Creating An Open-Plan Office.
Designing the perfect office space is never easy. Whether it’s your private study for days when you work from home, or a corporate workspace for your team, you need to take the time to craft the ideal space to work from.
Even now, while many employees are exploring hybrid or remote working, physical office spaces remain important to many businesses. They can help companies to create the right internal culture and provide a welcoming space for them to invite visitors to, so they can see how their team operates.
When you’re planning a refurbishment of your existing office space or refitting a new one to suit your business, you need to find the right style that suits your organisation and its needs.
While office design trends come and go every few months, one that’s stood the test of time is open-plan workspaces. Open offices can help to improve collaboration and make working more enjoyable for your employees, as well as allow you to streamline the cleaning process.
Designing an open office space might sound easy: it’s just a big room, right? Well, not quite. There are several furniture and design features that you need to focus on if you want to get it right. Keep reading for more info and ideas to help you design your dream open-plan office.
Consider The Layout When Creating An Open-Plan Office
How you design your open-plan office space can affect how effective it is and how well your team are able to use it. So, one of the core considerations you need to bear in mind is how you’re going to lay everything out and where you’re going to put everything.
Placing items strategically can help you to make your office more efficient and ensure that everyone has access to what they need. When laying out your office, think about where the bathrooms and breakout spaces will be, where your team will take downtime and anything else that has to be done in your workspace. Work out how your team will move through the office and how this will affect their productivity and general well-being. Some items are more important, such as bathrooms or vending machines, as they’re harder to move than smaller pieces of furniture, such as desks and chairs. As such, you should take more time over the position of larger fixtures than smaller, more portable items.
Understand The Costs Involved
With fewer walls and dividers to instal, you might be tempted to think that an open-plan office space is cheaper than a traditional one. While this might be the case, it all depends on how much work needs to be done to refit the existing space and what fixtures and amenities you’re looking to add.
For example, if you want to add a lot of breakout spaces, you might need to install glass walls to separate the spaces out. Thankfully, you can consider office fit-out finance options from specialist providers like Amos Beech. They offer a range of services and solutions, and with flexible financing, you can spread the cost of your office refurbishment project to make it more manageable.
Make The Most Of Cutting-Edge Tech
During the fit-out process, you should take the opportunity to incorporate the latest smart technology for your office. Open-plan spaces can be ideal for smart, wireless communication tools and innovative new solutions, such as larger scanning or printing equipment.
With more space to work with, you can consider larger technology or items that will make it easier for your team to work productively in the space. A great example is noise-cancelling headphones and wireless communication tools, which can benefit team members who struggle to deal with the increased noise of an open space, but need to be contactable. Consider the options available during your refit, as it can be the perfect time to incorporate these tools and make the most of the best tech on the market.
Find Ways To Incorporate Mindfulness
Over recent years, mindfulness and mental well-being in the workplace have become increasingly important to employees across the corporate world. While these terms used to be buzzwords, they’re not ingraining in most employees’ minds and are key parts of running any organisation. In fact, 75% of HR professionals believe it’s one of the most vital areas that companies need to focus on in 2023.
Mindfulness and mental health support in the workplace extends beyond offering discounts for therapy and meditation apps. Even in the office space, you can incorporate mindfulness by using the right colours, adding plants and providing natural light through skylights and other window options. Designing an office that’s mindful of the needs of employees and visitors can help you to bolster productivity in your business. It can also help you to highlight your business’s commitment to its staff and allow you to attract the best talent to join your workforce.
Open-plan offices can be a great way to make the most of your space, especially if you don’t have a large office. We hope these tips will be useful and make the process easier, so you can make the most of your newly designed office space!
