Before beginning your new Perth fit-out, you should know what you want. Ask yourself the following questions: Why do you need a new office?

A new office fit-out, whether it be a refurbishment of an existing location or relocation to a new office, will benefit your business in many ways. From better staff performance to increased workflow, better lighting, and easier movement throughout the office space. Then there’s the more obvious benefits like presenting a more modern space to clients and customers in this very competitive Perth market.

What kind of fit-out do you want?

Where will your new office be?

The answers to these questions will help determine your budget, the length of time it takes to complete the fit-out, and provide guidance for functional and aesthetic choices.

Planning for the future

While your workplace needs to reflect the current climate of your business, it should also be able to adapt to future changes.

How is your business / industry going to change and grow over the next few years? How does this compare with the current Perth climate?

Can your current space accommodate company expansion?

How will technology trends impact the size and shape of your office?

Is your space flexible enough to adapt to rapid change?

If your existing facilities are outdated and unsuitable, then you should start looking for a new space to house your office. On the other hand, if you have the space but are looking to upgrade your workplace environment to improve company image and enhance productivity, a refurbishment might be the answer.

Searching for quotes in Perth on office fit-outs is better when you already have a budget. While you might have to do some initial fact finding to determine the rough price range for a fit-out that reflects your ambitions, generally knowing how much you can spend will help avoid wasted time dealing with contractors that are outside your budget or unable to deliver on expectations.

Items to consider in your budget include:

Costs associated with the move.

How much and how long you might have to store equipment and furnishings.

The overall design of the fit-out.

The cost of new furniture.

IT and telecommunications infrastructure.

Quotes and responsibilities

As a professional Perth Fitout company Bestcraft can guide you through this process and help you navigate the following key areas:

Design brief.

Technical plans.

Delivery of materials.

Building assessment.

Project management and construction.

The design of your office fitout should reflect the vision, mottos, ideas, values, culture and desired appearance of your company. It should also be an extension of your advertising and marketing collateral (and vice versa). This means that clients get the same impression walking into your office as they would when viewing your company’s website or marketing collateral.
It’s best to involve your marketing department in this process, they probably know your brand better than anyone. Kick the collaboration process off early and ensure you create an office that reflects your company’s values.

How much space do you actually need for staff? For office workers, the building code of Australia requires a minimum of 10 square meters per person, but there isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution. The most prudent advice is to map your floor plans to your most busy days. With all staff on deck and functioning fluidly, have you accounted for aisle space, meeting rooms and breakout areas? Err on the side of caution, especially if you plan to expand in the near future.

With technology advancing to the point where many people can do much of their job from anywhere there’s an internet connection, a new office fit-out could be the perfect opportunity to restructure your office layout, downsize, or move from cubicles to more collaborative work spaces.
With some staff working remotely full or part time, you can save money on total floor space, but often it’s better to rework that space into conference rooms, client areas, breakout areas or even a recreational area.

To get a good balance right in your new office, you need to understand exactly how staff are using your current office space. Breakdown and examine the following:

How frequently are kitchens and break areas being used?

How much time is spent at desks and in meeting rooms?

Are there areas that are over or under used?

Do some teams have too much or too little space?

Is there sufficient storage space?

Is current storage space too much, or too little?

Can you accommodate for visitors in your reception area?

It may be worthwhile to survey your staff so that your fit-out is based on practical feedback. Ask your staff what they like or dislike about the current space, how they believe it could be improved (in terms of efficiency and productivity), as well as general additions to the office they would like to see.

In Perth the open plan office is still a popular layout, but new designs focusing on accommodating workgroups, collaborative teams, and remote working are trending in more forward-thinking workplaces.
Consider some of the following trends.

Natural materials and use of daylight are trends that promote office wellbeing.

Standing desks: Convertible standing desks have been shown to offer dramatic boosts to productivity and health.

Multipurpose spaces are replacing cubicles. Benches and shared spaces promote collaboration and inter-office engagement.

Other on-trend office designs in Perth include making the building’s business area, lobby and entrances warm, attractive and inviting. These are the first areas that prospective clients will see, so you want them to make a lasting impression.

If you’re a client facing business, your office sells your business just as much as your staff do, and first impressions count. Before you commence your new office fit-out, remember that you have a blank canvas to work with, so make sure to use it to your advantage and consider everything in terms of design and resources to deliver a workplace that impresses clients. This could include:

Comfortable and engaging reception areas.

Recreational and entertainment areas.

Artwork, perhaps hanging collections or commissioned wall murals by local artists.

Think about the type of clients you typically attract or aspire to engage in your new office. Design the interior in a way that makes a lasting impression on visiting clients. There’s nothing quite as valuable to your brand equity as positive word of mouth.

Certain colours can improve the look and feel of an office.

High saturation colours are more stimulating, while lower saturation creates a more soothing ambience.

The colour blue will stimulate or soothe the mind, and is great for logical work like accountancy.

Yellow stokes creativity, emotions, confidence and ego, and is better suited to daring marketing strategists, creative agencies or collaboration spaces where sparks fly.

Green offers a sense of balance, but can also feel inert or stagnate if used incorrectly. Great for finalising contracts, signing documents or in breakout areas.

Red shines in physical work, movement and the body. High saturation red markings are perfect for zoning areas when contractors are on-site, while low saturation reds will soothe and calm the body.

The right colour combinations provide multiple benefits and are ideal for achieving colour sensitivity without compromising on brand colours.

There may come a time where you’ll want to hire more staff or buy more equipment or furniture, so make sure the office design lets you easily accommodate new staff members or new equipment, particularly if you want to avoid relocating. This includes:

Exterior doorways, aisles and halls that can easily fit trolleys and equipment.

Modular design for repurposing spaces.

Consideration for mezzanine levels to expand workspace without floor space

It might not always be possible to just rent the floor above or open the office out, so planning for more collaborative spaces and scheduling remote working and agile environments can help you expand without relocating or overspending on floor space in the future.

Your new Perth fit-out is about more than just great interior design and space saving modern features. Basic systems like lighting and temperature control can be modernised to be more efficient and ‘smart’, but they should also have manual fail safes in place in case of power loss or disaster recovery.

Consider your current and future office needs for the following and how they might be best designed to complement your office fit-out.

Air conditioners: Where are the best points for their installation? How are they controlled? What is the most efficient schedule?

Lighting: What types of lighting will you use? From overhead luminaires to desk lamps and wall lights, office lighting throws up a lot of options and considerations.

Thermostats: Who has control, and from where?

While you won’t have to be an expert on every aspect of your fit-out, Bestcraft will work together with you to ensure you get the best features and implementation for your budget.

When fitting out your Perth office, you can leave key departments or work areas undisturbed at important times during business hours. Or you can choose to carry out your office fit-out after business hours. This is especially important when migrating your IT and telecoms systems to a new location in order to prevent disrupting communications. Your clients should still be able to contact you via phone or email during the design and construction phases of your new office fit-out. Here’s some things you can do to ensure your office fit-out goes as smoothly as possible:

Redirect inbound calls to a mobile or office independent line during critical operations.

Migrate business technology to the cloud so you team can remain connected.

Overlap office migration to mitigate risk.

Coordinate with team leaders and managers to work around large projects or important deadlines.

Schedule workplace retreats, training and team building to get staff out of the office but remain productive during the fit-out.

From start to finish your new Perth office fit-out should promote health and safety and remain compliant with OHS standards. This includes during the build and over the course of your tenancy. Remember:

By engaging Bestcraft you engage a certified contractor.

Ensure first aid kits and fire extinguishers are on site.

Post proper signage to prevent unauthorised entry, notify people of works, offer detours etc.

Consult your insurance policy and update as necessary.

The site should be free of any potential health and safety hazards at all times. Work towards mitigating risk and prevent accidents, injuries or illnesses for which you could be liable.

You can never be too prepared when it comes to complying with rules and regulations in Australian Law. At Bestcraft we have a reputation of safe and timely project execution.

Your office design should comply with relevant laws if you want to avoid costly lawsuits and other legal problems in the future. This includes getting a building permit and a certificate of electrical safety for all electrical equipment, having an ergonomic work environment and ample working space, providing fire services (fire alarms and extinguishers) and mechanical services. Your office design should also include disabled access and take into account employee health and hygiene.