talent management
Wide Open Spaces
TODAY’S FLEXIBLE WORKSPACES MIGHT BE THE TICKET TO A MORE
COLLABORATIVE CULTURE, BUT HR NEEDS TO LEND A GUIDING HAND
Anyone who has ever picked up a paint brush to change
the feel of their living room or de-cluttered a desk in
search of a little Zen understands that physical space
impacts performance. Study after study supports the
idea that the environment in which we work can’t help but shape
what we do and how we feel about it.
With this in mind, an increasing number of organizations have
taken to knocking down walls, quite literally, in the hopes of shaping
a more innovative and collaborative culture. Often fueled by an
organizational emphasis on cross-functional teams, they’re hoping
a more open and flexible workspace will translate into greater creativity
and a corresponding competitive edge in the marketplace.
Employees in Google’s Toronto location, for example, don’t have
offices or cubicles. Instead, employees are gathered in four- or sixdesk
open clusters and take advantage of more than 50 designated
spots for private phone calls, team meetings and larger gatherings.
Deloitte Canada’s offices use a similar model, with an extra variable:
their employees don’t have assigned seats. This makes smart
fiscal sense for an organization like Deloitte, where a large percentage
of employees are working remotely or visiting clients at
By Melissa Campeau
Rashevskyi Viacheslav/Shutterstock
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MAY/JUNE 2015 ❚ 59