Company Update on Playspace Design
Why Do We Need a Playspace?
Sarah Uram
University of Phoenix
A Multicultural Organization Needs A Multicultural Approach
It is our organization's mission to provide excellent client support, and to do so we must constantly grow and innovate ourselves to become a leader and maintain that leadership in our industry. Our vision as an organization is to see ourselves become a multinational organization, which means we must be able to collaborate with clients and organizations in other countries who have different cultures and backgrounds, and we want our own organization to represent that type of diversity. Our strategies include increasing our diversity, learning new techniques and having new ideas in order to provide the support needed for a diverse group of clientele.
Transformative and Adult Learning Theories
Transformative Learning
Transformative learning forces people out of their comfort zones so they can accomplish true change (Chen, 2014).
The playspace embodies this concept by bringing people from different teams and departments together to share their experiences, what they need in their roles, and collaborate on ideas to improve the organization's processes. It also requires people to improvise and think on the spot throughout the activities, which may be uncomfortable for many.
Image: Creative Commons, 2015.
Internal Motivation and Curiousity
By now we know that adults are motivated to learn through their own internal motivations and curiousities (Estep, 2008). Using these creative activities we strive to encourage employees to pull from their curiousity to come up with creative solutions to grow as individuals and to help the organization grow. We want the playspace to be a safe zone for employees to try out new ideas and share them with their colleagues (Meyer, 2012).
Image: Creative Commons, 2015.
Experience
We are a multicultural organization with employees from many different backgrounds and infinite experiences. We want our people to use these experiences to teach their colleagues and bring different ideas to the table. The playspace again becomes a safe zone to do this (Meyer, 2012).
Image: Creative Commons, 2013.
Challenges For The Playspace
Time and Deadlines
The activities will require time to complete, so there is a possibility of activities cutting into time needed to complete projects and reach deadlines (Frick, 2010). Leadership should review deadlines and account for the extra time needed to complete the playspace activities, as well as regularly observe and interact via the playspace to make sure they are not taking too much time to complete. Larger activities, such as the group hike may only occur once a month or once per quarter in order to avoid these time crunches.
Image: Creative Commons, 2015
Individual Confidence
Employees may be hesistant to join in on these activities due to personal insecurities or other reasons. Leadership should not and will not force individuals to join in, rather we will ask employees to at least attend and encourage small steps towards joining the activity.
Image: Creative Commons, 2015
Losing Focus
Along with taking too much time to complete, the activities in the playspace do pose a risk of causing employees to lose sight and focus of the intent of the collaboration event. It is important for leadership and employees alike to remain on task once the playspace is complete and to keep the goals in mind while participating in the activities in order to better prepare.
Image: Creative Commons, 2015
Organizational and Employee Growth
References
Chen, Joseph C. 2014. "Teaching nontraditional adult students: adult learning theories in practice." Teaching In Higher Education 19, no. 4: 406-418. Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed January 18, 2016).
Creative Commons (2015). [Believe yourself]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/silhouette-man-jump-motivation-936719/
Creative Commons (2013). [Blurred lights]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/bokeh-belfast-city-focus-953302/
Creative Commons (2013). [Hourglass]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/hourglass-time-hours- sand-clock-620397/
Creative Commons (2015). [Question ball]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/ball-question- mark-man-person-605592/
Creative Commons (2013). [Wisdom sign]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/directory-away-wisdom-education-229117/
Creative Commons (2013). [Wordcloud silhouette]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/qualities-man-self-confidence-795867/
Estep, T. (2008). Section I: Learning in the workplace - chapter 1: The evolution of the training profession. Alexandria: American Society for Training and Development, dba Association for Talent Development. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/896136449?accountid=458
Frick, T. (2010). Office transformations: From workplace to playspace by Pamela Meyer. Retrieved from http://www.mightybytes.com/blog/office_transformations_from_workplace_to_playspace_by_pamela_meyer/
Meyer, P. (2012). Embodied learning at work: Making the mind-set shift from workplace to playspace. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education, 2012(134), 25-32. doi:10.1002/ace.20013