We have put together a few tips to help you prepare your communication spaces for new challenges.
- You are likely to need more space for communication and collaboration in the future than you do now. Check whether you can make better use of underutilised areas such as entrance halls. If you plan to increase the proportion of home working, you may be able to reduce the number of desk workstations. However, do not cut back too many. Being able to come into the office at any time and find a free desk is also a sign of appreciation.
- Review which requirements can be combined. Informal communication can also take place in the canteen or a waiting area, and a room used for video conferences is often suitable for a short meeting with a small group.
- Try to design spaces so that they remain adaptable. For example, if you wish to subdivide a large conference room into smaller video conference rooms, consider installing a movable partition instead of a fixed wall.
- When planning communication spaces, pay attention to good lighting and good acoustics. Light sources should not be reflected in laptops or tablets, and shading options should be considered. Good acoustics are essential for good speech intelligibility – especially in rooms used for video conferencing.
- Stand-up meetings can be highly efficient. However, make sure you provide a seating option for every form of communication. This ensures that participants with mobility impairments can take part without difficulty. Height-adjustable sit/stand tables are space-saving, as they can be used in both seated and standing positions.
- In rooms used by many different people, consider hygiene. This does not mean you have to sacrifice a homely design – most materials are now available in easy-to-clean finishes.
- To allow colleagues working from home to see when a room is available, you will need a suitable booking tool. There is specialised software linked to sensors for this purpose, but in some cases, a shared calendar for booking areas may be sufficient.
- If your own premises are not large enough to accommodate all your requirements, you might consider sharing resources with a neighbouring company. Alternatively, there may be a local coworking space with suitable rooms that you can rent as needed.
With the IBA OfficePlaner, you can design your own communication and collaboration areas. The online planning tool is available at https://iba.online/planer.
