Mobility and adaptability requirements

Enabling mobility

Dynamic working environments provide a range of work settings, spaces and technologies so that staff can choose to work in an area that best suits what they need to do that day, rather than being stuck at one workstation.

Shared space requirements

No team owns collaboration, communal or shared areas. Anyone can use these areas to meet and work in.

Shared space guidelines

As much as possible, staff should be able and encouraged to work anywhere, including outside the building, to maximise productivity – so long as security and confidentiality is not compromised. A clear desk policy will allow workstations to be used by multiple users and assist with information security.

Minimise storage at individual work points by encouraging the use of centrally located team storage units, which will reduce clutter and free up space in the work areas.

The workplace should have a generic fit-out to make it easy for different agencies to share the space or for agencies to shift from one space to another with minimal modification.

Migrating work environments

Staff should be able to easily move their own equipment and files to a new location or touchdown area within the building with minimal assistance from IT or facilities staff. Any internal tenancy signage and other branding should be designed to be easy to move.

External signs and other branding elements within a government office building should apply New Zealand Government branding, with agency brands secondary.

Branding, wayfinding and signage

Assigning workstations

Some people may need an assigned workstation. This could be about role limitations or technological requirements. It could also be to support a disabled person's needs.

Flexible design in working environments supports people's use of and access to the workplace. This includes a choice of work settings, such as workstations, focus and collaboration areas. These are unassigned and shared by all.

Changing the way you use a workplace, or work in general, can be challenging. It’s natural for people to want things to stay the same.

People leaders should create opportunities to understand people’s needs, concerns and challenges. They should listen to any reservations their people may have. Discussions like these help leaders to support their people through change and enable them to work flexibly.

Explore all solutions. These may include:

arranging workstations assessments, so people know how to adjust settings
identifying opportunities to improve processes and procedures
reducing paper usage
updating technology to enable more flexibility.

Some requests may be for personal reasons. People leaders should work with their people to understand their needs. This may include an assigned workstation or other measures. People might not want to provide personal information, like a medical certificate, and this shouldn't be required.

Where a workstation assignment is to support the needs of a disabled person

GPG has worked with members of the We Enable Us Accessibility Working Group to develop guidance on disability and accessibility in flexible workplaces. This guidance highlights the challenges, concerns and needs of disabled people. It also includes reference to agencies Reasonable Accommodation (workplace adjustments) policies and procedures.

Disability and accessibility in flexible working environments

Maximising space use

Designing a flexible and adaptable workplace means you can absorb growth and shrinkage in staff numbers without needing to find a new space.

Space use requirements

The latest targets for office densities, workstation and workpoint ratios can be found on the property definitions page.

Property definitions

Monitor office use to help work out how many people will occupy the building on any given day. You should have a flexible working policy in place.

Governance guidelines

Establish a governance group with representatives from each team within the floor or building, to ensure that teams comply with an agency’s space policy, occupancy model or workplace guidelines. They also help to ensure the ongoing success of the space by:

ensuring all teams can make optimal use of the building and resources
increasing awareness of and promoting the best use of resources
establishing protocols and empowering leaders to self-govern the working environment
ensuring alignment with behaviours and protocols established for the space
feeding back to property or facilities management any business changes that may impact space use or allocation needs
ensuring the environment continues to best meet the needs of the organisation.

Spaceless growth

Support staff who are already mobile to start using alternative work settings, like communal or collaborative areas. Implement and encourage desk sharing to help staff use different areas.

Encourage your staff to use any workstation that is temporarily vacant. Make sure they secure confidential files as they move between spaces to enable vacant workpoints to be used by other staff when needed.

Use vacant spaces where practical for short-term expansion requirements.

A technology, mobility and adaptability scenario

Caroline, Mark and Sandy develop a draft policy assessment. The next day, Caroline presents it to senior staff member, James, in a collaborative space that includes a visual display unit. Caroline connects her laptop to the display unit and shows James the draft paper she developed the previous day with Mark and Sandy.

James recommends a number of changes. Caroline edits the document during the meeting and emails the updated draft to Mark and Sandy for their review.

Mark is on the train on his way to work. He reviews the changes and sends his comments from his smartphone. Sandy is working from home, and sends her comments back from there.

Thanks to a workplace that allows them to adapt to their specific needs, quality work is able to be delivered efficiently by all parties.

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