5 things you need to know before you design your open-plan office
The subject of open-plan offices is a hotly debated topic. Some people think that this type of office design is the best thing since sliced bread while others feel that it is the worst thing you could possibly do to your company. However you decide to design your office space, there are five important facts that you need to take into consideration before you embark on this massive (re)design process.
1. The open space offers an element of scalability says Don Fornes, the CEO at Software Advice, a company which recently underwent the transition to open-plan offices. “As a fast-growing company, we’re constantly hiring and training new employees. Our open design allows new hires to get up to speed quickly because our senior employees can answer their questions without any lag time.”
2. An open-plan office also allows for more interaction between departments. This means that everybody gets a better sense of how the company operates and is progressing.
3. No office design is perfect and noise control in open-plan offices can be a problem. “Our salespeople are on the phones for the majority of the day so noise can become an issue. But our high ceilings and fancy headphones did the trick,” says Don.
4. Open-plan offices hold each employee accountable for keeping their desk area clean. This means you can be assured that if you bring an important client to visit, you won’t be embarrassed by a left-over McDonald’s packet lying on someone’s desk. “We’ve done our best to make this a paperless office so we don’t run into that issue often,” comments Don.
5. Control what everyone eats! “One problem I didn’t consider was food. Our open plan quickly taught us a lesson about greasy and smelly food. If an employee brings in a lunch with a strong scent, the smell travels quickly, so we implemented a ‘no stinky food’ rule,” chuckles Don.
Most companies could benefit from an open design especially if they thrive in a collaborative and creative environment. But there are some industries, like law and finance, where an open office space isn’t practical. Lawyers, accountants and financial advisors are often dealing with confidential information so it would be counter-productive to force them to walk into a private conference room every time they had to speak to a client.
Open-plan offices can positively impact your staff
Don is very emphatic about the positive effect that the move to open plan has had on his staff:
“It’s helped develop a competitive atmosphere where our team is always looking for new ways to boost their productivity. Our custom tables allow our employees to interact and see when their team members are having success. This openness and transparency has helped build our momentum and enhance our focus on execution.
“And since our department heads sit alongside their team, our employees feel comfortable approaching them for help or to share a recent win. When someone has an idea, they are more likely to share it. And because we don’t have that corporate hierarchy, our employees feel like they have an equal share in the success of our company. This has been key in maintaining our strong sense of community.”
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Author: Lia Marus is the editor of HR Pulse. She has a BA in French, Italian and Linguistics from UCT, an MA in translation from Wits and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Wits Business School. She is currently studying towards her LLB through Unisa. Lia started her career off in corporate communications, where she worked as a sub-editor, researcher and marketing coordinator. She then heeded the call of the publishing world and went into the business-to-business publishing field. She worked as a sub-editor as well as a chief sub-editor. Before joining ITWeb, she managed an HR guidebook at a leading international publishing company. |
