​As we think of Agile and Kanban type of project management methodologies that heavily depend on quick, easy access to team members, open project spaces are specifically welcome. Infact, given the high cost of corporate office rents in most major cities, the concept of open office has become more of a norm instead of an exception. 

Coming back to Agile teams, it is quite a common sight to see an entire team occupy a large work room in a completely open environment. Sometimes they do not even have any separators or privacy walls around their desks!! Is this way of working truly productive?? 

In my experience, I have found that it lowers individual productivity which ultimately increases overall inefficiencies of the project team. Easy access, quick discussions and monitoring boards are all a great way to bring together a project team. But we need to be mindful of the fact that people have different working styles.

Constant background activity and noise which is an undeniable aspect of an open project room or office setting, can seriously impede delivery timeline and adversely impact work quality. Here is a nice article highlighting the many challenges faced by people working in open offices.

You can read it: Why open offices are bad for us
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​#openoffice #humanresources #organizationaleffectiveness #projectmanagement #agile #kanban

Coherence is not about about individuals having a good or bad personality. Different people have different styles. It is true that at a professional level, we are expected to deal and work well with all kinds of people, but the reality is that- it is not always true.

​Workplace conflicts are even more apparent than between friends and unlike in a personal scenario where people at times back down to save the relationship, in professional situations, people back down only because they need to (maybe in a lower organizational position). This in turn leads to resentment and sooner or later and in outright or less-obvious way, it is going to get expressed- which may not be for the betterment of an organization.
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All organizations should, but particularly if you are a smaller company, then make it a point to hire people based on coherence of your organizational culture. People can be taught techniques and methodologies, but you cannot change a person’s intrinsic personality (nor should you, since they are entitled to be who they choose to be).

​But hiring based on coherence will allow you to develop and grow your teams, their capabilities in a manner which is not only beneficial to that specific individual, but also for your organization as a whole. You will find that your people feel better engaged and this in turn will help to build organizational-loyalty, which is starting to be a dying trait!

Throughout my career I have been called in to resolve situations where the client initially thought that the project was going to be just a breeze and as they started working on it (and usually after blowing up quite some cash), they realize that they should have better planned it!!

Yes, it is very true that resources cost money, but inefficiency costs even more and not just money, it also causes frustration. This in turn typically leads to negative sentiments between team-members and stakeholders and organizational discontent. Over time, such repetitive failed work efforts ultimately lead to Employee Disengagement.

Sandhya Bhat MSc, CSSMBB, CSSE has developed several new (under patent filing) and enhanced existing strategic methodologies to improve technology and human capital utilization, produce greater ROI on investments and streamline service delivery. She is an acclaimed author, speaker, a sought after thought leader and an avid world traveler.

​#ROI #projectmanagement #organizationaleffectiveness #employeeengagement #workforceplanning #operatingbudget #project #stakeholder #engagement