The Complete Guide to Office Refurbishment

Image of refurbished office

The Complete Guide to Office Refurbishment

Whether it is to improve productivity, maximise space, or just de-clutter, refurbishing your office space can act as an amazing boost for your company and its employees. Fully refurbishing your office will usually take just over a year to complete and in that time you will go through different stages of development. 

In this blog, we are going to take you through the various developmental stages of office refurbishment, detailing which tasks will need to be undertaken over the timeline of a year. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at where your office refurbishment journey should start.

Initial Preparations

Before beginning the refurbishment process it is always a good idea to make sure that you have gathered a full team of internal employees that will help throughout the decision process. You will all need to be frequently discussing the practicality and effectiveness of refurbishment decisions to ensure that everything is done for the best of everyone in the office. 

You need to make sure that you are asking the right questions about why you are refurbishing your office and what you want the refurbishment to achieve. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your current office? Does the current workplace reflect your company’s brand? Does the space allow different departments to work together well? Are you maximising the use of space? All of these questions and more can ensure you are getting the most out of the refurbishment. 

The only thing left to do at this point is to select your trusted design and build partners to work on the project.

The First 3 Months

Calculating your budget is a key thing you should do as you begin your refurbishment project. Establishing how much money you have available to work on your office space will allow you to be able to be realistic about what changes you can make. In turn, this will save you time and effort as you will be able to construct a clear plan of what features you can implement given your resources. 

At this point in the process, it is also a good idea to plan ahead for certain tasks that can become time-consuming. Events such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation, IT activation, and bespoke joinery and branding can all be quite time-consuming. You should take these into consideration at an early stage so you can be sure that your refurbishment is completed within your chosen timeframe. 

It can also be very beneficial to engage with your colleagues about what they are hoping for once the refurbishment is completed. The office-based employees are the ones who will have the most insight as to what worked and what didn’t work in the old office, so they are likely to have valuable input on what features can be brought in to make the new office space as productive as possible. 

3-6 Months

As you enter the third month of the project, it is now time to look into redesigning your office space. Here you can take a look at what colour schemes you wish to implement, how you are going to optimise the space and if there are any contemporary work practices you wish to employ. You can also select what furniture you would like to include, taking into consideration practicality and space.

You should be reviewing the storage needs of your business. Whether personal, for documents, office supplies, or general housekeeping like lockers or coat racks, storage is an important part of any successful workspace. You should also be looking into reviewing your business’ IT and telecoms requirements, taking a look at what you do and don’t need to keep from your old office, anything new you would like to bring in and what will be essential to your business practices.

6-9 Months

Once the design is done, it is then time to organise the current space and begin the on-site fit-out. By this time, your furniture and colour scheme will have been decided upon, so when the fit-out begins, you will start to see your new office space begin to take shape. While this is happening, a logistics plan needs to be followed. The logistics plan would involve contacting your IT or telecoms company regarding the relocation of the technical equipment, ensuring furniture delivery vehicles have enough parking spaces, and making arrangements with storage removal companies. 

Although your principal contractor should be on top of it, you should keep tabs on your health and safety scheme. The Construction, Design and Management Regulations need to be followed, especially if there are still employees in attendance while the refurbishment is taking place. 

Final Months

As the refurbishment comes to an end and the project nears completion, your colleagues need to be prepared. Co-workers need to be informed about when the move is taking place, whether they need to arrive at a different time and place, and what to expect when they arrive in the new office for the first time. 

UK planning and environmental law states that you must keep a record of any waste that leaves your site, so it is pivotal that you discuss how waste has been disposed of with your fit-out partner. You also need to be aware of how they have separated hazardous materials within the waste.

By this time, you should take a step back and evaluate all of the completed works. Do all of the electrical fittings work? Are all of the appliances fitted correctly? Is there any surface cracking on the walls? Is all of the signage up and correct? Are all air conditioners working properly? All of these questions should be asked before the fit-out company finishes up completely. 

Moving In

Now that all of the hard work has been done, you can get going with welcoming all of your employees back into the new workspace. The first thing you may want to do is get all of the admin out of the way early, handing out access cards and keys, setting out a schedule for any necessary staff training, and assigning parking spaces.

Once all of that is done, it is time to enjoy your new office. Why not hold an office launch party to celebrate? This could also be a great marketing opportunity, as there will be plenty of new items and happy employees to take pictures of and post to social media. 

Contact Optrys Today

The Optrys team are highly experienced and committed to providing the very best in office refurbishments and fit-outs. If you are looking to refurbish your office or would like advice on a future fit-out project, please feel free to get in contact with Optrys.

If you would like to get in touch with the Optrys team, you can give us a call on 0800 061 4072 or fill out our online contact form.

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