Continued from part one-'Help me with my office!'
Bad office layouts are made, not born. An office configuration that suited the way business was done even five years ago might be irrelevant now.
The best way to find out if your office is dysfunctional is to conduct a formal study. Create an “activity portrait,” a drawing of traffic patterns around the office, by shadowing employees for several days in a row.
Goal: Find out what they need up front, and keep them in the loop to avoid backlash.
Involving employees in an office redesign is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s vital to know how they operate in order to create a space that’s more conducive to their work. On the other, asking them what they want can lead to unrealistic demands. As you gather input, be clear that you will try to address all concerns but that no one design can be perfect for everyone....at least mention it.
Once the new design has been chosen, let employees know what to expect, especially if the change will be significant. Make sure employees understand why the company is making each specific change. For example, if you’re moving people out of offices and into cubes, remind staff that the office now offers other perks: a souped-up dining area or benefits like concierge services, showers in bathrooms for lunchtime workouts, or a better cafeteria.
Two types of redesigns create “cultural revolt”: a move from closed-door offices to open office space, and a move in which two companies are merging and creating a new culture. With an office-to-cubes situation, companies need to up the ratio of conference rooms from one conference seat per three people to one conference seat for every two people. With a merger, managers should remind employees of their role’s significance, reassure them that their importance continues, and then offer a rational business context for why they may have to move desks or cede space.
Big Idea...
If the physical environment is bad — it’s cold, smells, or makes workers distracted — then employees won’t work well. No amount of organizational shoe-shining will change that… It’s Maslow’s pyramid — Psychology 101….the hierarchy of human needs as outlined by Abraham Maslow in 1943. According to Maslow, humans seek to satisfy a hierarchy of five types of needs, starting with the most basic physiological needs and ascending through a sense of safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. If workers feel unhealthy they won’t be able to tap their higher selves in the office.
Goal: Make a list of the top priorities you want your redesign to address.
Once you’ve identified your biggest issues, decide which ones you want to attack. I recommend that companies evaluating an office redesign project identify four or five priorities to tackle, such as increased collaboration, improved productivity, or more efficient use of space.
At Group Health, a Washington-based insurer with 10,000 employees in more than 50 buildings, an in-house study quickly illustrated what the company’s design goals should be. The firm enlisted its employees to track their habits and found that at any given time, 40 percent of all cubicles or offices were sitting unoccupied. Many workers were in conference rooms or down the street at Starbucks, where they could more easily meet in teams. Others were toggling between multiple buildings and facilities. William Biggs, executive director of administrative services, asked his assistant to track his whereabouts. It turns out he spent less than 5 percent of his time at company headquarters.
This is the truth for a number of company leaders. Our work has moved from individual to team-based. We need to loosely pull groups together and then dismantle them, but that is difficult in a poorly-designed space. Based on the study, Group Health defined three design goals: First, the office needed more conference space. Secondly, cubicle sizes could shrink somewhat since workers were increasingly spending time outside of them. Finally, mobile workers like Biggs needed “touch-down” space where they could check their e-mail and make phone calls when visiting different divisions of the company.
Essential ingredients in the today's office....
Isn't it time you worked with an expert?
Furniture-Planning-Installation
rosecityoffice.com
-end of part two
Bad office layouts are made, not born. An office configuration that suited the way business was done even five years ago might be irrelevant now.
The best way to find out if your office is dysfunctional is to conduct a formal study. Create an “activity portrait,” a drawing of traffic patterns around the office, by shadowing employees for several days in a row.
Goal: Find out what they need up front, and keep them in the loop to avoid backlash.
Involving employees in an office redesign is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s vital to know how they operate in order to create a space that’s more conducive to their work. On the other, asking them what they want can lead to unrealistic demands. As you gather input, be clear that you will try to address all concerns but that no one design can be perfect for everyone....at least mention it.
Once the new design has been chosen, let employees know what to expect, especially if the change will be significant. Make sure employees understand why the company is making each specific change. For example, if you’re moving people out of offices and into cubes, remind staff that the office now offers other perks: a souped-up dining area or benefits like concierge services, showers in bathrooms for lunchtime workouts, or a better cafeteria.
Two types of redesigns create “cultural revolt”: a move from closed-door offices to open office space, and a move in which two companies are merging and creating a new culture. With an office-to-cubes situation, companies need to up the ratio of conference rooms from one conference seat per three people to one conference seat for every two people. With a merger, managers should remind employees of their role’s significance, reassure them that their importance continues, and then offer a rational business context for why they may have to move desks or cede space.
Big Idea...
If the physical environment is bad — it’s cold, smells, or makes workers distracted — then employees won’t work well. No amount of organizational shoe-shining will change that… It’s Maslow’s pyramid — Psychology 101….the hierarchy of human needs as outlined by Abraham Maslow in 1943. According to Maslow, humans seek to satisfy a hierarchy of five types of needs, starting with the most basic physiological needs and ascending through a sense of safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. If workers feel unhealthy they won’t be able to tap their higher selves in the office.
Goal: Make a list of the top priorities you want your redesign to address.
Once you’ve identified your biggest issues, decide which ones you want to attack. I recommend that companies evaluating an office redesign project identify four or five priorities to tackle, such as increased collaboration, improved productivity, or more efficient use of space.
At Group Health, a Washington-based insurer with 10,000 employees in more than 50 buildings, an in-house study quickly illustrated what the company’s design goals should be. The firm enlisted its employees to track their habits and found that at any given time, 40 percent of all cubicles or offices were sitting unoccupied. Many workers were in conference rooms or down the street at Starbucks, where they could more easily meet in teams. Others were toggling between multiple buildings and facilities. William Biggs, executive director of administrative services, asked his assistant to track his whereabouts. It turns out he spent less than 5 percent of his time at company headquarters.
This is the truth for a number of company leaders. Our work has moved from individual to team-based. We need to loosely pull groups together and then dismantle them, but that is difficult in a poorly-designed space. Based on the study, Group Health defined three design goals: First, the office needed more conference space. Secondly, cubicle sizes could shrink somewhat since workers were increasingly spending time outside of them. Finally, mobile workers like Biggs needed “touch-down” space where they could check their e-mail and make phone calls when visiting different divisions of the company.
Essential ingredients in the today's office....
Isn't it time you worked with an expert?
Furniture-Planning-Installation
rosecityoffice.com
-end of part two
1 comment:
And pray there is not a move involved in all of this as it can be a horrible experience if the company you work for doesn't see a benefit in hiring a professional to help with move management.
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