You don’t get a second chance at making a first impression. That’s a statement that you’ve probably heard hundreds of times. That is true in personal matters as well as professional matters. If you are setting up a new office for your business, or if you are trying to revitalise your office, you should think about how it looks to your clients as well as your employees. Your potential clients and employees see different things when they walk into your office, and you will have different goals for what you would like them to see. With that in mind, you should think about consulting with a professional builder who can help you create the office that says what you want it to say.
What Your Potential Clients See
When clients or potential clients walk into your office, they are judging you as someone they would like to work with. Depending on your business type, they might need you to do some kind of work in conjunction with them, or they might need you to do some kind of work for them. They want to size up your ability to the do the job for the agreed-upon budget and deliver a quality product.
To take an extreme example, if you are running a home decorating business, your office needs to be decorated well. Would you hire an interior decorator with a poorly designed office? The chances are that you would not. Even if you’re not in the business of design or upholstery, you need an office that shows order, modernity, and reliability. Your office should show your clients that you are a professional who has a professional staff, and you take your jobs seriously. An expert in building services can help you design and build an office that does just that.
What Your Potential Employees See
When you bring someone in for an interview or to talk about a potential job, they will be judging your office based on whether they would want to work there. They will be looking around for the type of design that says something about your business. For example, if you have a very open floor plan, a potential employee might assume that you foster collaboration and group work amongst your employees. If you have a very segmented floor plan of offices or differentiated departments, an employee might think that you favour employees who work in solitude.
Neither one of these is better or worse than the other. In certain circumstances, collaboration is better. In other circumstances, solitude is more efficient. Your potential employee will be taking stock of what he or she thinks it might be like to work in your office. You should work with a designer who specialises in building for businesses. That way, you’ll be able to talk about what you want, discuss it with a professional, and put together a plan to implement it. A talented professional can turn your vision from something in your head to something real. You can project the image of your business that fits your dreams.
