What's your office layout?

I'm back in our newly renovated office. We have an open office plan.


One of my coworkers sits across from me and projects his voice like he's in a god damn hurricane. He's a talkative SE and most of our meetings are virtual, so he's taking calls at his desk over zoom. I can't hear myself think when he's on calls and it is driving me nuts. We've addressed the issue with him to try and speak more quietly but it seems to be the way he is, and he can't seem to set the habit of speaking with an indoor voice.


Wondering if this type of layout is normal for sales, and what your setup looks like now. When you weren't WFH, were you taking calls in the middle of an open office, do you go to a meeting room with a door?


What is a typical office layout for SDR's, and for AE's and SE's?


For context, I work at an engineering consulting company and the sales org is very new, we have no idea what we're doing, and I think they may not have totally thought through the office planning when they renovated.


We'll find a solution, but curious if this is an issue that many others face.

Your workspace in the office?

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๐Ÿ™ Corporate Experiences
๐Ÿ’ผ Office Life
19
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
6
sales
private office w a door
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
3
SaaS Eater
That EVP title carries WEIGHT baby!ย 
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
5
sales
they let you give yourself a title on here.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
3
SaaS Eater
Shhhhhhh
jefe
Arsonist
0
๐Ÿ
Me too - great for COVID times.
jefe
Arsonist
3
๐Ÿ
The open-plan office was in vogue for awhile, and probably still is. It's pretty bad for voices carrying, especially as many have the partitions that cut off at chest height so have no voice dampening.

I think it's all in the name of 'buzz'....

I've had to crouch down under my desk in a past role to hear a crucial part of a call with someone with a heavy accent.

I have also thrown stuff at people to STFU when on demo's that were close to lunch or 5:00.

Thankfully I'm in a private office at my current role, when I'm not WFH.

If they're wedded to that layout, maybe push for higher partitions that run directly between the salespeople.
TheOverTaker
Politicker
3
Senior Account Executive
My old job was just rows of computers and phones...typical open layout which sucks for me cause I am just like your loud-talking colleague. Currently have a private office and now i can scream talk in peace
Crispy
Opinionated
2
Account Executive
Damn, sounds like it's a typical layout. I don't hold it against the guy, and I like working with him, but it can be challenging sometimes. Private office sure sounds nice.
ragnarlothbrok
Politicker
3
Key account manager
WFH or open plan ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
๐ŸฆŠ
WFH baby. ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ
BmajoR
Arsonist
2
Account Executive
AEs have cubicles and the rest are open office tablesย 
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
I'm WFH but we started optional office in a shared space environment but with dedicated space. Not sure how AEs have been accommodated.
Mobi85
Politicker
2
Regional Sales Manager
Open office floor plan with white noise piped in and that helps with eliminating some of the loud talkers but can be a pain in the ass if you have someone that speaks super quiet on the phones.ย 
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
2
SaaS Eater
My current office floor plan is bed in the corner, standing desk under the window next to my dresser with an attached bathroom. All very convenient.ย 

When I worked in the office we had an open floor plan and I just had a wireless headset so whenever i was on a call i would just walk into an open meeting room if I needed peace and quiet. I kinda liked all of the noise though.ย 
Crispy
Opinionated
2
Account Executive
Sounds like a nice WFH set up.ย 

The wireless headset sounds like a game changer. I like to walk around when I'm the phone.ย 
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
2
SaaS Eater
ya both are Crispy
thebuckhunter
Politicker
2
AE
We have private call rooms for demos/client meetings but we do all cold calling in the open. Actually got dinged for cold calling in the private call rooms.
cw95
Politicker
2
Sales Development Lead
Open floor, uncomfortable chairs and awful WiFi. Love it.
WomenWantMeFishFearMe
Politicker
2
AM
got my own office at home. Love it
goose
Politicker
2
Sales Executive
When I go in the office it's a four-pack of cubicles but I'm usually the only one there so I can literally walk around on the phone and not worry about anything. ย WFH four days so it's not bad at all.
sellingsellssold
Politicker
1
SDR
I love our open office concept, all high top standing desks with chairs. Allows us all to communicate and listen to other peoples conversations. This helps to give feedback and improve.ย 
Crispy
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
Standing desks are great, we have them as well.
Feedback and being able to jump in to add something to the convo is nice too.ย 
dwightyouignorantsale
Politicker
1
Account Executive
they are redoing our office at the moment so I have NO idea what I will come back to once itโ€™s complete. I will still WFH 90% of the time though so Iโ€™m not too worried.
Ryscott0317
Politicker
1
Cloud Specialist
Havenโ€™t gone back in since December 2020 ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป
Sunbunny31
Politicker
0
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
I WFH, but when I went into our offices, even though there was an open floor plan, there were also enclosed office "meeting rooms" you could book for customer meetings; actual conference rooms you could book as well; and mini offices you could jump into and claim on a first come, first served basis.ย  ย  During our last PG&E oopsie where we were without power for days when we weren't supposed to be shut down at all, I hopped into SF for work and the thrill of hunting down an open office was a treat.ย  ย Victory was finding one near the break room and all the treats.ย 

In all seriousness, the ability to make a choice about how you best work at any given time is a real bonus.
JDialz
Politicker
0
Chief Operating Officer
I don't know how anyone gets anything done in the open office layout. That would drive me nuts.
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