The process of office fit-outing is enough to send chills up the bodies of most company executives. In fact, many owners put it off for years, because they are so afraid of what might occur during the process. Yet, with the right help, it actually becomes an easy process that does not need to cause owners and executives to lie awake in cold sweats at night.
Hire the Right Office Fit-Out Contractor
There are many different office fit-out contractors available to help with the process. Therefore, it is important to choose a contractor you are comfortable working with on a regular basis. The contractor should meet with you and help you establish trust in their abilities. After the owner has narrowed the list, then ask to speak directly to the project manager who is likely to work at your site. Listening and checking references are essential to choosing the right company to do your office fit-out.
Create a Plan
The contractor should first assess your current situation to see what solutions are meeting your current needs. There will likely be things in your current situation that you want to keep when you move to a new location or recreate your current space. If everything was working, however, you would not be doing an office fit-out, so the designer should also find out what is not working in your current location. Often, the designer may visit with employees to see what their thoughts are for possible solutions to their current problems. Do not be surprised if you see the designer standing quietly in a corner just watching. He or she is probably pondering the possibilities that owners and employees do not even know are possible.
Then, they should present you with drawings and ideas of possible solutions. Understand that you know your business needs better than anyone else, so do not be afraid to share your ideas and tell the designer what you think of his or her design ideas. Usually for owners and executives, this is the most time-consuming part of an office fit-out. Thought should be given during the design phase to consider many different factors including areas that need to be quiet and areas that are generally noisy, group meeting spaces, areas for employees to relax, and storage needs.
According to office fit-out by Saracen experts who have been doing office fit-outs for more than thirty years, one of the major areas that owners sometimes do not focus on enough is the appearance of an area. If the area is designed for clients to wait in, the space should be welcoming. Many times, the quality of the waiting room determines what mood the client is going to be in before they ever meet an employee.
Furthermore, these experts stress that it is important that employee areas welcome workers to be productive throughout the day. One way to do this is to take advantage of natural lighting. Another key area is to make sure that all areas of the workspace have the right amount of heat and air.
After owners and the designer have agreed upon a plan, then the designer will propose a timetable. The timetable needs to be established early in the process so the project manager can work with sub-contractors. This schedule will guarantee you that they are there when needed and the project is not delayed for months. While the project manager can take care of many of the details, expect the manager to need some help dealing with some of your established providers, such as your telephone provider and your Internet provider.
The designer should also give you a budget of what needs to be spent to achieve the design. Hopefully, during the initial meetings, a preliminary discussion has already occurred, but before work begins, a detailed budget should be presented. Owners should be aware that sometimes it is necessary to invest more initially in order to reduce the costs in the future and over the long-term. There are many different factors that can affect the cost of an office outfit, including whether the office is being renovated or a new office is being built, price increases since the initial estimates were given, quality of the design elements, and where the project will take place.
Build
After everyone is in agreement, then the build team arrives. During this stage, the business owner needs to consider how the work of the company will continue. Often, this can be the most frustrating part of the process for your employees. Therefore, it is essential to create activities to keep employees motivated to continue helping your customers.
The designer should have the project manager on the site daily. While designers love to hear your feedback during the building process, designers must also comply with stringent requirements from the government. If you have any questions during the process, you should contact the project manager. If he or she cannot answer the question, then contact the designer.
Completion
Once the project is completed, it is essential that the move is planned efficiently. Many office fit-out companies have specialised moving services that can help make this hassle-free. They can supply the crates and packing materials needed to move essentials across the office or to the new location. They can also pack and unpack the items ensuring that confidentiality is maintained. Furthermore, if some items must go into storage for a few days, most companies can arrange for this to occur.
Completing an office fit-out should not send shivers up the spines of busy executives, and it won’t when the right designer is chosen. While projects can take from three weeks to many months to complete, the process will go smoothly from beginning to end when you choose a professional designer that allows you to concentrate on running your business. The designer will assist you in seeing the possibilities that will greatly increase the productivity of your company when the process is completed.