Making your office work for you in the best way is the true art of being an office manager or a business owner. The choice of your office layout will depend on the type of your business, as well as on your employees. Although different studies show different results when it comes to the most productive office arrangement, it still seems that an open-plan office is the most popular solution. This type of office organization can really work for you, but you have to bring in to an optimal condition.
Free Some Room
What employees need in every kind of space is some free room around them. Stacking too many computers and workplaces at one desk only because you can do it is a bad thing for productivity. While an open-concept office does prevail in most companies, this idea has to be adapted to your specific needs. For instance, if you want a group of workers to work together intensively, so as to come up with a creative branding solution, then it is logical to place them together at one desk and give them all the freedom they need.
On the other hand, workers and teams that deal with analytical and financial issues will need more private space. They can be separated from the rest of the crew even if they work in an open-plan space. Learn more about reducing the openness of open offices in a piece published by The Huffington Post.
Use the Vertical Space
If there are dozens of workers sitting in the same large space, it is important to turn the size of that space into an advantage, by applying some practical storage solutions. Although the majority of people work on computers today, every business still has to have proper storage space for tangible products and documents.
Also, in some companies employees are required to wear special work clothes, which have to be placed near their work stations. Therefore, business owners should learn how to use the vertical space along the long walls of an open-plan office, advise at Dexion. When your employee can only turn around and grab a new ink cartridge or a report they might need at that moment from the shelves behind them, they will not waste any time looking for those things.
Set Perfect Work Conditions
The biggest problem that employees working in large offices have is that they do not get the same amount of heat, cool or light. Since natural light is extremely important for increased work efficiency, when an owner is choosing the best open-plan premises for their business, they should always go for the spaces in which windows are lined horizontally, in line with the future rows of desks. That way you will ensure that each and every of your employees get a similar amount of light during their workdays.
Moreover, when it comes to air conditioning and heating, you should always have a plan B. For instance, if you are buying air-conditioners, go for the ones that can also heat your office. In this case, opting for one of the central A/C units is the best choice. The main goal here is to ensure that every employee has equal opportunity to be creative and productive.
In addition to those aforementioned improvements, every office needs to have a proper number of plants. They will contribute to the general appeal of the office, as well as have a beneficial effect on your workers’ health. As you can see, open-plan offices can still work for the majority of businesses, but they only need a little adaptation, to meet the particular demands different businesses have.
