For a safe and successful call centre, efficient working and the maximising of space are absolutely key.
With so many businesses becoming heavily reliant on online methods due to the recent implications of COVID-19, we are seeing more and more call centres being the economical choice of office premises. In line with this, the demand for specific call centre office furniture has risen greatly.
The idea of call centres is that they’re generally designed in an open plan space around a number of people sitting together, working individually to assist customers.
The layout and overall environment of your call centre play a huge role in your employee productivity, and it’s crucial to ensure they’re in a layout to allow for social distancing measures.
At Yorkshire Office Group, we have catered for various call centres across Yorkshire. We’re experts in maximising business’ space and efficiency in high-volume and high-traffic workspaces.
Our well-planned workstations are designed to create the best working environment so that you can get the best results from your team. Whether you’re looking to design a new call centre or re-design an existing one to ensure that it’s COVID-19 secure, take a look at 3 of our top layouts that we’ve outlined below:
1) Row Layout
The traditional and most common call centre design. The row layout is simply desks, side by side, in rows all facing in one direction. This layout provides a functional working environment, with a reduced risk of distractions.
In call centres especially, employees will likely spend a large majority of their day talking to customers via a headset and working at a computer. For this reason, the row layout is a popular choice for call centres as it’s potentially a type of business that requires less employee interaction.
Between each desk you would normally have desktop screens or partitions, to give each desk privacy and to help block out background noise. Protective acrylic screens could also be particularly useful between desks during COVID-19 alongside strict social distancing measures.
With this type of layout employees can potentially feel slightly restricted, as they’re not able to interact with anyone around them. Therefore, it’s crucial to remember the importance of having separated areas for breaks to help boost team morale and employee productivity.
It’s also imperative to ensure that all of your team have adequate storage solutions available. With the row layout, in particular, within a high-traffic area, it’d be worth considering lockable pedestal units for added flexibility and security.
2) Quad Layout
Quad layouts are a good choice if collaborative working is needed. In call centres we often see individual ‘teams’ divided in this way.
Bench desks are a great choice of office furniture for this design. These desks can share structural components, and so take up less space, and are less expensive.
In the quad layout, adjustable height desks could also be considered to add different levels to your office, as well as additional health and productivity benefits.
They can also act as a space saving tool. For example, if two people out of the team need to collaborate on a piece of work, then they could easily adjust their desks, and stand up whilst discussing and working.
Working within this team layout will help to reduce disruption to others working around you and will lessen the need to have a separate space for meetings. You could even opt for floor-standing screens between teams to really help prevent background noise.
Lastly, the quad layout will also help limit the need for movement around the call centre which is important for maintaining social distancing.
3) Cluster Layout
We are seeing more and more call centres embracing cluster workspaces. This modern design is much more inclusive, and can allow interaction and teamwork between employees. For privacy and COVID-19 safety, desktop screens and partitions can still be utilised effectively as part of this layout.
These desks can be dynamically designed in a way that will truly maximise your space and can be easily altered to the ever-changing needs of your business.
Working in clusters can appear slightly more welcoming and open, and so could help improve employee productivity. It’s a well-known fact that if employees feel like they’re a part of a team then they’re more likely to feel more motivated and be more productive.
The cluster layout would be a great choice of layout if your call centre relies on working within teams, or to help distinguish departments so that people within similar roles work more closely together.
Lastly, similarly for any type of call centre layout, don’t forget your ergonomic office furniture! Working within a call centre, you’re likely to be sat at your desk for a large majority of your day. Therefore, orthopaedic chairs would be a great choice to promote good posture and prevent any long-term back issues.
Designing the layout of your new call centre or rearranging the layout of your current one may seem like a daunting task.
Based in Wakefield Yorkshire Office Group work with clients around the surrounding areas including Leeds, Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham, York, Wetherby, Tadcaster, Selby, Harrogate and more.
Being an award winning company with years of experience, we know how to create a call centre environment that looks great, whilst supporting the requirements of your business.
We are proud to also offer a consultation, design and installation service! To find out more, give our friendly team a call on 01924 88 88 00, email us at info@yorkshireofficegroup.com or click here to book a free consultation.
