Systems Furniture Adds Flexibility To Training Centers

By Author: John Tang
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Employee training centers, like office hotels, can test the quality of systems furniture. These centers are put to heavy use especially in firms where advancements in technology, products or services require regular training sessions to keep staff updated and able to efficiently interact with customers.

Successful training sessions require a commitment on the part of a company to make sessions interesting to hold staff attention and to provide an attractive overall training environment, says Mark Bassil, co-founder and vice president of MAiSPACE, a Mt. Olive, NJ, based manufacturer of modular office furniture systems. Smartly styled systems furniture provides an affordable solution to center design that supports the importance companies place on well-trained staff.

Training Center Components

Training centers can be large or small, simple or complex, reflecting the nature of the business. As sessions progress, staff members should be given the opportunity to work within a space not unlike his or her own workspace, Bassil says. But initially, group meetings may prove the most efficient means of delivering ...
... general information to the training class. If continuous sessions cycle through the training center accommodations must be available to move groups forward to allow following groups to occupy the vacated space.

The Training Classroom

MAiSPACE movable full wall or stackable panel systems are ideally suited for training classrooms, Bassil says. They provide privacy from outside distractions, yet when incorporating low-sound-transmission glass panels accomplish this without imparting a feeling of isolation. MAiSPACE stackable panel systems enable construction of training rooms with walls up to 14 feet in height, he says. In either case, the flexibility of the systems means that the classroom size can be changed virtually overnight.

For either type of classroom layout, training is facilitated through the MAiSPACE standards-compliant cable management systems for voice, data, Internet and video requirements. Work surfaces, computers, printers, storage bins, shelving, A/V components and other training support elements can be positioned if and as needed to help assure a smooth training session.

One-on-One Training

In-depth training sessions may require staff members to interact in a simulated fashion with customers or prospects who, in these instances, are the trainers themselves. Sales representatives, for example, may spend more face time than electronic time with customers. Bassil says. To prepare personnel for these one-on-one encounters in a realistic setting, training centers should be equipped with modular private or open office workstations incorporating conference end worksurfaces. Such construction encourages face-to-face discussions between the individual being trained and the ‘customer.' These training workstations should be equipped with live electronic connections that enable trainees to access company data banks in order to answer questions that may be asked by the trainer. The MAiSPACE local area network (LAN) cabling system fully supports these actions.

Training workstations can be positioned adjacent to or around the classroom, allowing quick break-aways to put new information to use.

Modular break-out areas configured as smaller conference rooms facilitate group discussions and evaluations of the training sessions. Nearby vending rooms and tables are welcome added touches to a training facility.

Importance of Quality Seating

Companies with heavy training agendas should give thought to the quality of the systems furniture used. Training centers typically get harder use than an employee's own workspace, Bassil says. This is probably most evident in the seating, which must accommodate an ongoing flow of different sizes and weights.

In fact, multiple users can give seating a real workout when different occupants adjust the chair to his or her own liking, Bassil says. Inferior designs, poor construction and limited choices in adjustments are areas where many products on the market fail. A bad chair day does not contribute to a good training session.

MAiSPACE addresses seating through MAiCHAIR, an outstanding design that meets or exceeds OSHA guidelines on office chair components. Especially attractive in a training environment, Bassil says, is the chair's passive ergonomics achieved through our engineered plastic shell. It molds to the shape of the individual user without the complicated adjustments that research shows are almost never used.

In contrast to complicated adjusting procedures common to most office chairs, the MAiCHAIR adjusting mechanism is a study in simplicity. It consists of one easy-to-operate Syncro-Tilt mechanism providing adjustable tension resistance, variations in pneumatic seat height and multi- position tilt-lock control to assure the comfort of all occupants, Bassil says.

Summing up, companies that require ongoing training should give the same attention to systems furniture and seating for their training centers as they do to their facilities as a whole.
MAiSPACE.com will help business owners and operators make smart choices in Systems Furniture and Office Cubicles for their offices and selecting the right Office Furniture. Systems Furniture adds Flexibility to Training Centers.