An open-plan environment is becoming increasingly popular with newer businesses. Open-plan offices allow direct communication between coworkers, increasing productivity while promoting innovation and team collaboration. How does an individual get work done with all of the background noise? The office design must still support individual. No one way of working is perfect, and everyone is different. Here are some ways to support employees in an open-office environment.
Designate a Private Area
It is important to still provide a private space for employees. Quiet spaces are more commonly set up in board room settings and administrative work areas. A private area is important for individual work, review and contemplation. This should be available as everyone works differently. As for those employees who are more productive around activity, they will still have access to a quiet zone at times when it is necessary.
Provide Headphones
Supply headphones to employees or let employees bring in their own headphones. Encourage staff to feel comfortable to use headphones when in an open-office environment. Let employees have choice in which suits them best, making them feel empowered. Headphones are an easy way to let employees show other staff members that they are focused on task. Allowing staff members to listen to their desired music can also help increase productivity, depending on the task.
Assign Department Heads
Allocate a team lead to manage each department to encourage work flow. Department leaders can assess and assign times where interruptions are discouraged, depending on the situation, type of project and environment. This will help with guiding projects and keeping everything on track, while still complementing a creative open working environment.
Encourage Mobility
When tight deadlines arrive, encourage employees to have the freedom to work from home. Technology makes it easy to work from a virtual office when deadlines are looming or intense concentration is required.
As long as managers and team leads pay attention to employees’ different needs for quite space or collaboration, the future of open-office working environments looks promising. An open, creative, communicative environment is a great way to inspire innovation and productivity.
For more information on how to effectively create an open-plan office environment, contact us at info@kjco.ca.
