subject: Open Plan Or Not? [print this page] Once upon a time, the standard office involved a clear demonstration of the connection between working space and status, but now its more common to not only share space, but also sit shoulder to shoulder with your superiors. But is your Sydney business ready to ditch the classic office partitions in Sydney and become more open and equal?
If youre having trouble deciding, consider the following:
Conversation: To what extent is conversation essential to your productivity? The communication dynamics change drastically when barriers are removed. Once free to communicate directly, staff will more actively engage with another when help is needed or when they need a break. On the flip side to this, it might be more relevant to your business model to limit excessive conversation.
Privacy: If anyone in your office is handling sensitive information, or working on private projects, partitions are a must to ensure sufficient privacy. Alternatively, if you wish to foster an environment that encourages staff to more actively trust one another, open plan could be beneficial.
Focus: Consider the nature of the work your staff is carrying out each and every day. Does it require absolute focus with minimal distractions or is it something that thrives on added input? Its not always the case but it has often been cited that open plan offices allow for considerably more distractions than closed/partitioned arrangements.
Teams: To take the conversation and focus points one step further, you need to consider how much team work is involved in your business. Naturally, the more individualised the work is, the more likely you will choose a cubicle oriented office style. Whereas for more team oriented work environments, the open plan office style is far more ideal.
Image: In light of whats been listed so far, this point might seem a little redundant by comparison, but this is a fairly important thing to consider never the less. The choice between open plan and closed office types can have a real effect on how people perceive your business. It all comes down to which of the two (based on the previous points) suits the image you wish to convey.
If all of this is a bit too much or you need a little more help making a choice, give the fitout expects at Office Fit Plus a call. Whether its office partitions or office furniture in Sydney choices, we can help your Sydney business create the ideal working environment.
