Are you in the process of planning an office fitout? If so, it’s important to make sure you plan it correctly. A poorly planned office fit out can be costly and inefficient. However, with a little thought and planning, you can create an office space that is both functional and stylish.
If you’re in the market for a new office, or your current one needs a refresh, it’s important to do things right. Not only will an effective office fitout make your employees happier and more productive, but it can also increase the value of your business.
When it comes to the office, appearances are everything. A well-designed and thought-out office space can have a positive impact on your business, while a poorly designed one can have a negative effect.
An office fit out can be a costly and time-consuming process, but with the right planning, it can also be a great way to improve productivity and create an inspiring work environment. When it comes to office design, there are a few key things that you need to get right for your space to be effective.
A well-designed office can inspire productivity and help your team work better together. But not all offices are created equal. With so many options out there, how do you know what will work best for your team?
Here are 10 keys to an effective office fit out.
1. Start with your team
Before you even start thinking about design, take some time to understand what motivates your employees and how they like to work. This means taking the time to meet everyone on the team and asking them questions like:
– What are your most important tools? (And no, we don’t just mean the computers you work on!)
– What’s your ideal working environment?
– How do you like to interact with your team members? Do you need privacy, or are open spaces better for you?
2. Get the technology right
Your office design should take into account not only how your team likes to work but also how they prefer to communicate and get their jobs done. So before you start planning your space, understand what kinds of technologies your people will need. Things like:
– Wifi – it needs to be reliable enough that everyone can check email throughout the day without interruption. And no one wants any dead zones!
– Teleconferencing – if some employees regularly chat with colleagues elsewhere in the company, look for spaces that are more conducive to impromptu meetings between people who don’t sit near each other.
– Tablets, laptops, and smartphones – if your team members do a lot of typing on their PCs, give them desks with space for monitors and keyboards so they can type comfortably. But remember to keep your local printer in an easily accessible location.
3. Let the light in
Visual distractions caused by too much clutter or not enough daylight on computer screens are common problems in offices today, according to Dr. Sally Augustin, author of “The Biophilic Design Manual”.
So if colleagues are having trouble reading documents on-screen, visual clarity becomes even more important when it’s time to choose furniture. Look for furniture lines with adjustable task lights to ensure everyone is comfortable under the different lighting conditions that occur throughout the workday.
5. Allocate space for flexible working
One of the most important decisions you’ll make when designing your office is how much space each person needs, or could potentially need. According to the Gensler Survey 2015, over 50% of companies are now offering some form of flexibility in their workplaces, which means it’s key to think beyond fixed desks and offices. So if your team members don’t need fixed spaces – because they’re salespeople who visit clients every day, for example – choose furniture systems that can easily be configured to provide mobile workstations as people move around during their day.
6.How much space is needed in a traditional office?
Give them an idea of the amount of space they have in a traditional office and any costs associated with it. This can be assumed to be fixed desks and offices for employees who do not require mobile workstations.
7. How many people work? Provide stats on how many people will need this space, how much space they will need, etc. In general, these numbers should be averages that companies have seen from experience when building their own offices or when working with other companies on updating their office spaces.
8.Give them a range if possible: Some companies may allow a little more leeway for individual employees around the average while others may want to stick to the average given by data from other companies as closely as possible, so include a range for those who want to be more exact.
9. Budget: There should also be a budget given for this project before deciding on the final amount of space needed or how much it will cost to move into the new office space. This makes sure that there are no overages because somebody was not thinking about costs when designing the office layout.
10. Aesthetic changes: Consider any aesthetic changes that may need to take place before moving your employees in—colors and paint, perhaps, or furniture if necessary. It might be helpful to find an interior design company during this step to make sure that everything looks great together before you sign off on everything.
11.Layouts: You should never choose a layout that has employees sitting perpendicular to each other because it’s distracting and makes it more difficult for the employees to communicate with one another.
12. Availability: The office space needs to be designed in such a way that individuals can see what is going on around them by looking up from their desks and out into the open area instead of just having sections where people can’t see others. It might even help increase creativity and collaboration if this layout is done correctly.
13. Business needs: Always consider your business’s specific needs when designing an office, especially as your business changes over time or adds new services and products. This will prevent you from needing to change the floor plan as your business grows and improves, which would cost even more money.
14. Divisions: It’s important to have some separation between office spaces so that people can have offices or quiet areas for focused work, but it’s just as important to have a common area where employees can interact. This will encourage them to collaborate and communicate with each other.
15. Location: Offices should be centrally located in the space, not towards the outside of the building or on separate floors where employees would need separate elevators or stairwells to get there. Employees won’t feel like they are apart from the rest of their company if everyone is together in one large room instead of being split up into different sections.
16. Accessibility: The best office design layout will make an employee’s daily tasks flow easily from start to finish, which means considering how things are placed in the office. It should be easy to find files, look up contact information and move from one project to the next without getting lost or wasting time trying to get where they need to go.
17. Open-plan offices: Many different types of offices will work effectively for their company, but it is important not to fall into the trap of thinking that open-plan offices are always more productive. While they are conducive to collaboration and the free flow of ideas, there could be times when an employee needs some space and quiet to concentrate on a project. In this case, an enclosed private office works well as it offers privacy from distractions while still allowing employees to access resources easily if needed.
If you’re looking for an affordable office fitout, our specialists will take care of you.