Bigger office losers are more successful than tried & true methods

Smart kiwi managers are waking up to the potential savings on offer by consolidating and shedding excess office space.

The trends are fascinating to observe. Some smart & creative thinking is emerging and it’s far more sophisticated than a simple shoe horn approach to cramming more people into a space.

A growing number of organisations are increasing density by 10 to 15 percent, often by more creative means. But they are doing it thoughtfully by eliminating large cellular offices, increasing the number of “quiet rooms”, reducing the size of workstation footprints, and outfitting workplaces with layouts that support a range of job functions.

Many companies are finding the formal and informal meeting spaces that proliferated across office landscapes in recent years can be rethought to become creative spaces suitable for teamwork, and staff breakout areas.

We are also moving on from what I now consider to be an outdated concept – the open plan office.

Open plan offices have been around since the 1950s and have always been viewed as a way to get more people into one space and save on the costs of walls, doors and fittings for separate offices.

Today we are capable of a much higher level of thinking than simple open plan layouts, putting together designs which specifically support workplace practices.

Workplace design has become very conscious of designing around the needs of a team, allowing for individuals to occupy workstations adjacent to meeting spaces and their team mates. Relocatable screens allow for flexible layouts so acoustic and visual privacy can be created on an as-needs basis.

There are many occasions when people who work in teams also need time to work alone, or from home, and to use a variety of environments for different tasks.

Flexible denser work environments not only save costs but can improve efficiency, productivity and staff wellbeing.

Doing nothing about space costs is not an option. Thinking thoughtfully is the new trend, and one that can produce multiple benefits.

I encourage you to put your thinking cap on and reap some of those benefits.