Open the Gates

Since March 2000, Orbis has built a name as a GIS consultant in the natural resource and utility industries. The duration of our business and longevity of each employee makes us confident in providing our advice to young businesses.

Employees are the heart of a successful business. If your workforce isn’t happy in their role or with their coworkers, they will likely not stay with your company. You aim to keep employees who want to be there, but flighty employees can stunt the growth of your business.

Let It Flow

Have you ever been in an office with a lot of separated offices or cubicles? Where all of the workers have their own, closed off working space? Chances are that you haven’t heard many people talking in those offices. That is because there literally isn’t an opportunity to. At Orbis, we make a conscious effort to avoid solo workspaces. While some people might work better in secluded spaces, studies show that open floorplans can yield benefits that companies simply cannot afford to ignore.

Since employees can communicate easier, companies with open floorplans usually experience an increase in collaboration. Humans are known for being social beings. While there are many ways to communicate digitally, employees are more likely to share ideas and ask for help if they can ask the person sitting next to them. The ability to speak freely can also help employees forge stronger relationships with their cohorts. This can lead to a more enjoyable workday and increase employee satisfaction.

Aside from benefiting employees and the work they produce, an open floorplan is a more cost-effective option. Not only do you save on the initial costs of building but also save for future projects. You never know what the next office trend will be or when you will want a change!

Along with presenting the opportunity to build relationships with coworkers, an open floor plan can:

• increase collaboration;
• reduce construction costs; and
• improve employee health.

Better Together

The more interaction during working hours, the more likely employees are to build lasting relationships with each other. If you aren’t able to have an open workspace, or if you want to further enhance the relationships built from simple communication, then team building events are a great option. Once people start to see that their coworkers are normal people, too, they might even begin to find common interests and develop real friendships outside of the office.

When employees feel that they have friends at work, they are usually more excited and willing to come into work every day. That excitement and willingness to be in the office can contribute to the increase in collaboration and could lead to an increase in productivity.

What We’ve Done

At Orbis, we understand that employee interaction is crucial to the success of a company. To help propel our employees’ relationships, we have adopted the idea of an open floorplan and host occasional team building activities. Since implementing these changes, we have seen the increase in communication and a real sense of comradery that has begun in the office. Suddenly, our employees are more than coworkers, but are actually team members and friends.