When Google set up shop in New York City, the Internet was flooded with pictures of its stunning new $1.9 billion space. The world marveled at lounges with deck chairs and slides, eco-friendly kitchens stocked with healthy food, and rooms designed to look like the inside of a tiny Chelsea apartment–complete with fake bathtubs and stovetops–for employees who like the idea of “working from home” at the office.

Most companies don’t have Google’s budget; they can’t simply buy a new building, gut it, and redesign it from scratch. Business leaders who are tight on resources and stuck with an existing space may find it easier to ignore the question of office design altogether. After all, there’s no way to compete with the cutting-edge offices that Google, Facebook, or WeWork are building around the country.

But according to Elliot Felix, founder of Brightspot, a strategy firm that helps organizations rethink their space, this is entirely the wrong approach. Changing a company’s culture and employee satisfaction happens with small tweaks, he argues, not big, dramatic transformations. In Felix’s opinion, fancy leather couches and elaborate gaming rooms are just window dressing, not the real substance of cultural change in an office. And he would know: he’s worked with organizations with all kinds of budgets, from tiny startups to Goldman Sachs.

Elliot Felix Photo: Curtesy of Brightspot

Eight years ago, he led the team that wrote Google’s global design guidelines. “Google was doubling in size every year and building new locations everywhere,” he recalls. “There was so much concern about what the ingredients of the offices should be and how they would all fit together cohesively for a consistent employee experience.” But even at Google, it is small, thoughtful design considerations that have the biggest impact: noticing where employees have their liveliest conversations, for instance, and setting up seating in that area to encourage them to linger, or designating rooms as quiet space for introverts to get away from the crowds.

So how do companies harness design to promote livelier offices and happier, more engaged workers? Felix advocates a two-part plan that fosters big change through small improvements. “We approach things from two perspectives that you might describe as ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up,’” Felix says. “We are interested in the big picture–the company’s mission, purpose and values–so that when you are making an incremental change you know exactly what the goal is you are trying to achieve. Then, you identify different ways to test that idea and build on your findings.”

The Brightspot office, designed by Brightspot and Liz Burow Photo: Malcolm Brown Photography , courtesy of Brightspot

When it comes down to it, great design is simply about solving problems. So redesigning a space must begin with conversations with employees to better understand their needs, their productivity, and how they feel about their time at the office. “We’re never just talking about space,” Felix tells Fast Company. “We’re talking about culture, etiquette, and rituals. What a lot of people forget is that we imbue space with our values.” He points out that pleasant little traditions you have as a team–like meeting around a big table every Friday to catch up and decompress–has a profound impact on employees’ routines and how they feel about their jobs.

It is important to gather feedback from employees about things that are getting in the way of their happiness at work. It is important to involve as many people as possible in this early stage to get their support and buy-in for the big changes that are about to happen in the coming weeks and months. “I emphasize a hands-on, participatory process because all projects have some kind of change agenda,” he says. “People have to enroll in a change; they are much less likely to adapt if they think that change is being imposed on them. On the other hand, if they created the strategy themselves, they have a sense of ownership and excitement about adopting the new approach.” In his experience, a quarter of any given group of people will be supportive of change and another quarter will reject any change outright; it is the middle half you’re trying to win over.