Open-plan offices are designed to promote a collaborative workplace culture. Great for fast-growing startup companies, open seating layouts are cost-effective and easy to reconfigure as needed.
The downside is that open offices tend to be noisy, which can distract workers and hurt their productivity. When one team gets a little loud, others talk louder to be heard above the rising din. Or workers don noise-canceling headphones, which defeats the purpose of the open-plan concept.
Open offices also lack privacy. Conversations can be overheard (sometimes even those held behind closed doors in adjacent conference rooms). In some settings, such as medical offices or financial institutions, the lack of privacy is not a trivial matter.
Office Sound Masking Systems Cost
Common sound masking systems include 12 pairs of speakers, which can cover up to 7,000 square feet. The cost for the gear alone works out to less than 50 cents per square foot. Professional installation might add another 50 cents per square foot (or more than that, depending upon your location and the structure of your building).
What’s your return on investment? That’s hard to say, but even a small increase in productivity over the life of the system would more than offset the cost.
Installing Sound Masking Systems in Offices
Sound masking systems in commercial environments like offices, schools, and business can provide their own challenges, and that’s where we come in. Redpoint Cabling specializes in sound masking systems for large-scale operations, and can help get your building up and running faster and for a better price than our competition.
Contact us today to learn more, or check out our quote tool for our standard cabling installs.