If traditional office spaces do not impress, you may be looking for something out of the ordinary. Today, non-traditional workspaces are making a comeback and a huge mark. You must make the space exciting enough to spend 8-9 hours in. Apart from roping in the best contractors and designers, you also need to evaluate the available space.
Just choosing an extraordinary design will not help. Before zeroing down on the latest fad, you need to match everything, from available space to staff requirements and finances. When building new office premises, you might want to look into areas like cafes, pantries, lavatories, and smoking zones that most modern employees would look for. These are the motivating factors that drive employees today.
While creating such spaces, you might encounter several challenges. Read about the top challenges for new office fit-outs and their solutions.
Cost of Fit-Outs
If you are worried about the high expenses for fit-outs, don’t be. You can simply apply for small business loans. Such funds can help you overcome the costs of remodeling today. Moreover, there is an umpteen number of options, not just one. You can also approach banks, financial institutions, and government funding bodies. The contemporary minimalistic decor is more popular amongst startups today. However, you will not realize that it is more expensive than just dividing a space into cubicles for different departments until you sit with a contractor. Today’s work culture calls for open spaces.
The wires and cables that used to be concealed above the false ceilings are now gone. So, contractors have to use other means of hiding such things. It is not just these, but there are other components that need to be concealed. They are ducting, piping, and sprinkler systems as well. Depending on the location, the construction costs for open spaces are more than for closed spaces. Financial assistance is something you should not shy away from. It can help you to keep your internal cash reserves intact.
Noise Management
In open and contemporary offices, there is a lot of noise that comes from others talking over the phone or someone using the fax. It is not really possible to stop all these noises. If you happen to be working at the same premises when the remodeling is on, it can hamper your employee’s productivity. Moreover, open partitions at the workplace do not help control noises. Glass partitions are similar. Unless you have some sound-proofing mechanism in place, a few words or the other will leak out.
Most new-age offices utilize white noise machines and sound masking systems to keep noise at bay. Spray-on acoustics products are also readily available, which can minimize noise levels to a huge extent. You can also opt for double and triple-layered glass or fiber doors to keep sounds at bay. There are numerous technology solutions that the furniture industry is coming up with. Make use of them.
Better Infrastructure
Today’s employees demand a conducive and de-cluttered environment to work in. Moreover, employees are working round the clock. So, the atmosphere should also speak ‘flexible.’ When you incorporate an open workplace, you can feel that the heating and cooling interferes with employees’ productivity. Some tolerate the cool temperature better, while some may not tolerate it well.
Nothing can be done to control the temperature according to individual needs, but you can install carbon dioxide occupancy sensors. They can monitor the number of people in an enclosed space and provide a controlled airflow accordingly. This also reduces the operational cost in the form of energy bills.
If you have chosen an older building for your office, you may have to spend a lot of time changing fixtures in bathrooms for today’s generation. Older ones do not have the required mechanisms to handle such a large workforce. You also need to provide places like cafes, lounges, gyms, and recreational areas. You also need to make arrangements for wireless connectivity throughout the place. There should be no dead zone inside. These are a few things that you can do in your new office space to minimize discomfort.
Parking Demand
Large workspaces have many employees. The easy availability of credit cards and endowments means that many employees also have cars. That said, you need to create space for additional parking. If you use a new building, you will probably have lots of space on the first floor and basement.
However, there may not be any additional space in old buildings to accommodate an excess of cars. So, you can arrange for carpool services, so that 4-5 employees can travel together. This will also act as an HR initiative, and you can claim deductions on taxes. That serves two functions at the cost of one — employee services and tax rebates.
These are a few challenges you may face in new office fit-outs. You will come across many more as you start working on it. So, get creative and hit upon solutions. There are quite a few new possibilities out there.
