It’s quite challenging to coordinate Sydney office renovation projects while business operations are ongoing. Luckily, we’ve prepared a checklist for managing your upcoming office renovation project successfully.
Renovate and ensure every stakeholder in your business is happy before the project, during the project, and after completion. Simply follow these tips:
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Tip #1: Start with asking yourself questions regarding the necessity of the project
Ask yourself questions such as:
- Is renovation the most appropriate choice?
- Would relocating be the better option?
- Is this the best time for renovating?
- Do we have objectives and goals for the renovation? If so, what are they?
- Are we going to face any financial or physical barriers that might prevent us from renovating successfully?
Once your company asks and ponders on such questions, you’ll be more informed on whether you can start planning to renovate your office.
If you have enough, good reasons to renovate your office space with the aim of accommodating different work-related tasks, then you might just cut employee turnover by half upon moving them to a new and well-designed workspace.
Tip #2: Assess the surrounding neighborhood and building
It’ll help to take time and examine the neighborhood and building where your office is located. Ask the owner of the building for engineering and architectural documents to know the kind of work you’ll need to do.
Check whether the existing structure has some strengths that you can capitalize on. Also, check whether the existing features are worth to maintain.
Use the drawings of the existing structure as a basic guide while still allowing your renovation design team to double check and assess everything.
Ensure you get everything correct. More accuracy will result in lower costs of renovation and fewer surprises during the entire renovation project.
Remember to assess the exterior area of your office. Check whether you should update the outdoor space. Consider whether there are any amenities that exist but weren’t built when the entire building was initially built.
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Also, existing research shows that workspace redesigns have a huge impact on retaining and attracting employees. The physical appearance of an office creates either a good or a bad image about your business to prospects.
Thus, do thorough homework to determine what your workspace requires to look appealing to both current and prospective employees.
For instance, Facebook built a rooftop park on its California headquarters. Employees at the headquarters appreciate the rooftop park for it allows them to work away from their main desks and collaborate on the rooftop or even along some walking trails and hammocks.
Today’s employees like being mobile and such an innovation assists on collaboration. The employees can even meet at the organization’s café and coffee stands to work while sipping their favorite beverages under the sunlight.
Tip #3: Develop a strategy for the renovation
If you start the renovation project without a good strategy, then you may fail to get a good return on the investment. The first thing you should do before renovating your office is setting a good and practical strategy.
The strategy should have an estimated budget for the renovation work. Include the cost of materials, labor, new furniture, construction, and any other costs. Ensure you include surprise costs that often come up with such projects.
Also, include what your employees will be doing during the project. Ask yourself whether there’s enough space or vacant areas for them to work from during the renovation.
In case there’s no space, you should look for enough space for them even if it means renting out an office space temporarily for the continuity of your business operations.
When planning for the renovation, consider the number of workers, technology, future growth, working style preferred by the employees, current office layout trends, and functionality.
Ensure the renovation contractor and the design team work together throughout the project. They should come with an action plan and timelines to ensure the renovation project is done smoothly. Having the right strategy and team effort will also assist in reducing the risks of experiencing surprise costs.
Tip #4: Communicate openly with everyone involved in the renovation
Ensure you involve the landlord, contractor, design team, office staff, and all stakeholders when renovating your office.
Create a detailed plan for communication to keep them updated about the plans and schedule for the project. The plan should also include strategies for managing the expectations of your employees.
Communicate openly and even have the human resource personnel or design team send out some copies of the renovation schedule to the parties involved. Update them with any changes that may arise.
Hold a special meeting where you can discuss the plans and inform everyone about the vision and goal behind the renovation prior to starting the project. Ask them whether they have any office renovation design ideas that they would want to have them considered.
Moreover, employee satisfaction is known to boost loyalty. Thus, give your employees periodic updates and tours in the course of the project to ensure they feel appreciated.
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Tip #5: Maintain high levels of employee productivity
One of the reasons for renovating your office space might be improving employee productivity. Remember that renovation impacts on employee productivity. It can even lower the level of productivity unless you do everything the right way.
You should plan before the project starts. Maintain minimum clutter, open communication, low noise levels, and the most suitable lighting levels. Doing so will maintain high levels of employee productivity throughout the project.
Research shows that lighting has a major impact on employee productivity. Thus, ensure the windows remain open for sufficient lighting in the workspace.
Sufficient lighting will enhance mood and energy among employees, thereby boosting employee productivity. Research also shows that noise distracts employees and men are affected by noise to a greater extent than women.
You can counter noise from construction work by providing your employees with headphones that are capable of noise-cancellation, scheduling the contractors to renovate during evening hours or the weekend when workers are away, and allowing employees to telecommute temporarily.
Tip #6: Let your employees know about their new workspaces
You’ll only know whether the office remodel project has succeeded when employees are comfortable and happy when working from their new workspaces.
However, creating a new space and throwing your employees into it while expecting productivity, revenue, and inspiration to increase within a day may not work.
Employees require some time to adapt to changes in their work environment, just like the changes people experience in life. You should also train them about the new workspace and the technology introduced.
You should have team leaders or supervisors give your employees tours around the new workspace. Also, have the IT specialists train your employees on any new technology.
In case the number of employees is more than what the IT personnel can handle, or the available time for training is insufficient, then provide them with video tutorials through which they can train themselves during their free time.
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