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Top 5 reasons to invest in an office fit out

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office designing and fit out

I’ll set the scene for you. You’ve been working in your office for the past five years, and of late (thanks in no small part to your hard work) you’ve started to experience incredible growth for your business. You have a dedicated team have been working diligently by your side the whole time, grafting with you, and growing your business to the point where you want it to be.

You’re a young and funky team and you know that you have a lot to offer the creative and digital space that you are moving into, but there’s just one problem. You happen to occupy and work in an office building where the cubicles are drab and atmosphere-less, the walls are special colour of grey that no one’s ever really seen before, and the atmosphere in the office building could best be described as funeral. So what do you do here?

Studies have gone a long way towards suggesting that the environment that a business operates in impacts the output, and that’s exactly what I’m suggesting here. When you have a creative team – or any kind of team at all really, you need to have exposure to natural light, greenery; at least some kind of stimulus in order to experience the kind of results and output that you are after.

If you are looking to breeze a new lease of life into your office space, you need to have a very well designed workplace in order to get the results you want. We all want maximized productivity, limited downtime and a positive work environment – they are all huge parts of productivity. A new office fitout can help you!

I want to outline for you the top 5 reasons to invest in an office fit out so that you can move forward with your business success.

A new lease on life

When your business starts to expense growth (or continues to grow), it’s important that you grow your business surround with it. Companies with the best office fitouts in Sydney are usually the successful ones who saw the value of a well-designed office space for their teams.

Creative control

When you occupy an office building that has been decorated by previous tenants or a landlord, you have to deal with the poor design decisions that have been made before you. If you choose to invest in an office fit out, you are actually investing in the future of your business. This is a great decision for anyone looking to identify or re-identify their businesses aesthetic.

Elegant updating

Part of getting a new office fitout is taking huge amount of gratification from throwing out all of the horrible shabby decorations that have been there up until now. You can be as elegant or as cutting edge as you like with your design, the fact is is that you can control all of the design elements yourself. Creative control is a powerful thing!

Clients will be impressed

If you are a business that has clients coming into your office to do business, then you will need to ensure that you have a office space that suits your style. It simply doesn’t do to have clients coming into your office and seeing shabby furniture, crummy bookshelves, or just plain old tatty furniture. You need to ensure that your office fit out suits your clientele, and the style of business that you are hoping to secure.

Employee morale

Last but definitely not least is the benefit to employee morale. The benefit to employee morale is a huge part of getting a new office fitout. Staff and people feel that you are invested in their enjoyment in the space if you spend time and money on getting the office painted and refurbished. Employees will feel a lot happier about coming to work every day in a funky, fresh environment and will be more attached to the workplace.

The key benefits of a Virtual Office

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Innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any Australian business. Therefore, it is important to adapt to the requirements of your clientele and the market your business is operating within. Creating and supporting flexible working hours allows the people who work for you to log on wherever they are, whenever they’re required. A virtual office not only allows for flexible working hours, but it also increases the comfort level of your staff members as there is no commute associated with logging on remotely. Additionally, this enables your business to communicate to global markets with reduced disruption to your employees.

From an overheads perspective, virtual offices also drastically reduce your business’s costs. As the business doesn’t have to pay for a brick and mortar lease, but can still have access to all the benefits if it so requires. In addition, your business will also see that there is a reduction in energy and technology costs.

Not only can you still have a fixed prestigious business address, but also provide co-working spaces worldwide and access to boardrooms with high-tech facilities made available at your request. Therefore, it allows your business to really have the edge, whilst also having the flexibility and cash flow to innovate accordingly.

Outlined below are the key benefits:

Zero Travel Time

Not only will your staff benefit from not having to commute, but also your clients. As they can take advantage of remote access to conference calls or meetings, particularly since travelling to and from any office can be extremely unproductive. As such, this time could be better spent on focusing on a specific task rather than wasting time sat in traffic.

Being Flexible Works

Flexibility can be a wonderful asset to boosting morale, as by being flexible to your employee’s needs creates a positive association with your business. Therefore, by allowing your employees the option to start earlier or later, they will be more likely to appreciate your understanding and work harder. As such, it is more than likely that your business will experience increased productivity from your employees.

Overhead Reduction

Without any brick and mortar lease, or the associated utility bills, the business overheads will considerably reduce. Furthermore, this will have a direct affect on your business’s profit and provides you with the option of investing in your employees, whilst training courses or incentive schemes could be developed to reduce employee turnover.

Larger Talent Pool

Without having the constraints of a fixed office address, it allows you to employ people who would normally have been out of reach, which opens up a number of opportunities for the company to employ the best staff for the job. Alternatively, if the business is global it may well be beneficial to employ a designated staff member in each major city that the business is working in, or where your clients reside.

Productivity Push

A major positive is the increase in productivity your business will see. Without the commute to work, paired with the flexible working hours, employees will be more likely to work harder in exchange for these benefits. Moreover, as you physically cannot monitor what your staff members are doing, there will be an increase in their productivity by your employees showcasing how hard they are working in this new environment.

Productivity will also increase due to the lack of distractions from having a busy office environment, as interruptions from other staff members can cause people to stop and start projects, which can be when errors occur.

Setting up an office in Australia and what you need

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finding office space in australia

Looking to start your own office, but don’t know where to go. Luckily there are office solutions that exist that can help you in this area and find you the right office space for your business. Australia is a growing economy with companies in many sectors like oil and gas, mining, start up and tech companies emerging every day. The bustling economy is supported by the rapid pace of its growing population.

With the rapid growth comes the needs for more space for small offices, big offices and also serviced or executive offices where a business does not have to do much but just find or rent out a fully equipped office.

Finding the right office space can be a tedious job, because different kind of offices has different kind of requirements, a clinic office would have different requirements to a start-up technology office or an offshore oil and gas setting up a local office in your country. Different factors need to be taken into account like locations of the office, transport to office, parking availability, disabled access, security etc.

Office spaces can often also vary in prices with its proximity to the capital CBD or if it is then based in the suburbs. CBD office spaces normally tend to be higher in rent compared to office space in the suburbs. Real estate brokers or custom agents for office space would be able to give you an idea of what is most suitable to your budget and find you the right listings to choose from.

Modern office agents not only find the right space for you knew office but also manage/organise the leasing and finance to get your new office started up quickly. Top commercial office agents like CBRE, Knight Frank and Collier International often provide office space for sale or on an auction , but are not focussed on setting up an executive office as per your needs or then a serviced office for a small or medium business.

They are different commercial websites that provide listing of office space available in auction and for sale. But what do you do if you want a serviced office or then a fully functional executive office where you can just move in. This is where www.officespace.com.au comes in, they are a Australian company that can provide arrange of offices from executive offices in Sydney, serviced office space in Perth, a sophisticated location in Melbourne, furnished space in Brisbane or Adelaide or service pretty much all of Australia.

They do the work of finding the right location for you, setting up a lease with the most appropriate term suitable to you if long or short term and also doing all the paperwork – making it easy for you to just move in and start work.

If you are looking for office space in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth in Australia, you can check out the office space website to find a suitable space for your new office.

Projecting the right image: What does your office say about you?

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Your office is the environment that will make or break you for your working productivity. That is regardless of whether your office is meant to be open for the general public, or if it is solely for internal use. The projected image for an office can say a lot. Many of the world’s top organisations have realized this and have put it to good use. Others who have failed to recognize this, struggle to understand how something as simple as an office can hold back their organization. We share some considerations that businesses need to keep in mind with the development of their office.

The office will make a good impression with clients.

If you are required to do client facing at your office, you need to have an office that will impress the clients that you are welcoming in. This is from the location to the doorways, security, staff mannerisms and the interior design aesthetics of the office. In short, the office needs to also sell your credibility to those that you will be selling to. Regardless of your budget size, the office space that you present must offer its unique wow factor. Whether that is from the office in your own home or at the top of a skyscraper in the central business district.

The attention to detail with the office needs to be taken into account. Also, the office theme that is being projected to the client or visitor will reflect the image that they have of you. Does your business win awards? And if so, where are they being displayed? Do you work with any blue chip organisations? And if so, can we see examples in any publications? Does your business have an impressive waiting area? Is the interior décor such as desks and office chairs modern and convey the professional image you’re intending to achieve?

If you have employees, is your office employee friendly?

One of the strongest influential factors with having a good office is the employee friendliness of the office. The more friendly it is to employees, the more productive the employees will be and it will yield more revenue and profits for your business. Below are a few considerations for employees.

The office is easy to commute to and from their home

Employees are with you for the sole purpose of earning an income and trading their time and expertise to do so. If your office is not easy to commute to by public or private transportation, this may see the employees being subject to lateness, tiredness and additional stress.

Windows and airflow

It is an underestimated thing, but people value light and good airflow through area that they are working in. Many people will be working indoors. Create a brighter office space with enhanced natural lighting options such as Skylights and Velux windows, and ensure the work space offers a good airflow.

Good workspaces that enhance their productivity

This is critical to the success of your company. Both you and your employees generally want to do well. And they will if they are given the working area that they can thrive in.

Provide break out spaces for lunch and relaxation

You must be able to offer your employees the flexibility with bringing their home lunches. This means the office should have an area where employees can eat away from their desk and to heat their food with a microwave. Ideally, if you can provide a cafeteria, it would be ideal.

Leverage the systems, software and hardware that will enhance productivity

All businesses need to have a ‘get with the times’ mentality. The better the system that they use across the organisation, the better the organisation can function that will boost productivity and profits for the business. For example, companies should encourage the use of:

· Mobile friendly and smart technology

· The development or integration of in-house or third party applications

· The implementation of cutting edge software

· The investment of cutting edge hardware, such as Apple Mac computers

· The investment in collaboration and telephony software.

Whether we like it or not, the image of the office will reflect onto the business’ image. Whether it is in your daily workflow or if you choose to have visitors come around. Seek inspiration from organisations who have setup their offices in a way that spurs productivity for the business.

4 dangerous costs your business has been ignoring

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Whenever you step into the field of business, you have to be very calculative about your expenses. Usually the product’s selling price includes the cost incurred during the manufacturing of the product, but there are many regular and petty expenses that the business needs to account for to ensure they attain profitability. These costs can include the employees’ salaries, promotional and marketing campaigns that are always budgeted for carefully. However, there are a few costs that many business owners ignore, to the detriment of their bottom line. The dangerous costs your business may have been ignoring could include…

Office supplies

There is a considerable cost that comes with purchasing office supplies if your business doesn’t get it right. These costs include papers, pens, staples and other items that can be purchased from a wide range of suppliers, and you should certainly shop around to try and get the best deal- you don’t have to put all of your eggs in one basket. Among the costlier of office supplies are printer cartridges. Printer cartridges can be expensive but are commonly used in every business in some form so there are options to lower your printing costs if you shop around. Negotiating the best deal on each and every one of these office supplies, from pencils to printer cartridges, and doing so regularly will ensure your office supply cost is kept to the absolute minimum.

Maintenance costs

Overheads are often seen as a necessary evil, and therefore office maintenance costs are often ignored. Office costs usually include electricity, heat, water, power back-ups, air-conditioning and cleaning and are usually in place once a business starts trading. These costs can be left to run at their starting rate for years after implementation, but there is money to be saved here. Looking at the costs regularly in order to negotiate the best deal may seem like a lot of work, but ignoring these costs can leave you paying over the odds, having a real effect on your bottom line. Twice yearly checks on maintenance costs are enough to ensure you’re taking care of your overheads.

IT Costs

Many businesses fear technology will always be expensive and without looking into the ins and outs of IT services, may stick with what they know, paying over the odds for a service they barely use, or that doesn’t help them do business better. Overhaul your IT Costs by speaking to various service providers and ask for their advice on what you need. There are a wide variety of options out there for every size of business and there are scalable solutions for every type of business, from ecommerce to marketing sectors. Cloud based solutions are becoming extremely popular, and you may be able to pay monthly for a solution that grows with your business, meaning you’re not throwing money away for a service you’re not using.

Staffing Costs

The temptation when business is booming is to recruit, but companies that think twice about the way they go about this will be better off in the long run. Firstly, you should consider whether you need someone permanently or whether this is a temporary busy period that can be coped with by either paying existing staff overtime, or by looking for a temporary employee. Another possibility would be to hire a freelancer for certain tasks. The freelance market is becoming an attractive talent pool where employers can pick the most qualified people for certain tasks and save on unnecessary employment. Secondly, consider recruiting without an agency if you need to take on someone permanently. Although businesses usually have a relationship with recruitment agencies, it’s entirely possible to find good candidates through social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

Whatever sized business you’re running, there are always costs that are ignored, so why not take a good look at yours today and start to improve your bottom line.

5 tips for a healthier workplace

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drinking water for healthy office

For any business the main factor that determines profitability is the productivity of its staff. So if you’re a business owner than making sure that your staff are happy and healthy is essential if you’re to have staff who are reliable and effect. So with all that in mind we look at 5 ways that you can promote a healthier workforce.

5. Organise pre/post work workouts

Workouts needn’t be the all out, hard-core routines of the local gym, instead they can be games such as 5 aside football or badminton. This is also a great way of getting a bit of a team bonding session going.

4. Encourage people to walk up the stairs

This sounds like an extremely simple tip that won’t have much of an impact upon your work place’s health. However if you start paying attention to how many times in any one day you use the elevator yourself you’ll soon realise just how much you rely on it to move you from A to B!

3. Swap your office chairs for exercise balls

Back problems are the singular biggest issue facing employers and time off work through injury. A leading reason for the almost epidemic levels of off-sick employees with bad backs can be attributed to people sitting with bad postures throughout an 8 hour day. A great way to avoid this and promote better posture is to swap the office chairs for exercise balls every now and then. These make sure that people have to sit with their back straight (otherwise they risk falling off!).

2. Ensuring that your staff get the recommended time away from their computer

Legally employers are required to provide those that work at computers with a 20 minute break every four hours, however, as many will appreciate, this doesn’t always happen. Whilst many think that skipped breaks increases the productivity of staff, in fact it actually encourages lethargy and tiredness. In particular, a breath of fresh air can help your staff get a much needed refreshment, particularly on a gloomy Monday morning.

To make sure that your staff are taking the breaks they should, you should ensure that the workplace has a set break rota and people overseeing the breaks.

1. Encouraging your staff to drink more water

Dehydration is far more detrimental to a person’s health and performance than most people imagine. www.aqua-vitae.co.uk is one company that offer water filters to ensure people have a clean, tasty source of water in the workplace. As well as this, it’s also far easier to become dehydrated than most think; to avoid dehydration, a person should be drinking around 1-2 litres of fluid each day. This equates to around eight 150ml glasses. And the effects of not doing so can include: lethargy, mild confusion, headaches, dizziness, dry mouth, eyes and lips.

If you’d like to help your staff in drinking more water and becoming more energetic then water coolers are essential. Aqua Vitae can install and fully manage your workplace’s water coolers and make sure that your staff have cool, refreshing water to hand all day every day.