Do your due diligence first. Start with the office location selection. If you’re looking at a completely new space, investigate what’s nearby that’s important to your employees. Is your new workplace close to a gym, top-tier restaurants and cafes? 

When you walk around your office, do you see empty seats because you have salespeople out in the field or staff working from home? Depending on the nature of your team’s roles, you may be able to reduce the number of permanent seats and encourage a more agile working environment where people can choose the space that best suits the work they’re doing – whether it be a hush room to concentrate or a hub spot to collaborate. This may mean that even though your business is growing, you can occupy the same amount of space simply by better utilising what you have.

Determine what your employees or customers actually want and need before starting work on floorplans and look-and-feel specifications. 

Today we can have five generations working together in the same office. Younger employees are looking for flexibility and different ways of working, their work ethic is slightly different and a draw for them is a great office space. Gen Xers on the other hand may appreciate more areas for focus and reflection. The goal is not to ostracize anyone from the workplace environment.

You spend a lot of time in the office so you should build a great space that all your employees enjoy.

When it comes to designing and building your office space, there are a lot of investments you can’t see, such as fire treatments and fire ratings, sound proofing, surface requirements and gas suppression systems, among others. You may need to invest in early warning systems rather than a sprinkler system for example, if you are a garment company and want to protect your inventory from fire/smoke/water damage. 

These often unseen elements need to be considered in your design plans. It’s one thing to have a great looking office but it’s how it functions, performs and insures your most valuable assets as a business that is just as critical.

When it comes to creating your unique office space, it’s important that your design and build team understands your company values, your brand and what it is that’s driving the change. Has your business grown, do need to keep up with the competition or do you need a space that will help attract and retain the best talent? Whatever the reasons, adopting a human-centric approach and making sure you invest in the areas that will have the biggest impact on your business is key. 

SMEs can leverage our full design, construction and project management capabilities to create truly inspirational spaces. We offer end-to-end design and build services, with a dedicated local team who will listen to your requirements, understand your business goals and deliver a fit out that transforms your office, all within your budget.