on the color alone, right? And if you feel good, if you feel relaxed, if you feel inspired, if you feel positive, you're going to be a high producing employee. And as an employer, that's what you want. Do you want these high producing high level employees? And the way to attract them is to make your environment feel good. The minute they walk in the door.

 

Leighann Lovely  38:58

So here's a funny story. My daughter in order to get her to get potty trained, we should because we were just really struggling with her wanting to. She just and I think a lot of kids are just lazy. They're like, well, I have a diaper on and I'm watching TV. I don't want to go potty. Right? So the the carrot at the end of that stick was once you're fully potty trained, you get to we were going to paint your room, and we're going to redesign your room. So I brought home some different, you know, like samples, you go there and they can have like different and she picked out the color orange.

 

Jennifer Rundell  39:37

Ooh, that's a high stimulation.

 

Leighann Lovely  39:39

And I was like I said, I don't know that I like orange is not my color. Oranges. Not at all my color. And I'm like, I'm looking at my husband going. I don't know that I can handle orange. And he's like, Yeah, but you pretty much told her she could pick whatever she wanted. And I'm like oh Oh my god, I cannot believe that this is going to happen. So I'm kind of like, well, what about pink? What about purple? No, she dug in orange. And I'm like, okay. So the compromise was every other like, two walls orange. And then we showed her a sample of a room that was orange and pink. And I was like, these are two strange colors. But it really turned out beautiful. But I was so afraid that every time I walked in that room that I was going to be like, Oh, right. And then she says, But Mommy, the ceilings not painted. And I'm like, Are you kidding me? And I'm arguing, you know, and my dad finally says to me, what's the big deal? Paint the ceiling? And I'm like, okay, so her room is orange and pink, with the ceiling painted orange, and she loves it. She absolutely loves it, which is all that matters. But for me the comfort on that was not. It took a long time for me to be able to walk in that room and be like, Oh, this is great. But it's there. And here's why not because I love it. Because I watch her walk in that room and just love it. And that's all that matters to me.

 

Jennifer Rundell  41:30

And she is your ideal client. And you are creating a space that makes your ideal client feel comfortable. Now. If you are offending people, if you are creating a space that maybe makes one person comfortable and everybody else uncomfortable, okay, that's a different extreme, right. And it's funny, I was at a networking event this morning, and we were just talking about colors. And we were talking about what color would you be if you could choose a color and why? Because color makes us feel something?

 

Leighann Lovely  42:00

Right. And I would be purple. I am 100% like purple is my color. And I always thought that she was going to be my Little Miss purple, because that's how I grew up. Right? Yeah. But I have a child whose favorite color is orange.

 

Jennifer Rundell  42:19

I love it. So purple. is creativity, luxury sophistication. Well, Natalie, so we're in just so orange is traditionally energy, excitement and inspiration.

 

Leighann Lovely  42:37

She's totally that she is full of energy she is this girl was so inspired. I mean, she is what color are you?

 

Jennifer Rundell  42:49

Ah, somebody asked me that this morning and green. Because green to me, signifies growth, hope, positivity. And my word for the year is fresh. And I always associate fresh with green and the spring. And green is also balanced growth. And it's a grounding color. And so, green is kind of my thing.

 

Leighann Lovely  43:15

Awesome. So we are coming to time, I want to ask you the question of the season. What would you change about your job or the practice that people have in your job? If you could?

 

Jennifer Rundell  43:29

You know, it's a fabulous question. And I saw it. And it's really funny because I have so much fun doing what I do, that I really can't think of much that I would change in my job. I'm one of those rare birds that I would do what I do without getting paid because I enjoy it so much. What I get out of it is watching the process of making somebody's dream come through in their space and watching them feel fabulous. So I have a really hard time answering that I'm not sure that there are a lot of things that I would change in it. And I've kind of made it my own niche. I've kind of done my own thing. I my non traditional designer, I love to use repurposed items. And maybe what I would do in my job has changed the stigma that you have to have a lot of money to hire a designer. That's it. And not that I'm cheap. But I mean, I think that there are people that think, Oh, I can't do that. That's not in my budget. And I am a huge proponent, huge proponent of let's think outside of the box, as a matter of fact, why does it have to be a box?

 

Leighann Lovely  44:37

Right? Right. I mean, and it is funny because when I think of, you know, hire designer, okay, well, I don't have 1000 or I mean, I don't have you know, $100,000 to have them come in, but I'm going to assume that you don't have to have $100,000 to have a designer come in, but you do not. It's always been the rich and famous?

 

Jennifer Rundell  45:01

Absolutely, absolutely. So so that is exactly what I would change, I think I need, people need to see that. You don't have to spend a million bucks for your place to look like a million bucks, and most importantly for it to feel like a million bucks to you and your ideal client, because that's the whole goal. And I work with a lot of small business owners, and they don't have $100,000 for me to come in and redesign the space, right? But we can work together for a fraction of that. And we really change things up and create this fabulous space that speaks to their story and their business and their ideal clients.

 

Leighann Lovely  45:39

Excellent. So if somebody wanted to reach out to you, how would they go about doing that?

 

Jennifer Rundell  45:44

Oh, my goodness. There's many ways my website is currently under construction. My goal is June, we're going to launch the new website. So you can check out Rundell Redesign through my website. I'm on Instagram and Facebook all under Rundell Redesign, spelled R U N D EL L. And then the word redesign and LinkedIn as well.

 

Leighann Lovely  46:05

Excellent. And that'll be in the show notes. Jennifer, thank you so much for joining me. This has been an awesome conversation. I think you learned a lot and you know, appreciate your time.

 

Jennifer Rundell  46:15

Thank you. Thank you. It's been my pleasure. And what a fascinating way to look at HR and businesses and the whole kit and caboodle.

 

Leighann Lovely  46:25

Thank you again for listening to Let's Talk HR. I appreciate your time and support without you the audience this would not be possible. So don't forget that if you enjoyed this episode to follow us like us or share us. Have a wonderful day.

Mark Schneider is a true "Do and I Do", not "Do and I Say", kind of owner. He leads by example so that all the people that work at his company understand that they are there for a common purpose. To get the job done well and on time for their customers while still making it home on time to be with their families. We can all learn a little from this amazing conversation. 

 

 

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

feel, space, people, room, environment, employees, change, work, walls, walk, create, color, live, business, paint, redesign, couches, orange, client, employers

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