Hi all,
A belated thanks to everyone who shared their views about
open plan working - Martin at Portsmouth, Ben at Tremough,
Tracy at Bristol, Ann at Manchester, Julian and Jill at Hope.
All very useful material for our discussions with senior
managers! As I see it, the benefits of working open plan are
as follows:
* Collegiality and "team feel"
* Potential sharing of ideas that may result from
closer proximity
* Development of good working practices
* Less isolation from other colleagues
The disadvantages seem to be:
* Lack of confidentiality - even if a room is provided
for this purpose for students or staff, phone calls
cannot be confidential in a shared space.
* Students feeling reluctant to enter a shared space,
particularly if they are distressed
* The difficulty of impromptu discussions with staff or
students
* Lack of Room available for resources/learning
materials
* The buzz of noise which can sound unprofessional to
students or staff on the other end of the phone
I agree with Jill that dedicated spaces for learning which
are open plan work well as (hopefully) student learning has
been the paramount concern from the outset. Unfortunately,
we are not in this position. If we had a reception desk, a
space equipped for students to learn collaboratively or
independently and rooms to use when students and staff visit
us, I would be more than happy with the idea. The reality is,
it is a way to draw the new team together. Of course, this is
no bad thing, but I am concerned about how students will view
this, and if it will affect their decision about whether to
access the learning skills service.
I'll let anyone interested know the outcome. In the mean
time, if anyone else would like to contribute to the
discussion, please do so. I'd be particularly interested in
hearing from anyone who has been a "space management
consultant" as Julian eloquently put it!
Best regards,
Sarah
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Sarah McCarthy
University of Exeter
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