The importance of having a workspace that aligns with business goals and caters to the needs of the workplace is ever-growing. Office fitouts and refurbishments are strategic solutions that meet several challenges, which we will be exploring in this blog, based on our work over the last few months with several differing organisations from a variety of industries.
As we all know, the pandemic brought about staggering change in relation to work patterns, and the concept of agile working has grown significantly as a result. Agile working has almost become an expectation of employees, so facilitating this has meant organisations have embraced workspace designs that prioritise hot desking, collaboration spaces, and excellent technology that will foster a more flexible work environment. Woodhouse completed a fitout for The ABPI which fully embraces agile working with a 50% ratio of desk to people, and a design that emphasises flexibility. Sam Ogden commented that ‘it was really important to us that the ABPI was more than just a place that you come to work… we are so pleased with it, it’s just the environment we intended and it has actually exceeded our expectations.”
The comfort of working from home has remained a popular choice for many, and many organisations face the challenge of enticing staff back in, to ensure that they are increasing collaboration and productivity. A FTSE 250 Professional Services firm engaged Woodhouse to refurbish several of their spaces across the UK; the most recent was in Edinburgh, and works were undertaken to enhance the space and re-engage the staff. The feedback was excellent: “The staff have nothing but compliments. It’s very positive to come back to a modern refurbished office that provides the services that they’ve been used to, but with a new dynamic that was previously missing.”
As organisations grow and develop, it is important to put in place measures that are going to attract new talent and retain existing staff, as well as ensure that the needs of the workplace are met. Designs that prioritise wellbeing, comfort and provide extra amenities make the commute worth it and positions the workspace as a destination that will result in increased satisfaction, higher productivity and lower turnover rates. Medivet have recently invested in a people-centric Support Centre in Watford that has impressive on-site amenities, maximises natural light, and has transformed the way they work. “The new office is absolutely fantastic – a complete game changer for how we operate as a business in terms of collaboration and communication. We’re glad we chose Woodhouse to bring our vision to life.”
When looking ahead, one major challenge for many organisations is ensuring that their space will be future-proof, and allow for scalability and unforeseen changes. Hydrock has recently undertaken a complete office refurbishment that has prioritised building for the future, by putting in the infrastructure to allow for any future expansion, as well as designing the space to be flexible. Their key priority was staff retention and growth, so it was important to find a high quality space that reflected their culture as well as providing a great work environment for clients and staff to enjoy for years to come.
Everybody knows that together is better – collaborating fosters productivity and innovation. For this reason, increasing spaces to collaborate in is a key priority for many organisations. For Dr. Martens, they refurbished the whole of their 3rd floor to provide an alternative space where teams could collaborate, share ideas and connect.
Regardless of the reason behind office fitouts and refurbishments, new workplaces drive success and motivation in the constantly changing world of work. Whether you know the needs of your organisation or not, Woodhouse Workspace provide a full turnkey service to realise, design and deliver on a workspace that will be paramount to the success of your overall business goals and strategic objectives.
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