 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Foreword The NSW Government Workplace Guidelines were first issued in July 1999 and form an integral part of the implementation of the Government's Office Accommodation Reform Program Stage II communicated to agencies in Premier's Memorandum 99-06. These revised Guidelines are now an Internet-based tool that will continue to assist agencies to make better decisions about the effective and efficient planning of their office accommodation. Effective office accommodation planning not only improves the productivity of the workplace and increases the level of staff satisfaction but can provide agencies with a number of functional efficiencies resulting in better service delivery. Traditional office accommodation no longer suits contemporary working patterns. Offices now have to accommodate changing work practices, evolving attitudes to work, emerging forms of IT and respond to new workplace styles and initiatives. Traditional attitudes towards the office layout are being challenged, with space now being allocated according to work function rather than position, with an increased focus on enabling better communication, interaction and collaboration, organisation learning and knowledge and information transfer. The Guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive. They do not necessarily provide all the solutions in themselves but rather they provide a summary of the key issues which agencies should address when considering new and/or refurbished accommodation. Overall the updated Guidelines provide a reference source for a variety of accommodation related issues for all agencies and provide support at management and officer level. I encourage all agencies to review their approach to planning their office accommodation and to use the Guidelines to assist in developing a flexible work environment that is able to respond to change, meet the needs of all people, enhance communication amongst staff and improve efficiency and productivity in order to better support the delivery of service objectives. Col Gellatly |
