1. Divide and conquer your office into zones
This sounds like an odd tip when open offices are renowned for being spaces to collaborate, but hear us out! Dividing your space into purposeful zones helps alleviate many issues that are common in open-plan offices.
With smart use of furnishings and accessories, you can create areas (or 'zones') within your space.
Here are some to consider:
A. Collaboration zones
While meeting rooms are often the go-to for traditional collaboration, creating more informal areas for people to gather encourages regular teamwork.
A good collaboration zone often has high tables for people to stand around, with bar stools available for those who need to rest their feet. This isn't a space you're expected to spend hours and hours working at. It's there for people to gather, present ideas, discuss problems and maybe have a bit of a catch-up. (A coffee machine nearby never goes amiss either!)
Read: 8 reasons your workspace needs an 'open collaborative zone' and how to create one
B. Focus zones
Focussing can be hard when there's a heated debate happening at the table next to you. Help your team knuckle down on their work by creating quiet spaces as well.
This could be as simple as placing individual desks far away from the collaboration desks. Or you could add individual focus pods, sound absorption dividers or meeting pods as a noise buffer.
C. Meeting spaces
A meeting room or space differs from a collaboration zone in a few ways. Where a collaboration space is more for informal discussions and brainstorming sessions, meetings often involve presentations, sharing information and long-form discussions. A good meeting space will have seating, tables, screens, whiteboards and tech such as cameras and virtual meeting facilities.
Make sure your meeting spaces have good soundproofing for privacy and to avoid disruption to the rest of the office.
Read: 4 tech issues disrupting your team meetings and their solutions
D. Accessibility/Flow
Ensure shared huddle areas are equally convenient for everyone so there's no sense of 'ownership'. Placing collaboration/meeting areas near the middle or in an easily accessible location to everyone will help encourage employees to gather.
Move individual work pods or quiet areas to quieter corners. This makes them good places to 'escape' to when you need to focus or for some privacy.
A vibrant collaboration zone designed by one of our Furniture Specialists. Read more on this fit out.
2. Smart Furniture
Of course our Furniture Specialists had a lot to say on this topic. Furniture can make or break any interior, and it's especially important in an environment that is catering to many different needs and working styles. Here are some things to take into consideration:
A. Sit-stand height adjustable desks and workstations
Height adjustable desks are quickly becoming a popular option for modern offices. They come with a lot of benefits, so it's not hard to see why! Our team think they're especially good for offices that want to encourage 'touchdown' or 'hot-desking' culture.
Height adjustable desks allow your staff to sit at any desk and ensure it's at the right height for them ergonomically. Plus, if they wish to stand to work, they can do so easily. There are many benefits to working like this, read more in our guide to adjustable desks.
B. Comfortable ergonomic seating
For anyone that has spent the last year working from their home dining room chair, this one is a no-brainer. Comfortable – and more importantly ergonomic – seating is a must-have.
Making sure you and your staff are seated well helps boost productivity and, most importantly, helps reduce back, shoulder and neck strain.
C. Multi-functional furniture
Common advice for creating a clutter-free kitchen is to cut down on your appliances and utensils by ensuring they serve as many purposes as possible. The same goes for your office furniture.
For example:
- Collaboration tables that double as storage – from lockable laptop storage to open shelving units
- Storage that acts as a space divider – for example divide a collaboration area from a hot-desk area with tambours.
D. Meeting/Individual Pods
Meeting pods are a great addition to the workplace repertoire. These practical capsules come in a range of options, from single focus pods to mini meeting-room-style set ups with sound masking walls, screens, tables and more. They're usually fairly flexible and easily moved around the office to suit your needs.
E. New Zealand Made/Sustainability Standards
Does your business have sustainability standards to meet? Picking the right furniture can go a long way towards creating a more sustainability-conscious workplace. Talk to our Specialists to find out how you can cut down on carbon footprint, ensure ethical supply chain, sustainably sources materials and more.
3. Power to the people
Considering your power sources is a step that definitely should not be overlooked. With more and more people working on laptops or needing a quick mobile re-charge, well-placed power outlets are a must.
A. Charging stations
Making sure your team have access to power in places that make sense is very important. If someone has to stretch their laptop charger across a desk or even worse, the floor, you're asking for trouble.
Think about placing outlets or multi-boards under tables, close to collaboration areas, in meeting rooms and pods. Some desks now come with wireless charging stations built in for easy mobile phone charging as well.
B. Cable management
There's nothing quite as satisfying as a well-managed cable system. To assist your IT team, ensure your desks are properly planned around power sources.
Pro tip: Look out for furniture that comes with built-in cable management.
4. Storage
Good storage options promote a clean and organised workspace. Think about your individual needs as well as more permanent team needs.
A. Individual storage
Lockers are a great addition to an open office, especially if you're operating a hot-desking system. Look for lockers that let you connect to a range of software systems to allow for more flexibility of use.
B. Communal Storage
From stationery to cleaning cupboards, communal storage space should be carefully planned to your teams' needs.
Great use of natural light in this furniture fit out. Read more about this case study.
5. Aesthetics
The way your workplace looks can be tricky to nail. For one, not everyone cares about how the office looks to the same degree – while you may not particularly mind what colour the carpet is, someone on your team might actively spend their time fretting about how the tiles in the bathroom don't align. Here are some tips to get that happy medium:
A. Plants
Research suggests that having plants around you (whether at home or at work) can lower blood pressure, increase attentiveness and raise productivity, among other things. But even without that, plants look great in the office. It's an easy way to add a pop of colour and texture to your environment.
B. Natural lighting
This one is a little harder to plan for if you're already in a building, but where possible, let natural light in. Some things to consider:
- Glare: Make sure the sun isn't hitting people in the face or their screens. Use translucent blinds or invest in facades/sun breaks for your building. You can also reduce the effect of sun glare by supplying your staff with screen filters.
- Heat: Good air con is a must if your teams are sitting in sunlight for a good portion of the day (even if it's indirect).
- UV Protection: If your building's windows don't have UV filters, invest in blinds to help keep your staff protected.
C. Colour scheme
Our Furniture Specialists recommend using a comfortable undertone with a pop of colour to keep it interesting (and stimulating).
Check out this great guide by Resene on picking colours for your office.
Pops of blue give life to a neutral palette. Read more about this case study.
6. Acoustics
We've already talked about sectioning your working areas into different zones to help people concentrate. But there are some extra steps you can take to dampen noise and create 'quiet pockets' within an open office.
A. Floor Standing Screens
Screens like this can be placed around desks or areas to help contain noise. Place curved panels around collaboration areas or line quiet zones with a series of straight panels to help both visually divide the space and absorb noise.
B. Desk Mounted Panels
Add extra ambient sound absorption by fitting out your desks with sound absorbing panels. These can help increase privacy in an open office as well.
C. Other sound dampeners
Another way to reduce ambient noise is to install acoustic panels on your walls and/or ceiling. These can also add a nice pop of colour to your office. Acoustic light fixtures can also make a big difference, hang these over meeting spaces to trap sound.
7. Budget
Get the best results within the constraints of your budget by talking to our Furniture Specialists. They have the products and expertise to design and manage a furniture fit-out that suit your style and budget.
There's a lot to think about when constructing any office plan – and open offices are no different! With good, thoughtful planning and the right products, you can create a space your employees will be proud to work in.