Tips for Making a New Office Work for You
If you’re about to relocate your business to a new office then you’ll already be up to your eyes in organisation; quotes, lists, ten-point plans, lists, phonecalls and maybe a few lists. It’s important to get it right because the working environment has a direct impact on productivity and morale.
It’s easy to get so overwhelmed with the details and the to-do lists that you make some very common mistakes that can have serious knock-on effects. Here are four of the main ones you need to avoid when you find your ideal offices to let in Twickenham.
Not making space for both private and collaborative work projects
The move towards more open-plan offices has meant that there’s more collaboration between departments and individual colleagues. There’s no more closed doors, fancy big and forbidding-looking offices for higher management and cramped cubicles for the underlings… Everyone can see and speak to everyone else, which is great, of course. However, if you miss out on the more private areas, then you’ll be preventing huddles, stopping the more distractible staff from knuckling down and forcing people to make awkward phone calls in public.
Consider making space for private and collaborative work projects by finding a new office that can provide enough space for everyone. Check available coworking spaces and other office rentals in your local area, and choose one that can provide flexible workplace solutions and offer beautiful office spaces. For instance, Victory Offices coworking space Australia doesn’t only offer spaces for collaborative work, they can also provide private serviced and virtual offices, hot desks, meeting rooms, board rooms, day suites, training rooms, and auditoriums.
Creating a workplace where collaboration is forced
We all know collaboration is vital, but it doesn’t happen in a Petri dish. You can’t force it to develop and grow. Sometimes big ideas come from people having a laugh and a joke around a water cooler or even in a stairwell. If you have enough spaces for people to cross paths, hang out for a few minutes and maybe grab a drink and a chair, then this is how you can encourage (not make) magic happen. Leaving notepads and pens around in these spaces or having a few items of connected furniture can give things a nudge, too. When the muse visits, it’s handy to have a pen!
Create a workplace to allow team collaboration to grow and proliferate naturally. If you have a growing team, consider moving to a more spacious office space with more amenities to boost your employees’ morale. This solution can make your employees feel more comfortable and valued. In return, they’ll return the favour by doing their best to reach the project objectives and going above and beyond the average metrics.
Having just enough room for your present needs
OK, eschewing a bit of square footage might save you some money each month, but what happens when you find you’ve run out of space? All the money you saved will be wiped out when it’s time to move. Your business needs room to grow, to employ more people, to install more machines and if you can’t even begin to do that without moving, then you might as well tie one hand behind your back. Not only is an office relocation expensive in itself, but you have to down tools for several days.
Don’t settle for enough room. Create an allowance as you foresee your business in the next two to three years. Brainstorm your teams to obtain valuable insights as to what direction your business is going based on your historical and current metrics and other relevant data. This way, you can make a more intelligent decision about whether you need a bigger space today or wait until your numbers show progress.
Forgetting about your branding in all the excitement
Your office isn’t just a functional thing – the place where you work, have meetings, send out deliveries from and so on. It’s actually a multi-tasking space because it’s a branding asset, too.
Your office space is a chance to tell clients, employees and competitors who you are, what your business is about and what your vision and aims are. When you think about decorating the interior of your new space, make sure the colours are right for your brand and logo. You should also add touches that are related to your ethos – if you’re all about carbon reduction, provide glasses rather then plastic cups at the cooler, for example.
Moving office is a new chance, a new platform for your business, so make sure you get it right.
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