I am starting as change lead for a facilities approach that ( as far as I can tell at this point) will require a new setup for some of our offices. Everyone will be reconfigured so that only our upper job codes will have offices and the others will be configured in a way to promote teaming and working together effectively. I've just been called in at this point, but the leader is sure that change management and some training is anticipated. Some years ago , there seemed to be a lot on open space technology as a meeting approach and an office approach.

Has anyone experienced the change approach and/or training that initiating this office approach suggests. (I can imagine there is a great deal of concern for loss of status etc., want to know how this was introduced and any other interventions used.

The bad news is that if the workers are knowledge workers, meaning that they think for a living, research shows that open space offices hurt productivity. Lower costs and "teaming benefits" do not outweigh the productivity costs of frequent interruptions. So if the decision has not already been made, fight the battle to avoid this approach. With that said, my company did the same thing 2 years ago, so I understand what you are saying.(They are slowly moving back to offices now.)

Here are a few things we learned. Spend a session with them on how to minimize disruptions. Talk about cubicle ettiquette. This is especially important if you have people who have never worked in an open environment. If it is an issue for your company, discuss computer security, document security, and similar issues. These are usually not a big problem in offices, but they are in a open environment. I am sure I forgetting something, but hopefully that will help.