Setting up a workspace
You work in a growing SME. On a beautiful Monday morning, your boss enters your office and entrusts you with the laborious task of managing the project of the new offices. Your first reflex will certainly be to tell you: But I have never managed such a project! How to get there? EMBLM is sharing with you today a brief summary of the various steps that need to be taken to complete the development of a new office layout.
The location
How much space will you occupy? Will you stay in the same space? Will they be the same size or do you anticipate an expansion? Are you thinking about moving instead? The answer to these questions is essential for office planning. You will also need to know how many additional workstations to add.
By choosing to maintain the same space, the goal will be to improve the distribution of workstations to maximize space. As technology evolves, individual spaces no longer need to be as large.
In these 3 cases, it will be important to get your hands on the building plans. The architect of your project or landlord can provide you with this tool that is full of useful information essential to planning.
Space planning
Planning office space is undoubtedly the most important step. Should the number of private offices be increased? Does the number of meeting/conference rooms meet the needs? Should we favour the addition of collaborative workspaces? It is essential to organize a meeting with the company’s leaders to find out the long-term vision in order to create a functional and scalable work layout.
Not all workstations will be the same; you will want to take into account the type of work of each department thus greatly influencing the style of office furniture chosen. For example, the administration generally requires large work surface as well as large storage units, while a representative position that mainly works on the road may be more modest.
The construction of fixed gypsum walls will be less suitable for an expanding business. Although more economical to purchase, as soon as a first reconfiguration of the place is necessary, the money invested will quickly end up in the trash with the said walls!
The use of architectural walls will prove to be a long-term paying choice as they will be reconfigurable for a fraction of the price; walls that will evolve with your business! Easy to create 8 closed offices and 3 conference rooms, then modify them to have 10 offices and 4 smaller team rooms for a few minimal additions.
Existing or new furniture
No need to throw everything away because you decide to rejuvenate the office layout. When the time comes, it will be important to inventory and determine the condition of existing office furniture. Once this inventory is established, it will be easier for you to manage priorities and keep some of the offices that still meet needs. Secondly, it will always be possible to change them to match the new office furniture.
Time and budget
It is important to know the deadlines to avoid unpleasant surprises. The majority of manufacturers require a manufacturing time of 10 to 12 weeks. To this, you will need to add the essential days for development of land use plans plus some internal and external meetings for project planning and modifications. A minimum of 4 months should therefore be provided; also, the more complex the project, the longer the time allocated to its realization will have to be!
Your budget will help you choose the type of office furniture based on the various storage needs, ergonomics or other, but also the style you want for your new workspaces. On the market, you will find beautiful at a good price, but also very beautiful at a higher price! Everything depends on the desired objective.
Planning in short
Regardless of the size of your business and the project, you will need to plan and follow the various steps outlined above. They are the key to successful office design. Tip: In order to reduce the risk of mistakes and forgetfulness, it is better to work with experts who carry out this kind of project on a daily basis.
Once the project is accepted and the budget approved, the furniture will be ordered from the manufacturers. Finally, our team of installers will carry out the installation process under the critical eye of your project manager! Your boss can only congratulate you on a job well done!
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