Although there are great benefits of walls being removed, it’s safe to assume President Reagan wasn’t referring to the open floor plan concept when he echoed the words, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Just recently the Washington Post published Lindsey Holme’s opinion piece on her awful, soul crushing experience being moved into an open office.
But there are countless benefits to having an open floor plan within an office setting and I see those benefits every day at Acquirent. The following five benefits of an open floor plan are just the tip of the iceberg for me;
- Flatten the organization. Everyone matters within a company (or at least they should matter) and the removal of offices with doors makes approaching management an easy or accidental task, which ultimately improves communication across the organization.
- Team Building. Another great benefit of the open floor plan is the ease of getting to know your coworkers. The lack of walls and other physical barriers causes constant interaction and collaboration across teams. This is extremely valuable at Acquirent where we are constantly seeking new and better ways to reach prospects and close deals.
- Communication. The open floor plan bridges communication with other departments and allows employees the opportunity to interact with people they wouldn’t normally engage with. Imagine being on the elevator with someone from another department and not knowing their name, title or position. Physical restraints to getting to know your co-workers are removed with the open floor plan; everyone knows everyone and what everyone does.
- Sense of Community. I appreciate the sense of community that an open work environment can support, I feel part of my team and the larger Acquirent team because I can see everyone on the team every time I stand up and look around.
- Accessibility. Last but certainly not least, easy access to other departments and management to resolve issues in a timely manner makes problem solving very easy. I know I can stand up and walk over to the CEO with a question if I need to, and that makes all the difference in how effective and efficient I am at my job.
In summary, the benefits to an open floor plan are clear and precise. It bridges communications while providing employees with the ability to bond and feel part of the big plan at Acquirent; success, growth, retention and satisfied internal customers.
What you make of your environment can shape how you react to it so while it may not be for everyone, with a sales team the open floor plan is a huge plus in this sales person’s opinion.[/fusion_text][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”dropshadow” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/imageframe][/one_third][two_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Mitchell Baskin is one of the friendliest team members at Acquirent, which is a good thing given our open floor plan! Originally from Detroit, MI, Mitchell now lives in Chicago and is loving the city. When given free time, Mitchell can be found working out at LA Fitness, watching the history channel or writing poetry.[/fusion_text][/two_third][/fullwidth]
