06 May Support Employee Growth by Optimizing the Existing Office Space
Support Employee Growth by Optimizing the Existing Office Space
A good workplace design supports office growth, maximizes efficiency, and should be flexible enough to support more employees and greater workflow when necessary.
Get input from the people who work in the space.
Allow employees to be actively involved in providing input about how space can be best utilized. People who have contributed to the planning stage are far more likely to buy into and support the reality stage.
Determine how many employees will need their own dedicated desk space and how many will be able to move between workstations. Determine how much private office space is necessary and how many conference and collaborative spaces are needed.
Think shared space instead of dedicated space.
Office design is becoming more flexible with less private office space and less space dedicated to a single user. By designing shared work areas where specific types of work are done, less real estate is necessary. Remote working can also help alleviate the necessity for everyone to have their own desk or cubicle.
Plan your office space to incorporate conference areas, collaborative areas, and semi-private areas. Also plan for areas like cafés, coffee stations, printers and other areas where people gather.
Map out your workflow.
Employees who need to collaborate frequently should be placed in close proximity to each other. Quiet, focused work should be in one area, while noisier work areas (including collaboration) should be in another.
Map out how you will grow within the space.
You might only need to utilize a part of the space immediately, expanding into the additional space at a later date. Make sure you have a concrete plan on how you will build out that additional space so you can expand effectively and efficiently.
Think about design trends.
According to commercial real estate’s CCIM Institute, here are some design trends to consider as organizations seek to support employee growth by optimizing their existing office space:
1. Employees who work in the office full time get the biggest spaces. Instead of automatically allocating the largest offices to senior managers, consider who is really in the office and needs the space most.
2. Limit walls and cubicles. Today’s employees—especially millennials—find closed in places stifling to collaboration and innovation.
3. Trade private offices for private enclaves. Rather than giving only some employees the privacy of an office, consider putting all employees in open workplaces, but supporting them with small private enclaves which are shared spaces with a phone connection, internet connectivity, some comfortable furniture and a door that closes. When a worker needs privacy to make a call or needs a quiet place to concentrate, he or she can go into the enclave and shut the door.
Are you looking to optimize your existing office space? Get in touch with us to begin your reconfiguration: 800.427.5811
info@rigroup-us.com
Sources:
https://www.asuresoftware.com/blog/office-design-trends-company-growth/
