Concept Choice

Which office concept is right for us?

During the concept choice, the main question is which office concept best fits the work and the organization. The office concept requires choices about the work location, the diversity of workspaces and the openness of the environment. It must also consider the sharing of spaces, the accompanying flex-ratio, and the desired use of spaces and code of conduct. And then there's the choice of location, level of freedom of choice, technical and aesthetic qualities, facilities, services and resources, and the IT and organizational consequences of a different office concept. Choices are made based on the desired accommodations, organizational characteristics, and an analysis of the work processes and the current accommodations situation. The Workplace Guide provides an insight into possible tools.

Decisions

Determining a good office concept for the organization usually begins with the collecting of information: what are the characteristics of the organization, the patterns of activity, the current space utilization, the employees' opinion of the current accommodations situation, and so forth. The policy framework of the organization, the accommodations goals and desired organizational diversity all frame the concept choice.  The information and framework then help steer the choices, determining both the physical and organizational design. Workshops and brainstorming sessions, preferably including management, are good ways to go through the process together. The Ambition-Concept Choice Matrix is a useful tool during this process, and mathematical models help gain insight into the consequences of the decisions made.