Designing the perfect office space can be a multifaceted task. You must consider many different aspects to ensure that the space is practical and functional for your business needs and easy to work in and navigate for employees and visitors.
How you design your office space will depend on the nature of the work you carry out, but regardless of your specific needs, there are some tips you can use to help you ensure you get the layout right the first time for maximum impact and efficiency.
Assess the space and needs
First off, you need to assess the space and the needs of your business before you start making changes or adding furniture, creating rooms, etc. How do people work in the office? What does their day look like? Do they need to frequently access equipment or rooms that they can do from their desk? Do you need to have separate meeting rooms or private rooms for clients who are making sensitive calls? Is an open and collaborative space better with employees working from a communal desk if you need in-depth workstations for each employee? Assess how each person works, ask for input from employees if applicable and look at how the space can be manipulated to meet these needs.
Identify equipment
Identify the equipment you need or will be adding to your revamped office space to help you determine how best to design it. The type of equipment you need to operate will factor hugely in the layout and design and determine how much space will be used to accommodate this. It might be that you need to create individual offices with a walkway to house different types of equipment, meaning you need to put dividing walls and doors in place to break up more open spaces. Or you might need to accommodate a supply cupboard, data room, etc. Look at what you need to get the work done and how it will fit into your perceived design.
Talk to professionals
A professional service such as Solutions 4 Office can help you identify how best to maximise space without compromising flow and efficiency. Using external services means creating space unique to your business needs yet meeting all workplace health and safety regulations without compromising aesthetics and functionality.
Consider ergonomics
Ergonomics is the science of being able to work without harming people or putting undue stress and strain on their bodies. This means you think of things like the noise levels in the office, the temperature, the lighting, individual desk and chair heights, the placement of equipment on desks to reduce excessive movement, the use of footrests under desks, using standing or sitting to stand desks, improving airflow and more. The easier it is for people to do their jobs in comfort, the more productive they will be and the less time they will lose to illness and injury overall.
Think about brand image
Your brand image is about more than just your name and logo. Even if no one enters the office except employees, you still need to consider your brand image when designing your office space. Aspects like employee culture, working environments, colours, fonts, designs, etc., can and should all be used to help you create an office space representative of who you are as a brand and the image you want to cultivate.
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