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When I was hired, my firm had its main office in the suburbs. I felt pretty good about the location and environment and purchased a house nearby. At that time, many employees and managers lived in the area. Since then, the firm has changed hands, and the original office space, as part of an ineffectual cost-saving move, has been reduced in half. Ineffectual because the new lease no longer included utilities. The "savings" were spent opening a new office in the city, and a bunch of young sales hires were made for a small bullpen type office. There are no cubicles in the city, and the few offices are reserved for a handful of lucky first movers. Now they are looking for cost savings again. The firm's plan is to shut down the office in suburbia because "having everyone in the same location inspires the best ideas."
Can someone point to some research (e.g., from HBR [Harvard Business Review] or similar) indicating that R&D teams may be best served by being in distraction-free environments separated from the gossip and hubbub of sales? Or that accommodating workers who want to be away from the city may save on labor expenses and employee turnover?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by datapharmer on Wednesday August 16 2017, @05:42PM (4 children)
I've seen this thinking and it usually leads back to someone with an MBA and no critical thinking skills. Reconsider if this is a fight you want to fight - you may do better by finding a better company to work for as it sounds like this one is headed in a downward spiral. Once they weed out people from the news a round of pink slips will come next, and you may be surprised by the highly qualified individuals they fire (but don't be, they may make more money and save on the bottom line for the couple quarters before the executives bail out with fat bonuses for "turning things around").
If you do stick around, oxford economics says open environments are less productive: https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/when-the-walls-come-down [oxfordeconomics.com]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday August 16 2017, @05:49PM (1 child)
I concur with the above.
Regardless, sales people and developers can have useful interaction, if sales actually takes note of what developers say. Sharing office is likely to impede developer productivity however. Consider constant interaction without anything useful to say.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Thursday August 17 2017, @12:48AM
But that's not going to happen. Sales, if given any input to development, will always pollute it with off-focus crap that is interesting for all of 5 minutes.
This is why In Dash Entertainment systems connected to the internet is creeping into new Automobiles instead of safety features. This is why every new application coming down the pike as the ability to post to Facebook and why HR systems are now just gateways to Linkedin.
It probably doesn't matter what field of industry we are talking about here. Sales staff are poisonous people with a bright tie, a firm hand shake, a fake smile, and someone else's interests at heart.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @07:18PM
I've seen it too. By the time you hear about the "discussions" or "plan", the decision has already been made. Those discussions and planning sessions happened long ago, and the chance to change your company's decision has past. Arguing now will not make a difference, and it will only highlight you as a trouble-maker. Your decision is to continue working for the company in the city, or find a new place to work. Sucks, but that is corporate life.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Thursday August 17 2017, @08:43AM
There seem to be two issues here. One is open-plan offices. Go and grab a copy of Peopleware[1] - the first edition was published in the '70s, as I recall, and it already had a bunch of citations for why open plan is less productive.
The second is whether engineering and sales should be in the same building. I don't know of any studies here, but from anecdotal experience the more disconnected sales and engineering are, the worse the company does. Scott Adams[2] has a bunch of good examples of this, where sales forget that there's more to making money than getting the customer to agree: you must also be able to deliver the product. Short turn-around for queries here is vital, as is integrating the idea that engineers should be involved in scoping any project into the Sales workflow.
[1] If you read only one management theory book, read this one.
[2] The Dilbert books have a lot more than just the comics!
sudo mod me up