Ten arguments why a business needs a professional office interior design7256793
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Improve your usable professional space and work areas
In the UK, office space is high cost. Business taxes, lighting, heating, and VAT; not to mention wage costs all count. However, the largest yearly expense for most businesses is the rental of professional business premises. The fees have gone through the roof! Many businesses grapple to keep up with the monthly fees that landlords charge and in many cases, the lease terms are lengthy and harsh. Any break from these fixed contracts can be a fate worse than business death!
Is it any surprise that the commercial landscape of the country is changing? Companies are being forced to think long and hard about office space planning.
Small businesses are being squeezed to the limits. There comes a situation where something has to give. Any self-respecting forward thinking employer never wants to lose invaluable staff; not to mention have to deal with the pain of putting another person on the dole queue. If costs can be reclaimed elsewhere and a business can survive, a business owner will in most cases explore these avenues by consulting an office fit out firm. If not, this could be an unwise and a hasty mistake.
Companies can outgrow their environment too swiftly
It never ceases to amaze me how many companies claim they have outgrown their office space. Yet the number of staff on their team has changed very little. The long and short of it is they have simply gathered more litter such as paperwork, documentation, equipment, hardware, furniture. In most cases, they're items that are not required on site or are simply collecting dust. With some dynamic thinking, their time and energy would be far better spent towards a building refurbishment.
So why would you consider breaking a business lease in favour of signing on the dotted line for a new, lengthier and most likely more expensive rental to store this rubbish elsewhere? It's a story I hear all too often.
If these organisations consulted with a commercial interior designer to redesign their existing office, they could gain 10-20% more space simply through smart use of space and ingenious ways of maximising what they have.
So here's ten ideas you should consider which should persuade you that your next acquisition should be a getting a brand new office interior fitted and not jumping ship:
1) Collecting Junk Most offices I visit have clutter everywhere. Box files, paperwork, unused or outdated desks, chairs and general objects that get in the way. It feels like you are literally staggering every time you try to go from one end of a room to the other. The first thing you need to work out is does all this junk really need to be here? If not, throw it away or find a low cost secure storage provider to take these non-essential items off site. If they do need to stay on site, consider changing your storage systems. Every good interior designer knows how to create space that you never realised you had.
2) Business Disruption Any business owner knows just how difficult it is to go through a relocation. It's not just the physical aspect of moving office; it's the costs involved, the period when you cannot operate as normal, moving phone lines, internet connections. There's also the inconvenience to employees. Does this affect their daily commute? Moving office has to be the last option when you consider these pitfalls.
3) Client Management Many clients like the fact that they know where their supplier is based. Moving a few miles may not seem like a big deal, but it could cost you a few high turnover clients who you've suddenly pushed away. So the contradiction is you believe you just saved yourself money and increased your space by moving when in fact, you just cost yourself so much more. Client relationships can be a very fragile at times. Don't put them at risk unless a move is absolutely necessary.
4) Pros & Cons Before moving office, have you written a list of pros vs cons? I'll take a guess and say you haven't. Sometimes, packing up everything in boxes and moving seems like the simplest logical solution but in many cases, it isn't. There's a large cost expense to consider when moving. I've already raised business interruption however what about the expense of packing up items, moving and reinstalling essential equipment? You'll be amazed how much you take the existing systems you have in place for granted. I can recall so many incidences where a business moved and setting up their infrastructure proved very hard. A lack of skills, documentation and records led to basic networks, servers, computers, equipment and phone systems all failing to work correctly. It is a hassle when nothing works and this costs a lot of money to sort out!
5) Hidden Costs Have you considered that your existing furniture configuration may not work in your new proposed office? In most cases, offices evolve with a business and furniture is bought to fit the dimensions of that floorplan. So why assume this furniture will simply settle into its new home, look right and do a better job? In most cases it hardly does. Ok, so it may fit into a larger floor space but can it outperform itself? Of course not. Furniture doesn't increase in size just because it sits in a larger room. Here's the recommendation. Sometimes, the room isn't the problem. It's your storage solutions and it's inevitable, that when you change office, you will also have to buy new furniture and storage solutions to suit. Yet more money!
6) New Contracts, New Pitfalls You have an understanding with your current landlords and know exactly what to expect from them and the level of cooperation they'll give when there's complications or matters to discuss. Will you receive that from your new landlord? When moving to new locations, you have no idea if there's longstanding maintenance needed or if a problem is just around the corner. Will you get your issues resolved swiftly if they do arise? This is a danger that may not be worth avoiding.
7) Location, Location, Location Is the new location of the proposed moved in the ideal place? Does it put you in the middle of high traffic, high business areas of does this put you into the wilderness? Many businesses take the chance of going to a more peaceful location in exchange for lower rates and more room. What this can lead to is having a business that becomes so far removed and detached from the commercial centres that your clients start to feel that way about you as a business. Remember, image is everything!
8) Commuting Does travelling to the new offices cause you or your staff greater issues? If so, does this mean that previously dedicated staff who arrived on time and promptly may suddenly become an issue due to traffic, length of commutes, costs and troubles getting to work. Moving a long distance away from your current location may be the worst move you ever made.
9) Staff Morale A new look office that involves the input of your staff can help reenergise and motivate your team. A new office can have the opposite effect as it feels like a pull having to move away from familiar, convenient and established surroundings. By understanding your team alongside a commercial interior designer, you are helping to evolve the business and give your staff a feeling of importance, justification and input. It's a superb way to use a trying situation as a great opportunity to inspire the team around you.
10) Budgets Overall you'll be amazed to learn that a complete refit of an existing office is actually far less interruption and more importantly, far less cost to a business than relocating altogether. Moving takes a massive effort and large pockets. And whilst a complete office remodel is no walk in the park either, it's still a great deal easier than taking an entire office and moving it a long distance.
Professional office fitters know how to find space where you thought it never existed. They conceptualise in three dimensions and can visualise where invisible space can suddenly become usable space by using bespoke modular office partitions. If square footage is minimal, there are clever ways to make a room multifunctional with adaptable, moveable partitions made from glass, frameworks and modular systems.
A large meeting room can become a group of small consultation rooms just by adding wall dividers. Storage can always go upwards as well as sideways. Desks can be adaptable and still look chic, stylish and contemporary.
So before you decide its time to say adios to your current location, think again. The time, costs, hassle and interruption may not be worth it in the end.
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