Your office is set to undergo a significant makeover. Congratulations! It is essential to be organized and efficient throughout the procedure. Here are a few suggestions to make the renovation as seamless as feasible.
1. Understand Your Purpose
So, your company has finally decided that it’s about time you conduct an office renovation. You think it’s great timing because you’ve heard employees complain about the creaky corridor, lackluster front desk, and duct-taped hole near the cafeteria.
There are many other reasons for pushing for an office renovation, but mostly, it’s for improving the quality of your office’s surroundings. A renovation would eventually translate into how much you care about your employees’ workspace and well-being. Making your employees feel safe and comfortable in office renovation could also mean more income for your company, so it’s a win-win.
Before moving to the planning stages, you must ask first ask the following types of questions:
- Is a renovation the best option?
- Are we 100% certain relocating isn’t a better option?
- What are the goals and objectives behind this idea?
- Is our timing right?
- Are there any physical or financial barriers to completing a successful renovation?
Only after getting the answers should you be able to proceed with the actual thinking of how you want to go about the whole renovation process. This way, your project will make your company look good, and your employees will perform great.
2. Survey Your Office and Your Surroundings
Now that you understand the purpose of the office renovation project, you need to get the current standing of your entire establishment and its surroundings. A complete audit of the different rooms, furniture, and materials can give you a scope of what you are trying to accomplish during the renovation. This will also assist you in estimating the budget you should allocate for the entire project, and you may be able to reuse some items. Remember that any kind of renovation would cost a significant amount of money. So if you can salvage some from your current inventory, it would be best to take note of it or save it for later.
Also, take note of what worked and what didn’t work in your current office setup. This would prevent you from doing the same mistakes. After all, renovations are supposed to make improvements, not just a simple redesign.
3. Device a Renovation Strategy
We understand that there is already a lot on your plate, and you have yet to begin the renovation process itself. As mentioned above, this is no easy task. Without proper management, a renovation could turn into a nightmare fast. To prevent this, it would be best to speak with experts in the field of construction and design and take their word as guidelines. It’s also too great to seek out professionals to manage and help you plan the entire project from start to finish.
A most common piece of advice you can get from them would be to create a checklist of the things you must do divided into tasks and subtasks. This way, it would be easier to keep track of your project’s progress.
4. Keep Everyone Involved, Stay Involved
During the renovation process, you will be working with a lot of different people. They must be properly aligned with each other about what they do and when they need to do it before they join the project. This reduces the amount of wait-around time of people whose tasks are dependent on others—effectively eliminating delays in the project.
As the renovation’s point-of-contact, you’d be responsible for keeping the team updated on progress and delays. This also gives the people you work with a feeling of inclusion and appreciation. You’re not working with robots so a simple “how’s everything going?” goes a long way.
5. Keep Working
The noise and activity of your office fit-out can be distracting. Don’t let all the distractions get to you and your employees and proceed to do your regular work business as usual.
Your company must remain productive throughout the whole renovation process. You have already spent quite a sum to make the office renovation possible. The last thing your company needs are more losses in revenue just because of unproductivity.
6. Transition Like a Pro
Lastly, when all the dust settles, it’s time to move into the newly renovated office space. Expect a surge of energy from everyone, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s understandable, given the construction hype. It’s best to plan the transition months before the project’s completion. It gives you time to decide who moves in first and where.
Your leaders should also conduct a tour of the newly renovated space a few weeks before opening to give employees an idea of where they’ll work. This is important as the first measure of success for your renovation would be your employees’ reactions. Going back to tip #1, if the renovation’s purpose is met, you can expect good feedback. If you exceed their expectations, you’ll learn from them and realize your efforts were worthwhile.