Let’s say you created a work group to respond to an emerging opportunity in a developing country a few months ago and now you have to scrap it due to political upheaval there, or your main competitor suddenly experienced a setback that wound up driving enormous amounts of new business your way. If the layout of your office is set in stone (i.e. drywall) situations like these will likely have you scrambling to adjust. If however, you’ve invested in modular office partitions you can repurpose your space quickly and easily to handle the challenge.
Office Partitions: The Foundation of Office Flexibility
Globalization has brought so many players to the table that the game has become almost completely unpredictable. As a result, flexibility has to be part of a company’s DNA extending to every level of the business, including the office. With that in mind here’s a list of elements that can help businesses achieve flexibility in their office environment.
- Moveable Office Partitions – Few things have had a more positive effect on office morale and productivity than the emergence of moveable wall systems as an alternative to drywall and cubicles. Today’s partitions are the foundation of the flexible office allowing businesses to respond with lightning speed to changing circumstances while at the same time maintaining a beautiful, healthy environment for their workers.
- Technological optimization – In today’s business environment mobile devices spell the difference between being competitive and being out of the loop. Laptops, smartphones, tablets and more are crucial business tools that need to be able to interact with each other and need to be accommodated in the flexible office. If you have important information on your tablet you can’t share on the big screen in the conference room you have problems.
- The Middle Path – While some companies have completely abandoned partitions of any kind, this return to the cavernous office environment of the 1930s has yielded one result above all others: unhappy, unproductive employees. What’s been proven time and again is that the middle ground is the productivity high ground. That is: a combination of open areas and dedicated, partitioned areas where individuals and groups can brainstorm without feeling the glare of the world on them is essential to maintaining worker morale and productivity.
- Hot desking – Hot desking is typically employed by companies to enable office workers on different schedules to utilize the same desk or work station. Used this way it can be an effective method for keeping down the cost of office rental. Alternatively, hot desks can be treated in a similar manner to conference rooms where work stations designed to handle specific tasks are not assigned to any one individual but rather are reserved for use at particular times by different people in the company.
- The Human Element – One thing that should never be forgotten when designing flexibility into the office is that humans aren’t machines. The generally poor reception of completely open office spaces has pointed out the fact that you can’t simply dump people into any office configuration and expect them to perform at their best. Office partitions allow office managers to allocate space in the most flexible and effective manner possible while at the same time providing the kind of spaces employees need to realize their potential.
IMT Modular has been a leader in the development of the flexible office for well over a decade. Our full line of architectural wall systems provide business solutions tailored to the fast changing 21st century business environment. Stylish, affordable, easy to maintain and environmentally friendly our moveable partitions answer the call of companies looking to retain their competitive edge. Call us on 416-743-4513 to learn more about the many benefits of office partitions from IMT Modular.