Ten points why you need a professional office interior design338759
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Optimise your usable office space and work areas
In the UK, office space is high cost. Business taxes, lighting, heating, and VAT; not to mention staff costs all add up. However, the highest yearly expense for most organisations is the rental of professional business premises. 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 fixed contracts can be a fate worse than business death!
Is it any wonder 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 taken to the limits. There comes a time 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 streets. If costs can be recouped 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 shortsighted mistake.
Companies can outgrow their home too quickly
It never stops 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 junk such as paperwork, documentation, equipment, hardware, furniture. In all cases, they're items that are not needed on site or are simply collecting dust. With some intelligent thinking, their time and energy would be far better used towards a building refurbishment.
So why would you consider breaking a business rental in favour of signing on the dotted line for a new, lengthier and most likely more expensive tenancy to store this rubbish elsewhere? It's a story I hear all the time.
If these businesses consulted with a commercial interior designer to redesign their existing office, they could gain 10-20% more space simply through clever use of space and inventive ways of maximising what they have.
So here's ten thoughts you should consider which should persuade you that your next investment should be a getting a brand new office interior fitted and not jumping ship:
1) Collecting Junk Most offices I visit have junk everywhere. Box files, paperwork, unused or outdated desks, chairs and general items that get in the way. It feels like you are literally falling over every time you want to go from one end of a room to the other. The first issue you need to work out is does all this junk really need to be on site? If not, discard it or find a low cost secure storage provider to take these non-essential items off site. If they do need to stay at the office, consider improving 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 office move. It's not just the physical aspect of moving office; it's the spend involved, the times when you cannot operate as normal, moving phone lines, internet connections. There's also the inconvenience to existing staff. Does this affect their daily commute? Moving office has to be the last option when you consider these issues.
3) Client Management Many clients 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 lucrative clients who you've suddenly inconvenienced. So the irony is you believe you just saved the business money and increased your space by moving when in fact, you just cost yourself a bigger price. Client relationships can be a very flimsy at times. Don't put them at risk unless a move is absolutely vital.
4) Pros & Cons Before moving office, have you drawn up 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 simplest logical solution but in many cases, it isn't. There's a large cost outlay to consider when moving. I've already discussed business interruption however what about the expense of packing up items, moving and reinstalling essential equipment? You'll be stunned 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 difficult. A lack of knowledge, 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 fix!
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 acquired 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 area but can it outperform itself? No way. Furniture doesn't increase in size just because it sits in a bigger room. Here's the hint. Sometimes, the room isn't the problem. It's your storage systems and it's inevitable, that when you change office, you will also have to purchase new furniture and storage solutions to suit. Yet more money!
6) New Contracts, New Pitfalls You have a good rapport with your current landlords and know exactly what to expect from them and the level of cooperation they'll give when there's problems or matters to discuss. Will you receive that from your new landlord? When moving to new premises, you have no idea 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 peril that may not be worth avoiding.
7) Location, Location, Location Is the new location of the proposed moved in the perfect place? Does it put you in the middle of high traffic, high business areas of does this put you into the desert? Many businesses take the gamble of going to a more agricultural location in exchange for lower rates and larger square footage. What this can cause is having a business that feels so far removed and detached from the commercial centres that your associates start to feel that way about you as a business. Remember, image is everything!
8) Commuting Does commuting to the new offices cause you or your staff greater issues? If so, does this mean that previously reliable staff who arrived on the dot may suddenly become an issue due to traffic, length of commutes, costs and issues 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 cooperation of your staff can help reenergise and enthuse 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 consulting your team alongside a commercial interior designer, you are serving to evolve the business and give your staff a feeling of importance, elevation and input. It's a great way to use a difficult 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 usually far less interruption and more importantly, far less cost to a business than relocating altogether. Moving takes a enormous effort and large 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 miles across town.
Professional office fitters know how to develop 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. Storage can always go upwards as well as sideways. Desks can be improved and still look chic, stylish and contemporary.
So before you decide its time to say goodbye 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 partitions can be found on the main website.
