Office layout redesign considerations in selected service organizations in Nairobi

Abstract

This research sought to establish the motivations of office layout redesign and the sort of features incorporated in such redesign. It also sought to establish whether there are any benefits perceived, and challenges encountered by organizations in such effort. Further, the research sought comparison of data from private and public organizations to establish whether such redesign effort had been carried out with the same zeal in the two sectors. The survey was carried out in twelve service organizations. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the selected organizations. The questionnaire had two parts, with one detailing demographic data and the other, features in the layout that may have been modified, the motivations, satisfaction with the features present, challenges and benefits of the redesign. Data collected from these organizations was then analysed using descriptive statistics on Microsoft excel then interpreted. Findings indicate that all the organizations in the sample had renovated their premises in the recent past. The data indicated higher levels of satisfaction with the arrangement of equipment and furniture, and the use of signs, symbols and artifacts than with ambience in the office environment, the primary motivation of redesign being offering better services, support of corporate culture, encouraging teamwork and employee motivation. Benefits accruing to the organization were mainly customer satisfaction and higher employee productivity while main challenges were cited as protocol and approvals, cost and space constraints. From these findings we conclude that in the Kenyan context, businesses have embraced focus on facility design as a way of maintaining competitive edge while pleasing their customers and employees. The recommendations from this study are that organizations should continue to find innovative, cost effective ways to create an ideal physical environment that pleases the employee and the customer which contributes to achievement of the organizational goals.