If you’re unhappy with your current working environment, or you’re thinking of an office redesign, perhaps you might want to consider an office design consultant.
Here are five ways in which an office design consultant can help you to transform your office into the perfect working space.
1. Time And Energy
Unless you’re an office design consultant (in which case, you probably don’t need to be reading this), office design is not your speciality nor your favourite subject. An office design consultant can save you the hassle of researching, planning and organising the office design, leaving you to concentrate on what you do best: looking at Facebook and trying to beat your personal best on Minesweeper (no no, I’m sure you’re a hard worker really).
Many office design consultants can manage the project from stage one right up until completion, including dealing with the building and installation, saving you a whole load of time that could be better spent on getting results for your business.
2. Bespoke Service
An office design consultant aims to create a working environment that suits your need. To best achieve this they will need to understand the space that they’ll be working with. They’ll also want to hear about your business, your strategy and values, where you’ve been and where you’re going, and the message that you want to convey to clients. An office design consultant can then design an office that supports your business aims and portrays to your clients what you’re all about.
If one of your values is creativity but your office is totally plain and aesthetically unappealing, then your office is not conveying this message of creativity very effectively to your clients, nor to your employees.
3. Increase Productivity And Positivity
Office design consultants are aware of how to create the best environment to enhance and increase productivity and positivity. This includes lighting solutions, such as the type of lighting, light placement and level of lighting best for your work space. They can advise on acoustic insulation solutions to reduce sound from outside the office.
They can also suggest and supply ergonomic office furniture such as office chairs that protect against back problems, and technology such as computer monitors, keyboards and computer mouse, to help enhance comfort and prevent Repetitive Strain Injury and muscle fatigue which can pose both short and long term health problems for employees.
4. It’s Who You Know
Many office design consultant companies will have a good knowledge of building companies and suppliers. Often they will have contracts with specific companies, meaning that they can negotiate a better price and deal for you than you’d get if you approached them yourself. Because the reputation of the design consultancy company rests upon the finished product, you are more likely to have everything built and supplied quickly and efficiently, potentially saving you a lot of time and hassle chasing builders up for unfinished or shoddy work.
5. Environmentally Friendly
A growing number of office design consultancy companies pride themselves on their ability to come up with solutions that are environmentally friendly. This does not necessarily have to be more expensive for you and environmentally friendly solutions can have many benefits.
For instance, something that is increasing in popularity is the concept of living green walls. These are walls made up of plants. They can be installed inside or outside the building. This could be a really effective way of impressing your clients. If you’re trying to convey creativity and radical thinking, then what better symbol of the fact that you think outside the box than putting a living green wall in your office? They’ll certainly not forget you in a hurry.
But a living green wall is more than just a gimmick. It has many positive effects on office staff and the office environment. The plants help purify the air and remove pollution and toxins from the area. This can help improve people’s health. The plants will also help the air stay cooler in the summer and will insulate against the cold in the winter, potentially saving you money on energy bills as there could be less need for artificial heating and air conditioning. The walls also help reduce noise from outside the office.
All this can help to keep people focused longer and be more productive. Studies have also shown that being close to nature and plants improves productivity and wellbeing.
Incidentally, if you’re interested to know more, the Ambius green wall guide is another great idea for a detailed look at what’s on offer plus all the benefits.
Have you used an office design consultant? How was the experience and the result? Feel free to share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below.
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David Eagle is a freelance writer and blogger.