If you work in an office and feel like it’s looking a little worse for ware, then you need an office fit out. But, what is an office refit? And how do you successfully fit out an office? In this article, we’ll answer those questions as well as look at the various benefits of doing so.
What is an office fit out?
So, what is an office fit out? Well, fit out is the term most commonly used to describe the process of making interior office spaces more suitable for the occupants. In other words, office spaces are developed in accordance with the wants and needs of your employees and management staff.
What is an office refit?
What is an office refit? An office refit (or refurbishment) involves renovations to the interior design of a workplace, office ceiling installations, floors, furniture, plumbing, windows, and walls. You may only need a very basic office refit, to reduce unsightly loose cabling and upgrade the kitchen area, as an example. However, an office refit can involve an entire gutting and replacing of the fixtures and furniture in your office, depending on what you need.
How do you fit out an office?
How do you fit out an office? We’ll lay it out in steps for your convenience:
Step 1: Delegate internal project team
A big decision is to decide who is going to lead the project; someone who has a clear idea of your budget and can form a team comprising all of the relevant departments.
Step 2: Do your research
Next you need to identify what actually works in your office and what needs changing. What are your aspirations? Do you have a vision in mind for your freshly refurbished workspace? First, you must analyse your workspace, the way in which it flows, what the opinions and moods are from your staff, and so on.
Step 3: Building search and survey
Consider other properties. You may be able to skip the refurbishment altogether if there is a more suitable space available. Of course, this will have to sustain you for the next decade and beyond, so it is a very big decision to make (and you must also consider your employees and their feelings about a move).
Step 4: Choose your fit out specialist
Once you’ve made your decision you now need to find the right office fit out specialist to help you. This is something that we highly recommend doing. Taking on an office fit out by yourself is not a great idea.
Step 5: Design development and approvals
Next, your chosen fit out specialist will work with you to make all of the design decisions, from colour schemes and materials, right through to workflow and departmental relationships.
Step 6: Lead in to build
You’ll want minimal disruption to your staff as possible, so keep a watchful eye on productivity.
Step 7: The build and furniture installation
Next up, you’ll be looking at the build itself and furniture installation. This is a crucial step and remember to invite in ergonomic furniture solutions for your valued employees. Their backs will thank you later in life!
Step 8: Dilapidations
Remember that commercial dilapidations clauses require that you leave your office as you found it. This means that you’ll need to have a qualified fit out planner at hand in order to keep everything up to code, when necessary.
Step 9: Removal
Make sure you hire a professional office removal firm to help you with old furniture, backing up your company data, and briefing your staff etc.
Step 10: Relocation or refurbishment review
When your staff finally get settled and everything returns to normal, you should do a full office review. This is a great way of jumping on any issues as quickly as possible and having them rectified.
What are the benefits of an office fit out?
So, what are the benefits of going to the effort of having an office fit out?
- Invest in furniture that works for you and your employees (consider ergonomic while you’re at it)
- Increased productivity (it’s no secret that a better optimised and freshly renovated space is better for productivity in the office)
- Better employee satisfaction (nobody wants to work in a drab, dated, and uninspiring workspace)
- More efficient utilisation of floor space (with a simple re-optimisation of an office, you can make better use of the available floor space)
- Updated technology (an office refit can include having better internet and air-conditioning units installed—among other technology)
- Efficient use of your time (hiring the professionals to help you fit out your office is a much better use of your valuable time)
- Improved brand image (what does your office currently say about you? When inviting potential clients into a freshly refitted office, you’ll be improving your overall brand perception)
- First impressions redefined (every time a new customer or employee walks into your office, they make a judgement. Redefine those first impressions and make an impact)
- Attract more clients (again, first impressions count. Improve your chances of securing more business by refitting your office with a new, professional look)
- Better communication and fewer distractions (when you have an office refitted, you can explore office partition installation in order to create better acoustics and privacy in your office space)
Conclusion
And that about sums it up! An office fit out is the process of having your workspace refurbished, optimised, and ultimately improved both aesthetically and functionally speaking. And there are many benefits to doing so!
In any case, we hope that you have found this helpful and wish you the best of luck with your upcoming project.
