Great ideas, breakthrough concepts, successful business strategies rarely originate in the mind of a single individual. It is something we create together – by exchanging information, inspirations and emotions with others. And it does not really matter whether we manage a small company or corporation. The true values arise from the cooperation and creativity of the team as well as the momentary self-focus. Therefore, creating the right atmosphere is crucial. And the atmosphere depends on the approach towards the organisation of a workplace. Interestingly, contemporary ideas presented by designers do not only base on sociological and psychological concepts which are difficult to grasp. Designers prove that complying with the new philosophy of the organisation of the office space can be a good business deal - it is a well-planned investment which is described by actual figures.

TAKING A WILD GUESS i.e. PLANNING NIGHTMARES

Arranging any office space is by no means easy. First of all, because future needs are highly unpredictable. Determining the area and specifying the functions of the office is only a start. Some problems appear while designing the space and deciding upon the furniture. We are unable to estimate the number of our employees or predict their needs. As a result, the optimal office design is simply impossible to achieve at this stage. We can only try to decrease the margin of error, but it may for example turn out that the occupancy rates for the desks are very low. It seems inefficient to correct the organisation of the workplace if it is a part of the office space designed in a rigid or inflexible way. On the other hand, the costs resulting from low work efficiency are high and in fact, tangible. Thus, the philosophy should be changed. Our lifestyle changes and so does our mentality. Creative specialists from contemporary companies with their habits and needs vary greatly if compared to the so-called white-collar workers of the 1980s. One of the most important world’s inspirers of the new trend in the organisation of the office space is Eric Veldhoen from Holland – the founder of Veldhoen & Company and the leader in Activity-Based Working methodology. The advisers from this Dutch company have been working for some significant corporate clients such as IKEA, Heineken, Australian ASB Bank, Volvo or Tetra Pak. Those advisers do not provide simple recipes or ready projects. Instead, they invite on an analytical tour which should lead, in a given situation,  to an optimal solution.

START WITH ANSWERING A FEW QUESTIONS

Designing any office space should start with considering which type of work is predominant there. Shall individual work stations prevail or do we rather need some common space that will enable our employees to freely contact the others? The extreme cases to illustrate the point can be a law firm where every single employee performs some individual work or an advertising agency where brainstorming is the essence of its activities. At a first glance, it seems that combining those two working styles is impossible. Even best managers are not able to ensure that their employees have the most optimal conditions, since, at one point, those employees are expected to intensely interact with the other co-workers, and, after a moment, to be fully focused. But it can work. And it is not about the “hot desking” idea, which used to be popular some time ago. The designers that follow the Activity-Based Working methodology rightly assume that it is employees who know best what they really need at a given time. You should then, while following the general guidelines which are in accordance with the specifics of the organisation, provide your employees with the space that will give them freedom to design their own place as they wish.

PEOPLE ARE CHANGING AND SO ARE PLACES

Thanks to the technology development, the way we work in the office has changed. All we need is just a laptop or phone. Throughout the day, many of us change the place where we work or the working style. When we arrange meetings for a bigger team we look for a conference room, but we can exchange information in other less formal places, too. The changes to the habits and working styles are determined by the generation. The millennials are used to working in common-space offices. The growing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend refers specifically to them. BYOD means using the private mobile devices in the workplace. For millennials, their mobile phones function as their office, they serve as their notepads and they also allow them to stay in touch with the communities they belong to.  There is also a time when peace and quiet and getting focused are desired. That is why, the office needs to be flexible and to allow its employees to choose and freely change their work stations. The contemporary office interior design systems guarantee that – they enable to create some place where you can work in peace or where you can have some conversations in small groups in a big open-plan office. Modern, multifunctional desks allow, within a few seconds, to change the place of work from a conference table to an individual cubicle, separated from the others by acoustic walls. And all of that happens at the same place which the employees identify themselves with and where they feel really fine.There are some companies though that will stick to work stations assigned to the given employees. An accountant or a lawyer should have the access to a big number of documents, they often have to store them and prevent them from any unauthorised access. There are some people to whom the idea of mobility is very stressful. The research shows that introverts like to have the space of their own, where nobody would change anything or disturb their work. Concluding, personality, age or the type of tasks we need to perform determine the place we need. Here again, it is vital for employees to be able to choose and to feel they actually have an impact on their workplace. Offices designed nowadays combine different kinds of space – the space to work together or alone,  the space to meet or to relax. A flexible office offers people a choice of the kind of a work station, depending on their needs.

INVESTING IN EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DELIVERS EXCELLENT RESULTS

The office should be the place in which you work in a comfortable, yet effective way. Its role is to facilitate contacting others and help to create positive energy. Balma PLUS System is an excellent example of a practical realisation of modern trends. The System is the result of the cooperation of experts specialising in organisation management with designers of office furniture. It is the response to the needs of contemporary employees, and consequently, to the needs of contemporary companies. It is a tool thanks to which its users will feel fine, whereas, the investors will gain some profits. Any examples? The most essential element of Balma PLUS is its desks which can be electrically adjustable. You can control them directly from a computer by means of USB connector using a special application. For example, the desk top can be raised to allow its user to work while standing, since the standing position has a positive effect on backbone and muscles. After all, if employees feel well and are in good shape, they will work more effectively and efficiently… Furthermore, once the desks from that System are put together, they create a common workspace, which, if needed, can be immediately divided into single work stations acoustically separated from one another. Balma PLUS System allows to arrange some alternative meeting places like sofas and poufs, but also the characteristic boxes protecting from the noise. The main elements of Balma PLUS System consist of mobile acoustic blends, mobile acoustic walls as well as a system of magnetic accessories. Thanks to that, the workplace can be freely adjustable to the needs and can be changed several times during the day. These are perfect conditions for contemporary employees, aren’t they?

IT IS NOT FURNITURE, IT IS A WORK TOOL

Balma PLUSSystem designers on numerous occasions refer to the ideas of Design Thinking and Activity-Based Working – defining the real needs of the users. They wish to emphasise that using the findings of the researchers on working cultures shall not be treated as a whim or caprice. They say that the purpose of that system was not to design furniture, but to design tools and atmosphere of everyday work. The tools designed by them allow users to be open to stimuli or completely shut down their senses. Fabryka Mebli BALMA SA, highly valued for many years, has decided to get engaged in the project resulting in the appearance of Balma PLUS System on the market. That system covers the Think Pro philosophy in all the three facets – the customer, the business and the product. The system combines the top-quality materials, sophisticated design and various possibilities to adjust particular pieces to different working styles. For managers who look ahead, investing in a flexible office space naturally follows the business logic.