Interior Designers Tips
This Months Designers Tip
Has the recession affected your business? In many cases, Companies are trying to relocate to smaller premises or reduce their office foot print by making more effective use of the space available. How do you do this without squeezing your Staff in to a pint pot ? Some organisations are considering allowing selected Staff to work from home with the introduction of fast communications and broadband links. Sales functions are also are also being turned in to ‘hot desk’ areas where there is no designated desk but simply an available desk, mobile pedestal and telephone.
But what do you do if these options are not available to you?
There are a number of solutions you can still pursue
- Outsource the historic Filing facility
- Introduce small ‘touch down’ meeting areas in the open plan office for those 15 minutes meetings, which are probably the majority of meetings!
- Consider removing private offices as full height partitions take up space and the more open aspect improves management accessibility [a bugbear of most Staff]
- How about doubling up on the office space ? Introduce a new open plan mezzanine floor if the space will dictate and create a funky Staff coffee meeting area. This could reduce your effective rental cost per square foot quite dramatically!
The big issue is retaining your Staff while reducing their effective footprint. Staff ‘churn’ – the turnover of staff – is a big problem and even bigger cost. Staff are much more ‘savvy’ about their working environment nowadays. Box clever and introduce full height photographic wall murals and strong colours at feature points highlighted by subtle LED lighting. The Office does not need to look like something from a Charles Dickens novel anymore and your staff will stay!
Beats moving to new larger premises with all the associated costs and disruption!
Why not speak to an Office Space Planner and Commercial Interior Designer when you are next considering the Office Refurbishment and you’re sorted!
Next month we will be talking about ‘Front of House’ design and how this could transform that tired Company image. The first image that a potential Client has of your business is so important.