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Quiet
Work Areas \ Home Working
Central Offices Update
Anyone walking down Phoenix Lane or driving along the Great Western Way cannot fail to notice the new council offices, which are rising from the former car park site next to the Kwik Save supermarket. But along with the steel, bricks and mortar have arisen worries over the offices, including issues such as space, ventilation, privacy and car parking.
To answer those concerns and others, the UNISON Branch Executive invited Director of Corporate Services Jan Shadbolt along to explain exactly how we are going to fit in. Also present was Director of Community Services Peter Hancock. This is a summary of the discussion.
Space
The first, and possibly most commonly expressed, concern is that the new offices in Phoenix Lane are just not going to be big enough?
JS The space available in the new offices is enough for the employees that will be located there. This will not include the Operations section, which will remain at Old Road and Station Yard Depots. There is also the potential to use Lowman House, probably for Operations, until the expiry of the lease in 2007. And of course the Town Hall will remain, possibly for use by support staff but not by front-line services.
We have tried to arrange the services so that those needing the most public contact are nearest to the reception area.
Service Managers have been consulted over their space requirements, and changes have been introduced as a result.
There will also be the introduction of a new Document Management System (DMS), and although it will not be implemented immediately across all services for when we move into the offices, DMS will release more filing space as it is introduced. There will also be a “4 hour” call-off offsite archiving system which means less space will be needed for filing.
Cellular offices have been restricted to Directors and Heads of Service, plus the Head of Personnel due to the frequent confidential nature of those duties. These cellular offices will be available for use by others as meeting rooms, e.g. when the usual occupant is on leave.
The “mock-up” of the typical workstation, on display in the Town Hall, accurately represents the size and space applicable in the new offices. It is anticipated that most employees will have LCD “flat screen” monitors, which have a much smaller desktop footprint than conventional CRT monitors. All new PCs are being supplied with LCD screens.
Drawer units that open out into access corridors will be of the “roll-up” variety to prevent trip hazards.
Noise
Many members are worried that the open plan offices will be noisy – what is being done to address this?
JS The building has been designed to help reduce noise, and meets Health & Safety requirements. The floor and the screens are designed to absorb noise. There will though need to be a change of culture and attitude towards our work colleagues and all employees will need to be aware of the noise they are generating and its’ effect on others
And of course not all employees stay in the office, many go out of the office as part of their normal duties.
What about telephones constantly ringing, or particularly loud colleagues who do not realise they are quite so loud when using the telephone?
JS These are mainly technical issues, which can and will be addressed, but colleagues will have to be considerate of those working around them. We will have to make sure that telephones are not left to ring constantly.
People have mixed views about open plan offices, and although some people have had unhappy experiences of them, many welcome them and the change they bring about from the isolation of working alone in an office.
Ventilation
Can
you explain how the new offices are ventilated? Will we be able to open the
windows?
JS The building design employs a mixture of passive and natural ventilation. This relies on the natural movement of air through the building, and includes the use of the windows as required. Where workstation positioning prevents convenient access to a window, then an extended opening handle will be fitted so that the window can be opened or closed. The changes to workstation design have been agreed by the building architects, and take account of the ventilation requirements.
What
about air conditioning?
JS There is no air conditioning in the offices, with the exception of the IT “comms” room.
What about heating – will individual employees be able to control the room temperature?
JS No, apart from opening or closing windows. Employees who prefer a cooler work area should position themselves nearer a window.
Staff Facilities
What
facilities will be available to the staff?
JS There will be a real improvement over the current facilities available to staff in these new offices. For starters there is a staff room, something we have never had before, which can seat up to 32 people at a time. On the ground floor there will be showers, lockers and secure bicycle racks. Although there won’t be room for a locker “each” we are trying to find room to put more lockers in, possibly under the stairs. Finally there are “break-out” areas where tea and coffee, etc., can be made. We haven’t as yet agreed on coat hanging facilities, but they will probably be made available separately in each section.
Car Parking
Another big issue is undoubtedly going to be car parking and the provision of free parking to staff. What plans are there for staff parking?
JS No decisions have been made on car parking as yet, but there will almost certainly be discussions on where staff will park, for example it may be restricted to the top two levels of the multi-storey car park, and whether or not that parking will be provided free of charge as at present. We do have to introduce a new green travel plan for the new offices and parking will comprise part of that plan.
Of course the Local Conditions include car parking provision, so any changes will have to be negotiated and agreed with UNISON.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Some members are concerned that the open plan office will affect the confidentiality of telephone calls, or that other employees will be able to read their computer screen as they walk past. Are they right to be concerned?
JS All employees already have to sign and agree to the employees’ code of conduct, which requires them to keep council business private. Anyone breaking the code can be disciplined. All members of staff will have to ensure they protect confidential information and will need to be careful with it.
Public access to the offices will be strictly controlled by keypads. Councillors will have access to the offices but we do not expect them to wander around unnecessarily.
What can be done about the overhearing of telephone conversations, which may contain sensitive information?
JS We will have to look at the technical issues, such as providing headsets, but staff will have to be careful over what they say which may be overheard. As I have said before, there will need to be some changes in the way we work.
Quiet
Work Areas \ Home Working
Some members of staff often require “quiet” work areas, e.g. computer programmers, planners, etc – what can they do to get somewhere quiet to work? Of course, some employees would like to work from home some of the time too.
JS Employees and their managers will have to choose their workplace position carefully of course, but there are other issues here such as the core hours of work – it may be that some people will be able to work later than the current flexitime core hours. Home working may be another option,
Would you consider options such as the “9 day fortnight” introduced in other authorities, where employees work the same 37 hours but over a lesser number of days? These schemes can also help in achieving green travel objectives.
JS We will welcome any suggestions that UNISON may have on these matters – UNISON could even take a lead in looking into the possibilities.
What
are the planned opening hours for the new offices?
JS The office opening hours are yet to be decided but will have to take into account the requirements of the Library and evening access to the meeting rooms, toilets, etc. We may need to change our security arrangements to suit these requirements. But we also have to look at the hours we are open generally– for example should we provide services after 6pm or on Saturdays? These issues will need to be discussed in detail, as we get closer to moving into the offices.
Of course UNISON is not against change or improvements to services, but we will expect to be involved in any discussions that change or otherwise affect members’ conditions of service. Can you assure us that we will be consulted?
JS UNISON will of course be consulted when any of these issues is up for discussion. No doubt mistakes will be made along the way, but we want to involve the staff as much as possible. We are happy for UNISON to have a representative on the Central Offices Commissioning Group.
On behalf of the Branch, thank you for coming along and answering our questions, and we look forward to continuing a regular dialogue on this important subject.