Finding The Sweet Spot In Your Office Design
Finding the sweet spot in your office design that encourages strategic multitasking is now backed by some substantial research that concludes the need for on the job learning opportunities within your office design. Increased productivity & collaboration for employees ascends to a new level of engagement when opportunities for personal growth are part of the design. Getting the most use out of your team requires dedicated areas for innovative thinking and on-site training among the chaos of daily tasks.
Most office designs have designated spaces, even if they are not named. In the open collaborative office environments of today there is often a drone of conversation going on somewhere in your vicinity. The plateaus of space planning have accounted for three distinct levels in modern office design:
- PERSONAL WORK ZONES: your workstation, cubicle or private office
- MEETING SPACES: conference rooms, open stadium seating, breakrooms or flexible training areas
- UNASSIGNED TERRITORIES: huddle spaces that allow employees to break away from their desk, collaborate on the fly, and benefit from a change of scenery when burning through the task list.
Meeting the Sweet Spot in Your Office Design
Here’s the sweet spot….multi-tasking your meeting and unassigned areas by incorporating in-house training hubs creates a constant flow of opportunities for learning and professional growth. This is the best way to keep your team engaged, motivated and collaborating on a level you might not have expected.
Companies who focus on up-skilling can retain current workers and allow new hires a positive growth experience. Internal training offers employers and employees advantages that are not found when you send an employee to an external training program or seminar. Training transfer occurs more naturally and employees cement learning through the mentorship of other employees.
Multitasking spaces enforce collaboration on an educational level, but when not in use they can also be very effective in offering a quiet area to make a phone call or to complete focused work, away from distractions. Providing smaller unassigned desks designed for a specific task, or lounge chairs with a tablet arm ideal for laptops or tablets, are great for training webinars away from your desk.
A mix of open and enclosed huddle spaces strategically aligned to departments or populating underused areas of your office are perfect for these scenarios. And don’t forget that color would be a great way to designate these areas and set them apart as an oasis of creativity.
Set up these spaces to be deliberately mobile so they can conform to meet any kind of educational need. They should accommodate between 1-5 people. Use your conference room or breakroom for larger training hubs. For spaces focused on creative brainstorming or training provide items such as:
- Mobile whiteboards
- Monitors, keyboards, remote headphones & charging ports
- Interactive smart boards
- Ergonomic tools for laptops & tablets
Keep things casual and easily accessible to encourage the use of the space. Cultivate leadership roles among your team for the mentorship of their peers with multi-level training and learning options scheduled throughout the year. Any space you can provide to accelerate growth will be beneficial to your entire office. The number one reason most employees move on is lack of growth opportunities. Inclusive in-house training is the sweet spot that gives you an edge and keeps your talent pool concurrent with your growth trajectory.
MEET JASON McDANIEL: Jason is a furniture consultant who brings over a decade of operations and sales experience to the team. His understanding of systems furniture and extensive background managing installations uniquely equip him to tackle even the most complicated projects. He can help you create a multitasking office that will keep your team motivated and learning all the time. Contact Jason at 888-910-3769 x124 or contact him via email, jason@officefurniturenow.com. For more inspiration visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!
