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Workplace points of view This section presents papers and ideas about some relevant accommodation-related issues. It provides various points of view to give you some background information on the following topics:
Click on the titles or introductions to access copies of each of the papers in the following sections. Enclosed offices or open plan?
WHY? The open vs closed office debate is probably one of the most topical and controversial issues in office design of recent times. Franklin Becker PhD and William Sims PhD looked at this issue in some detail in their article titled "Offices that Work" which was produced as part of the International Workplace Studies Program (IWSP) at Cornell University. The University also has numerous other interesting articles about workplace issues available from its IWSP page at http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu.
The general consensus these days is that offices should only be provided where there is a proven need to have one. Most workplaces will comprise a mix of open and closed planning but the more we can minimise the closed component the more we increase flexibility and the social interaction required in today's working environment. Office Sharing In "Offices that Work" Becker and Sims also look at the concept of office sharing. They say, "The case against enclosed offices sooner or later gets around to the 'sterility' of working alone. But enclosed offices need not be one-person offices. The two-or-three-or four-person offices make a lot of sense, particularly, if office groupings can be made to align with work groups." To read the full article click here Checklist for 'Reinventing the Workplace' In the work that DEGW has carried out with Steelecase Corporation a simple checklist was developed and this has been included as a guide for anyone embarking on a project that is seeking to 'reinvent the workplace'. To read the full article click here Implications of Churn "Churn" is defined as "Internal accommodation re-arrangements undertaken in response to changing organisational and functional requirements" 1 In 2002, the Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA) completed a research project titled, FMA Office Churn Research - The Management of Physical Workplace Change. An excerpt from the report describing the different types of churn and associated costs can be viewed here. More detailed information about this project can be obtained from the FMA Publications and Research page. Alternative Ways of Working In many companies, a creative response to continuing trends in organisation and business change, has been the development of a set of strategies called Alternative Workplace Strategies (AWS) or Alternative Ways of Working (AWW) or Alternative Officing or New Officing.
"New Officing's goal is to use workplaces, technologies, and work processes in an integrated system of enablers … to work smarter … and wherever work happens." As Michael Brill says in "Disproving Widespread Myths about Workplace Design" New Officing is based on three basic strategies:
A glossary of AWS terms identifying advantages, disadvantages and particular issues attached to their application is available by clicking here. These ideas need careful business analysis and organisational planning before they are implemented. This is reinforced in a case study titled Addressing Change Through Alternative Workplace Strategies by Paul Heath and Lee Thorn-Silverton (Published in FM Journal May/June 1997) which utilises Citicorp's Alternative Workplace Strategies Initiative to address potential AWS characteristics; "rollout" options, support system organisational changes, implementation approaches and lessons learnt. Density Benchmarking The density issue is always contentious and organisations seek to find ways of benchmarking their space against others, but is density really a good measure of workplace efficiency?
While some regard must be had to the use of space, the most important aspect of workplace design is functional efficiency. Low workspace ratios are more an indicator of efficient design than workplace efficiency. Nevertheless, comparison of workplace densities remains a valid benchmarking exercise so long as it is used to reflect effective use of space and not workplace efficiency. The following table depicts office space densities in major cities in Australia and overseas. It is an excerpt from an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 February 2003 titled "Office workers feel the squeeze as costs are cut." which details a research study conducted by DTZ Research. The full report is available from the DTZ Research website.
What is Workplace Change Management? What is workplace change management (WCM) and why does change not always deliver on its original promise? The term WCM describes the generic process of managing an organisation's implementation of key changes or projects, typically to improve business performance, within the workplace. The focus of WCM is very much on people and the transition involved for them through anticipating and experiencing change. "Focusing on people in this way recognises the key role that staff have in making the desired outcome actually work to its full potential, and it maximises the organisations investment in whatever change is procured." 2 Effective WCM is typically delivered through a structured program of communication and support activities. This approach allows staff to become aware, involved and engaged in the change process and concentrates on adequately and timely informing, preparing and supporting staff before, during and after the project or change has been implemented. Accessing a broad range of staff helps to manage their expectations, respond to expressed concerns and support them through the period of real adjustment. The most obvious objective of WCM is to secure staff commitment to the desired change and more importantly to take ownership and guardianship of the change into the future. Yet, "research indicates that 50 to 80% of large systems implementations, organisational re-engineering and change efforts fail to deliver the promised benefits." 3 Why does change efforts appear to fail as often as they succeed? More importantly how can we increase our chances of making workplace changes sustainable? The generally held view that consultation and participation techniques aimed to engage the workforce, associated with change initiatives has certainly been a radical improvement on past techniques. Fundamentally staff involvement and consultation "must ring true". In other words if staff are actively involved, then they will automatically "take on" and "own" the proposed changes. "Despite the best efforts of the promoters of
change, a considerable number of change programs still fail because
they lose support from the rest of the business. This is particularly
true in property and facility management. Accommodation issues often
become a distraction in the midst of senior management crises, external
market shifts, sudden changes in technology and changes in personnel."
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Records and Document Management Efficient records and document management can significantly reduce your total space requirements. "Relocation provides an organisation with a unique opportunity to ensure that paper and electronic records are in the most efficient format, allowing that organisation to relocate efficiently, utilising a minimum of storage but with a compliant document management system. The need to introduce improved Electronic Document
Management (EDM) has become universally accepted to accord with
Privacy and other Acts. There is of course a substantial cost in
achieving EDM but current figures indicate payback being achieved
after 3 years. The successful introduction of EDM can reduce paper
storage requirements by 70-80% and substantially value adds in the
creation of procedural efficiencies." (Excerpt from MoveCorp Australia
Pty Ltd - Summary of Capabilities) Distribution of Support Spaces "Densities can range from 8m2 per person to 25m2 per person, but what space is made up of and how it is used is the real test and indication of success for a workplace."5 Generally we observe a redistribution of space in contemporary workplaces, as we strive to achieve a stronger alignment between workplace and organisation direction. If we think of the three categories of space being based on:
The following table indicates the % space break-ups that have been achieved in some Australian and overseas examples.
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