What do you and your employees expect from your space?
Is your company predicted to grow? If so, you should plan ahead to make expansion seamless. What are the conditions of the available space? Make sure they are suitable for what you need. What isyour employee's preferred office style? Carefully discuss their ideal work environment.
As well as staff, you should consider enough space for your essential facilities too. For example, printers, copiers,meeting rooms, kitchen spaces, corridors and more.
Should I maximise my current office fit out?
With the prices of electricity rising, why not work strategically by using every sqft of your office space and create an efficient way of working? Although there is a minimum office space requirementin the UK (5 square meters per person) you can still ensure you optimise your space – this is often accomplished by increasing storage space within your office.
What is the cost of office space?
London is the prime location for UK business – for years now, London has had the highest rental value in Europe. In 2022, to rent an office for your company in London you would be looking to pay a higher price per sq. Ft, a month. If your company is set to grow and predicted to expand in sales, perhaps London could be the prime location for your offices.
The surrounding areas of London could be big competitor ideas too. Due to urbanisation, companies have started to establish offices in surrounding areas of London (Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, etc).Urbanisation is a perfect example of thinking cost-efficiently – the closer your office is to London, the more accessible you are to travel and commute to. Thanks to the popular public transport routes into London, you will find office rent will drop to reasonable prices.
Why consider office refurbishment?
Office refurbishments can have an enormous, up-lighting effect on employees' wellbeing – a healthy working environment is key to having happy workers. If your office fit out doesn't reflect you or your company, then it's certainly time to update the space. Knowing your budget allows for a more accurate outcome – search around for better, more competitive prices and ensure that unnecessary payments will not be made. After budgeting, only go ahead if you are 100% content with the final design.
Choosing the best fit out type
Firstly, office fit out is a process that consists of making the internal space suitable for your employees' and work.
Cat A is started from a completely black canvas which means you, as the tenant, have the control to fully characterise the space around and transform it into a Cat B fit-out. Depending on the budget of your potential new office, Cat-A could either be a great decision to completely personalise the space around you and add the company's characteristics to it, or Cat-A could possibly be a hassle high project with many complications.
Another popular option is to move straight into a Cat-B fit out, having facilities and desks already in the office means there may be little to no work disruption and delays for your employees. As well as this, to a certain level, you can slightly customize the space to include your company/brand's standards and or characteristics.
