Knock down the walls

Communication + collaboration = creativity. For many advertising agencies this equation translates into open offices. Not just open floor layouts but wide, open spaces with wall-to-wall murals, quirky furniture, and most importantly, an open door policy. And they swear by the bursts of creativity that such a working environment fosters.

When independent creative shop Bang in the Middle decided to build a workplace, its founders Prathap Suthan and Naresh Gupta wanted it to be a space which employees would perceive as free and without any hierarchical barriers.

“In an open office, the work flow is smoother, the ability to generate, moderate and activate ideas is better,” says Gupta, the agency’s managing partner and chief strategy officer. He believes that the experiment has been a success, with greater bonding between people and better ideation. “We could instill a sense of pride in our people, give them a feeling of owning the place.” According to him, the layout has played an indirect role in ensuring higher productivity and retention of both clients and brands.

At BBDO, everyone sits together to foster a sense of unity, something that stands out in today’s world of media fragmentation. Recalling how he came up with the idea of an ashram, Paul says, “It was during our visit to Sabarmati Ashram in 2008 after a client meeting. It was there that we were hit by Gandhi’s preachings and his way of life and he is one of the best communicators. Action speaks louder than words and that’s what made us follow the ‘create acts, not ads’ philosophy.”

WPP’s Grey New York CCO and president Tor Myhren echoes that thought. He believes ideas are like living organisms and if you put walls around them then they won’t grow. “We believe in the philosophy of being open,” he had said on his recent India visit elaborating on the no cubicle structure in the agency’s New York office.

The open office model has been taking the corporate world by storm. Silicon Valley was the first to start this open space trend, with Google, Yahoo, eBay, Goldman Sachs and American Express all early adopters of this ‘no dividers’ policy. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had got architect Frank Gehry to design the largest open floor plan in the world, to house nearly 3,000 engineers.

Ashiesh Shah, a principal architect at Shah Arch + Design,who has an impressive array of projects such as Le Mill, Nido under his belt and has designed residences for Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, says open office works best in a organisation where creativity and original thinking forms the nucleus and there is a need for constant energy flow, as against a financial services office where one needs to sit in front of the computer and crunch numbers. Of course, the former are more open to new-fangled ideas and experimentation in comparison to a bank or insurance company where conservatism is more the norm. “Where brainstorming is an important part of the job, open offices are a perfect fit,” he asserts, while adding that the arrangement works economically as well. “With fewer cubicles, there is lower cost involved.”

To be sure, ad agencies say costs were never the decider. As Cheil Worldwide South West Asia group president Shiv Sethuraman says,”Cost-saving hasn’t been the primary factor. We believe that an open office will lead to better integration. However, the secondary benefit of using fewer cabins and unnecessary walls means saving on construction material, labour and time. There’s also research to suggest that open plan offices significantly use energy in a more cost-effective manner.”

As he explains, Cheil India has specialists for digital, retail and shopper marketing, brand activations and above-the-line marketing in-house. “There’s much more logic to an open office because in a very short time, we’re able to assemble big creative solutions that work across different media seamlessly.”

Agrees Kartik Iyer, CEO of Happy Creative Services, which too has opted for an office with no partitions. “Cubicles work in certain environments. We have not looked at it from a cost perspective,” he says.

The open architectural design, however, is not common amongst big ad agencies, but there are some who are taking inspiration from it. For instance, ad network Leo Burnett will soon get a coffee shop look-alike structure in its Mumbai office where people can sit together and ideate.

Says Leo Burnett CEO Suarabh Verma, “In today’s volatile market where one needs to react quickly, such structures play their part in ensuring a quick fix. Also, people feel more empowered as anyone can take a decision.”

That is something Cheil’s Sethuraman seconds. “If you look around, you will find that this office is always buzzing,” he says. “In here, there is so much sharing of knowledge and a natural inclination to bounce ideas off each other.”

One may tend to dismiss these theories as creations of an imaginative mind, but research indicates that there are actual benefits. “When there is a sense of equality and less pressure of hierarchy then one tends to work better,” says psychologist Bharat Shah, while highlighting that lack of privacy is the flip side of it.

That is what’s prompting open office advocates to ensure that these workplaces are equally geared to facilitate quiet thinking and private group brainstorming sessions. “One needs to be cautious on confidential and sensitive information and issues. That gets usually addressed with a meeting/conference room for such situations,” says Rajesh Aggarwal, co-founder and managing partner of boutique agency From Here On Communications.

On the other hand, Bang In The Middle’s Gupta says, “Most of the challenges are happy challenges. The biggest challenge is the music that plays in office. Sometimes people collaborate and play one play list, but sometimes they don’t. The other happy challenge is the way people do their desk up, this too leads to people investing in their work space. We have a wall in the office that tells our story, where almost everyone in office has collaborated to create the visual story. This tells it is possible to create an open happy work space.”

Low partitions or no partitions, all of them agree that clients too are happy with the new settings. As Gupta says, if the work flow in the agency is smooth, the work that is presented to client is sharper and the client wins.

“Many a time clients don’t want to leave the office and prefer to work here,” laughs BBDO’s Paul.

** The sitting arrangement makes us feel like a team. Anyone can approach the bosses and contribute his/her views on a project. Some people may not like it, but here that isn’t the case. I love the set-up and the consequent working environment: Virag Chouhan, Senior Copywriter, BBDO India

** When I left college, I wrote a personal mission to myself. It was in my diary which I found a few years later. It said: ‘My mission: To create an environment so fertile that even if you were to sow a seed of doubt it would flower into something beautiful’. That’s what the ashram means to me: Josy Paul, Chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India

** I love working here. It’s colourful, bright, airy, and most importantly, the environs are truly inspiring: Vaarunya Bhalla, Senior brand manager, Cheil Worldwide

** You will find that this office is always buzzing. We’ve designed a space that encourages openness and communication as well as quiet reflection: Shiv Sethuraman, Group President, Cheil SW Asia

** I love the fact that open offices promote interaction. It also helps when you want to chuck a paper ball at a colleague sitting on the far side. Cubicles tend to make you feel like there’s no outside world: Anupama Nalinakshan, Art Director, Happy Creative Services

** An open office generally increases productivity, responsibility and accountability. It breaks red tape and hierarchy. Open offices also allow people to see others working and kills the chances of faffing in corners. Most organisations with open offices have senior management out of their cabins working with teams on the work floor: Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy Creative Services

** I love the feeling of openness and freedom. There is better synergy between teams. An open office can be noisy at times but the energy is always positive, Richa Sharma, Account Manager, From Here On Communications

** Communication and creativity flows naturally in an open environment. An open office structure removes the layers of hierarchy and your relation-ship with your team becomes intuitive. The decision making process shortens as one can quickly reach a conclusion: Gullu Sen, Managing Partner, From Here On Communications

** We have a basic functional office, but an office full of laughter, debate, ideas and an occasional game of cricket. There can’t be a better place than this to work in: Manoj Deb, ECD, Bang in the Middle

** We are a start-up and wanted a place that suggested that we are open, independent and have no boundaries. Our office reflects our ethos of being open, friendly and without levels: Naresh Gupta, Managing partner & chief strategy officer, Bang in the Middle

** One can learn and grow fast in a flat structure. A junior can bounce off ideas very easily to seniors as approachability is not a concern at all. Another benefit is the timely flow of feedback, which makes you feel important and part of the team: Brahmesh Tiwari, Creative director, Leo Burnett India

** Great ideas are shaped by people and that’s why we needed to create a culture where people from various departments can sit together and share ideas as well as solve problems. A flat structure is more flexible and one adapts quickly, making it easy for everyone to work: Saurabh Varma, CEO, Leo Burnett India