A well-designed, well-equipped office encourages the type of high-quality work that is characteristic of successful firms. According to research into the workings of today’s high-functioning organizations, employees are spending much more time on “collaborative activities,” up to 50% more time, according to the article ‘Collaborative Overload.’
“Workplaces that enable more frequent, higher-quality interaction with others have been demonstrated to boost cooperation and interaction on tasks, work happiness, and social support,” according to FastCompany. The workplace’s architecture has a big impact on this, either encouraging or discouraging interdependent work.”
The environment has a significant impact on the productivity of any team. The ideal office place, on the other hand, does not exist in a one-size-fits-all paradigm. For certain teams, an open floor plan is a terrific concept, but for others, it might actually hinder performance.
5 Ways To Determine If Open Floor Plan is Best For Your Office
If your clients are considering moving to an open floor plan at their firm, we can assist them in weighing all of the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. We’ll go over how to help a client decide whether an open floor plan is ideal for their firm and its employees in the section below.
Keep the end goal in mind
Pose questions to yourself about your ultimate goal. What is the benefit of creating an open plan? Would it create an environment that would help you achieve your customer service/product/revenue/growth objectives? What are the disadvantages or difficulties in applying this strategy? Is this model giving your company a competitive advantage and adding value to your brand?
Go for a simulation before restructuring
First, assist staff in working in a compact space that resembles an open floor plan. It may sound appealing, but many people are unaware of what they are getting themselves into, necessitating a simulation. I assisted one company with removing a section of their warehouse floor to create an open office environment that included desks and office furniture. They abandoned the plan since it did not work. Others may find it enjoyable, collaborative, and valuable, but you must conduct a simulation to be certain.
Ask for other’s feedback as well
Getting comments and creating agreement gradually is a fantastic method to figure out if an open floor plan is good for your company. Present a plan to the management team and obtain their feedback. If there is an agreement, write a thorough plan and bring things to a whole new level of management, detailing why, what, and how it will be implemented. You may need to repeat this process (depending on the size of your business) until you have received responses from a significant group before rolling it out.
Think whether an open floor plan supports your learning culture
Assess whether the plan contributes to or detracts from the desired culture. An open floor plan may encourage these goals if in-person and on-site cooperation are important. If connectivity beyond the four walls is necessary, a setting that allows for private phone or Web calls will be much more appropriate. In any case, you’ll almost certainly need to support both work styles.
Measure your reliance on collaboration
If the company’s success depends on employee collaboration, an open floor design is a fantastic way to improve teamwork. Open floor plans can improve coworker camaraderie while also stimulating innovation. To avoid upsetting the entire staff during group chats, a designated space where employees can participate in virtual conferences should be provided.
Is Open Floor Plan Office Good For Your Business?
Open-plan workplaces offer many intrinsic advantages that make them appealing from the start. For starters, they have a contemporary look. It’s distinctly modern to get individuals out of their desks and into a community workspace, complete with complementing open-concept architecture. Desk pods, workgroups, and hot desks spread across a main working area give a workplace a modern feel. Below we have mentioned some of the advantages of offices with open floor plans to help you make your mind up.
All employees are at the same level
Open offices also have the advantage of putting all employees on an equal footing, regardless of job type or rank. Employees from the same department, such as a beginner graphic designer and a rookie salesperson, share the same workspace. This demonstrates that no single aspect of the business is more vital than the others. Through inclusivity, it quietly strengthens organizational culture.
It also fosters an egalitarian atmosphere by seating bosses beside subordinates. Managers are brought out of their private locations and integrated with the personnel they supervise in open offices. This not only makes bosses more human, but it also promotes responsibility, relatability, and trust. Managers are no longer sitting in ivory towers; they’re on the battlefield with the troops.
Better creativity, communication, and teamwork
The benefits of creativity and teamwork are two of the most significant advantages of an open-plan office. It avoids a hierarchy and ensures that employees are included in critical decisions and initiatives when employees are able to work together. Bringing individuals together promotes faster learning, improved communication, and the exchange of more ideas. Because most organizations rely on debating for innovative thinking, having all workers in one location can help these ideas flow more quickly and get everyone involved.
Better use of available space
Open concept offices, in a more practical and cost-effective sense, provide a tremendous opportunity to achieve more with less. As previously said, entrepreneurs with limited resources have found success by utilizing open workspaces to their maximum potential. Businesses can increase the occupancy of a space by breaking down walls rather than trying to cram a few solitary offices into it.
Because walls confine people, they make them feel as if they require more room. Consider the following scenario: A 150-square-foot walled-in office can be replaced with a 125-square-foot open-concept desk pod. Furthermore, single employees typically occupy offices—managers, specialists, and so on. Open concept workplaces of the same size, on the other hand, are perfect for accommodating two or more personnel.
Bottom Line
So, to answer the question “Does An Open Floor Plan Create Better Dynamics Among Employees In The Office?” we would go with the answer of “It depends.” Considering the above discussion whether an open floor plan is good for your office or not totally depends on your business type, employees, and needs. If your organization and work demand a lot of communication and interaction then an open floor plan is a perfect choice. But if your business demands private working space for each employee to work more potentially then an open floor plan is not a good option. So, make sure you know your organization’s learning culture, feedback of your employees, and your office area before opting for an open floor office plan.