Designing a new office space comes with its own set of challenges. You probably want to get past choosing office furniture and concentrate on the more exciting areas of office interior design, but the office layout you choose will have a significant bearing on the productivity of your business. Choose the wrong layout for your business and your staff will be inefficient and lack the facilities to excel. Choose the right layout, however, and you’ll maximise productivity and have much happier staff. There is no hard and fast rule about office layouts – the optimum layout will entirely depend on the precise circumstances of your business.

First, you need to have a clear idea of the space available to you. How many desks is this space built for? How many employees do I want to house? Your options may be limited if you’ve only a small office space to work with, and a relatively high number of employees to accommodate. There are a number of statutory requirements regarding your workspace, including the amount of space that each employee should have available to them. Be aware of these requirements before drawing up your office layout. Another significant consideration is how your company operates. If your teams often change to work together on different projects, it’s likely you’ll want a more flexible layout than if your company operates in a more structured way. Furthermore, if the work your employees undertake doesn’t require collaboration, they may appreciate a less open office layout so they can concentrate on their work. 

The open office is becoming the norm in 21^st century workplaces. It holds a number of advantages:

●       Less space required. If you aren’t separating your office into a series of rooms or cubicles, you need far less space to fit the same number of desks in.

●       Low cost. In terms of office furniture, an open office generally only requires desks and chairs – and perhaps dividers.

●       Fosters collaboration.  You don’t need to keep dashing between offices to check something with a colleague, or waste time composing emails to those working with you. Instead, you can get an immediate answer in person, and discuss tricky matters in detail. The open office is conducive to teamwork.

The direct opposite of the open plan office, a closed office space consists of a series of separate rooms, each used by a single employee. Many companies still prefer to use this layout, where possible, for the following reasons:

●       Fewer distractions. A closed office means that you only receive phone calls that are directed to you (rather than anyone else). You don’t have to listen to your sales team’s constant phone conversations, or lose focus every time someone enters the office. There’s less noise, so your employees can concentrate on their work.

●       Privacy. You may have to make a particularly tricky phone call – not exactly the conversation you want the whole office to overhear. In a closed office, the employee has privacy and feels a sense of security.

Cubicles aim to provide a middle ground between these two options. The desks are separated from each other by panels, dividers or partitions, but aren’t actually in individual rooms. The advantages of this approach include:

●       Some privacy. Employees have some privacy, but aren’t isolated from the rest of the workforce.

●       An effective use of space. Cubicles provide numerous opportunities to implement storage, such as filing cabinets and shelving.

Most offices use a combination of these three layout types. Some may also feature partitions or moving walls to allow for even greater flexibility. It’s important to remember to add light switches, sockets, and other vital facilities.

If you’re switching the layout of your office or designing it from scratch, then speak to Business Interiors by Staples. Our team of specialists are here to help you achieve your vision of the perfect working environment. From a single product to a complete office refurbishment, we have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the solution for you.

May 28th 2014 | Back to Industry Insights