When managed well, an office refurbishment can completely transform your business and the staff who work in it. In order to ensure a streamline and successful process, we recommend keeping the following six pieces of advice in mind:
1. Partner with an office fit out specialist
In our last blog post, we outlined the main benefits of partnering with an office fit out specialist. Ensuring you remain Health & Safety compliant; access to years’ worth of fit-out experience and the ability to manage the job from start to finish so you don’t have to deal with a network of different subcontractors are among some of the benefits.
2. Don’t choose fun over function
When embarking on an office refurbishment project, it can be easy to let excitement takeover and end up making design decisions that are perhaps leaning towards style more than substance.
With so much creativity and innovation in the workspace design industry these days, it is sometimes difficult to tell when quirky office design becomes nothing more than a gimmick.
However, in order to prevent wasting valuable money and floorspace, it’s essential that you strike the right balance to avoid choosing fun over function.
3. Make sure you’re addressing workplace issues
When designing your new workspace, you need to ensure that the configuration and products chosen all serve a practical purpose. This might be to encourage collaboration, facilitate more social interaction or provide acoustic solutions where noise levels are a problem.
When strategically planning a new working environment for our clients, we explore the workplace issues that are impacting businesses just like theirs and design spaces and pick out furniture and technology products accordingly.
For example, we recently provided Jaguar Land Rover with more technology integrated furniture and products as part of a recent installation project to support more digital innovation in a bid to attract and retain talent more effectively (pictured above).
4. Work with a professional interior designer
Although you will undoubtedly have some clear ideas about how you want your workspace to look and the resources you need it to provide, working with an interior design expert will enable you to make more educated choices.
A design expert will be on the frontline of industry trends and have a wealth of knowledge and contacts that they can use to the advantage of your workspace.
They will also be well-versed in the world of budget handling and time management which are both crucial to the success of any office refurbishment project.
5. Respect the boundaries of your budget
Whether you decide to work with a professional interior designer or not, it’s paramount that you set out realistic financial guidelines and stick to them meticulously.
You neither want to end up spending too little and being left disappointed with your new workspace, nor spending too much and leaving the business out of pocket.
Click for more advice on carrying out an office refurb on a budget.
6. Consider employee wellbeing and workplace health
The most successful office refurbishment projects are those which put the user at the heart of its approach. In decades gone by, humans had to work around the space, these days the tables have turned and design now caters for operability, mobility and improved workplace wellbeing.
Staff who are happy and comfortable in their working environment are ones which you’re most likely to retain and get the most out of. Incorporating more ergonomic office design elements within your refurbishment will go a long way to supporting this.