There is lots to consider when looking at your office design. Your workspace is possibly your clients’ first point of contact and in turn this affects the image of your business and service.
Employees are also affected by office design when it comes to wellbeing, engagement and productivity.
So here are four key questions you might want to ask yourself as you start.
1. What is the purpose of your office?
This first question might sound slightly puzzling. An office is just a work space, right? Actually nothing could be further away from the truth. Today, our working models are very different from 10 and even two years ago. Technology has taken on a huge role in our professional lives, accelerated by the pandemic, as have creativity and flexibility. Is your office still being used at full capacity, a place where all employees come together daily? Or has it become more of a multifunctional meeting room with workers adopting a hybrid model?
2. What is the budget for your office design?
It goes without saying that you should set your budget in advance - but without forgetting to consider the long term too. Are you planning on remaining in your current office for several years or are you expanding and therefore will seek out new premises in the not-too-distant future? As a result of shortages in the labour market and the war for talent, recruitment and retention are often a matter of creating the right space for the right talent and going out to find it. If you build it, they will come.
3. Which legal considerations must you take into account?
Finally, your office design must not only be reconciled with your business, it must also fulfil all the legal requirements of the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue. The so-called ‘act of 4 August 1996 on the welfare of employees in the execution of their work’ (in short the ‘welfare act’) offers rules on the dimensions and volume of rooms, among other things.
4. Who is your office for?
This is possibly the most important question you should ask yourself. Ultimately, it’s all about your people, those that use the office daily. Once you’ve ticked all the legal boxes, you need to ensure your office design is tailor made for your employees - their working styles, the tasks they need to carry out, their space usage. Workplace analysis and internal surveys are great tools to ensure you create an office space that will work for your employees and will never be empty.
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