Open Plan Working
The traditional office building used to comprise of many small rooms (cellular offices) with floor to ceiling walls occupied typically by one person but sometimes shared by two or three people. Most organisations have now moved to office buildings which are predominantly open plan or without walls. Often these offices still have middle and senior management occupying their own cellular offices. In recent years, in both the public and the private sector, organisations have increasingly moved either to total open plan working or to near total open plan working with only very senior managers in their own offices.
The advantages of open plan working are:
- Fit-out costs are lower as no walls, doors etc
- Increased flexibility to change the layout of the office easily and inexpensively
- Air-conditioning more effective due to lack of walls
- Working environment more responsive to the changing needs of the organisation (new teams can be quickly accommodated)
- Increased communication and teamwork
However, some staff will be resistant to open-plan working and it is important to manage the transition positively by taking their concerns and misgivings into account.
Our consultancy work with open plan working has included:
- Development of Consultation Plan for move to total open plan working
- Interviews with staff at all levels about their concerns
- Furniture consultancy (how furniture can reduce the impact of open plan working)
- Development of open plan working policies and procedures
- Development of action plan for a move to open plan working
- Advice on the provision of other types of space (break-out areas, meeting spaces etc) that are critical in conjunction with open plan working
Contact us via the website for more information. Consultancy available all over the UK.