Ten reasons why you should get a professional office interior design7064577
De BISAWiki
Transform your usable office space and work areas
In the UK, office space is high cost. Business rates, lighting, heating, and VAT; not to mention staff costs all stack up. However, the largest yearly expense for most businesses is the rental of professional business space. The prices have gone through the roof! Many businesses jockey to keep up with the monthly fees that landlords want and in many cases, the lease terms are lengthy and unfair. Any break from these tough contracts can be a fate worse than business death!
Is it any surprise that the commercial perspective 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 point where something has to give. Any self-respecting ambitious employer never wants to lose invaluable staff; not to mention have to deal with the emotion of putting another person on the pavement. 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 costly mistake.
Companies can outgrow their surroundings too quickly
It never stops to amaze me how many companies claim they have outgrown their business space. Yet the number of people on their team has changed very little. The long and short of it is they have simply gathered more garbage such as paperwork, documentation, equipment, hardware, furniture. In many cases, they're items that are not required on site or are simply collecting dust. With some smart thinking, their time and energy would be far better spent towards a building refurbishment.
So why would you consider ending a business lease in favour of signing on the dotted line for a new, lengthier and most likely more expensive tenancy to store this junk elsewhere? It's a story I hear all too often.
If these businesses consulted with a commercial interior designer to refit their existing office, they could gain 10-20% more space simply through sensible use of space and ingenious ways of maximising what they have.
So here's ten ideas you should consider which should influence you that your next acquisition should be a getting a brand new office interior installed and not jumping ship:
1) Collecting Junk Most offices I visit have clutter everywhere. Box files, paperwork, unused or outdated desks, chairs and general paraphernalia that get in the way. It feels like you are literally tripping up every time you want 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 on site? If not, trash it or find a low cost secure storage provider to take these non-essential items off site. If they do need to stay with you, consider upgrading your storage systems. Every good interior designer knows how to create space that you never knew you had.
2) Business Disruption Any business owner knows just how disruptive it is to go through a office move. 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 alter their daily commute? Moving office has to be the last option when you consider these pitfalls.
3) Client Management Many associates like the fact that they know where their supplier is based. Moving a few miles may not seem like much, but it could cost you a few high-income clients who you've suddenly displeased. So the contradiction is you believe you just saved yourself money and increased your space by moving when in fact, you just cost yourself a bigger price. Client relationships can be a very fragile at times. Don't put them at risk unless a move is absolutely essential.
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, sorting everything in boxes and moving seems like the easiest logical solution but in many cases, it isn't. There's a large cost outlay 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 shocked how much you take the existing systems you have in place for granted. I can recall so many scenarios where a business moved and setting up their infrastructure proved very hard. A lack of experience, documentation and records led to basic networks, servers, computers, equipment and phone systems all failing to work correctly. It is a downer when nothing works and this costs a lot of money to repair!
5) Hidden Costs Have you considered that your existing furniture systems 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 slot into its new home, look right and do a better job? In most cases it rarely does. Ok, so it may fit into a larger floor space but can it outperform itself? Of course not. Furniture doesn't grow in size just because it sits in a larger room. Here's the recommendation. Sometimes, the room isn't the issue. It's your storage systems and it's inevitable, that when you move office, you will also have to acquire 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 issues or events to discuss. Will you get that from your new landlord? When moving to new premises, you have no inclination if there's longstanding maintenance needed or if a problem is ready to surprise you. Will you get your issues resolved fast if they do arise? This is a risk 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 heart of high traffic, high business areas of does this put you into the desert? Many businesses take the risk of going to a more peaceful location in exchange for lower rates and more room. What this can end up doing is having a business that feels so far removed and detached from the commercial centres that your customers start to feel that way about you as a business. Remember, image is everything!
8) Commuting Does driving to the new offices cause you or your staff greater issues? If so, does this mean that previously honest staff who arrived in good time 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 most irresponsible move you ever made.
9) Staff Morale A new look office that involves the consultation of your staff can help reenergise and stimulate 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 speaking with your team alongside a commercial interior designer, you are assisting to evolve the business and give your staff a feeling of importance, recognition and input. It's a great way to use a difficult situation as a great opportunity to galvanise the team around you.
10) Budgets Overall you'll be speechless to learn that a complete refit of an existing office is usually far less interruption and more importantly, far less cost to a business than exiting altogether. Moving takes a enormous effort and deep pockets. And whilst a complete office remodel is no drop in the ocean either, it's still a great deal easier than taking an entire office and moving it several hundred yards away.
Professional office fitters know how to find space where you thought it never existed. They conceptualise in three dimensions and can imagine where invisible space can suddenly become usable space by using bespoke modular office partitions. If square footage is really tight, there are smart 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. Shelving 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 office, think again. The time, costs, hassle and interruption may not be worth the upheaval in the end.
Detailed info on office fit out can be found on the main website.
