Dec 10 2007
Microsoft Workspace Sense
Looks like Microsoft is finally realising that custom workspaces is one of the keys to increasing employee productivity. Rather than assuming that individual offices is the only – and best – way to work they are now moving to a building design that can evolve with the needs of the team.
I like this idea, whilst I have never had the luxury of a budget that stretched to a personal office (except at home) I have always tried to:
- give team members input into their office design
- created environments that could be easily rearranged to suit the needs of the team at a particular point in time. We found we rearranged our offices at least every 3 months
- provided lots of different types of space, from quiet space, to ad-hoc meeting rooms, library areas, collaborative work areas and formal conference rooms
I’ve designed 4 Offices over my 20 years and it’s probably had more impact than anything else I ever did as a manager.
In the Microsoft Office design I particularly like the Atrium and the Coffee bar, but these are expensive and grandiose and you can do a lot even in the most basic of office buildings.
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