When deciding on a design for a new office, a lot of thought should go into the layout. The layout of an office will affect many factors, including productivity, interpersonal relationships, workflow, and the impression given to clients and prospects. Especially if you are moving your office to a new location, give some thought to how the layout of your existing office could have been improved. Proper planning on the layout of the new office will make the work experience and employee productivity much better. Here are several tips when thinking about the layout of the new office.
Managers & Executives

First, is the location of the managers and executives. You need to think about the layout of their space in relation to each other, and to their employees. Think about keeping managers with similar jobs and that need to interact close to each other. Also keep managers with a line of site to their employees. You will also want to consider the furniture selection and layout. Managers on the same level in the organizational chart should be given similar furniture and accessories.
Furnishings & Employees

Second, think about the layout of the furnishings for the employees. This should be done in such a fashion as to increase productivity. Again, employees with similar tasks or that need to interact should be kept close to each other, and have similar furnishings. The layout should be done in such a way as to minimize movement through the office and maximize productivity.
Office Flow

Third, think of the general flow through the office. You want to maximize workflow and the ability to quickly get things done. At the same time, keep the flow open and spaces wide enough between furnishings. This will not only help in terms of safety considerations, but you may need to implement barrier free access for those in wheelchairs.
Expansion

Fourth, you will want to plan the layout with an eye toward expansion. Don’t lock yourself into the current number of employees. There needs to be room and furnishings to accommodate growth, both in the employee side and the management side of the house. If you fill every available private office in the beginning, what happens when you need to hire more managers? A little extra planning and expense now can save you another move or construction in the future.

Impression

Finally, think of the layout in terms of how your clients and prospects will see it. You want to create a good first impression when they walk in the door. Spend some extra money on the layout and furnishings in the lobby area and the conference room. You can’t put a price on a great first impression, so don’t try to cut corners in these areas.

Tags: office planning

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Office Furniture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.