5 Things Every Startup Office Needs to Look Like a Real Business
When you’re designing your first startup office there will be a million things you forget to consider. Here are 5 things to include in your office design that will make your office feel more official.
Designing your first startup office? Do you have a plan on how it’ll look or how you’ll balance function over form?
With the latest startup office design trends, we can see that businesses are now more open to straying away from the conventional. Offices today now have more personality while keeping the employees’ productivity a priority.
With that said, there’s no one way to decorate an office, whether it’s of a startup or an established company.
You can design it however you want, and it will still look like a “real” business. Make sure, however, to take steps to make your new startup office to be more functional and conducive for work. Here are the 5 tips for your new office to make it look more “official.”
1. Set Up Meeting areas
As a startup, you’re likely going to have a lot of meetings. Although the people in the meeting is are the most important part, the meeting place matters as well.
This is why people hold meetings in closed rooms. Aside from the benefit of keeping confidential information out of eavesdroppers, a closed room also pushes everyone to focus on what’s within the room.
The best way you can boost this effect is by designing the meeting room in a way that the people inside will be more energetic and filled with creative ideas. Ask your creative people if you need help on some cool conference room ideas.
Forget about dull and rigid rooms. Get a stylish unconventional table, grab some comfortable chairs, and paint the walls a bright color – we hear blue is great for stimulating thoughts and helping concentration.
You want to encourage a flow of ideas, so you must prepare the right equipment as well. Get a projector, have a whiteboard ready, and anything that fits your budget.
2. Provide a Relaxation Lounge
Productivity isn’t about sitting in front of your dull desk for the whole 8 hours you’re there. That’s why lounges are increasingly becoming popular – more and more businesses have found that providing their employees with some space where they can clear their minds once in a while is important to their productivity.
Decorate the lounge with some sofas and relaxing chairs. When they’re in a relaxed state, this can help them overcome a productivity wall.
Note that lounges are not only for breaks and socializing. It can also be a great environment for working.
Not everyone needs a desk to work at their best; having a choice to work while sitting in a beanbag, for example, might be able to help them operate at their full potential.
You may even set up multiple lounges for different purposes. Want to have a meeting where you want everyone to be creative? Why not designate a space or room for this?
You can also have a designated break room, where everyone can chat, separate from a quiet space, where your employees can work on a sofa without distraction.
3. Use Partitions
Open floor plans are popular among startups, but they’re not too effective. It provides too many distractions to employees.
Imagine seeing what everyone is doing at any given time and hearing what’s going on at the other end of the room. In a setup where everything can be a distraction, you can’t expect your employees to have high productivity.
Use partitions to separate desks or spaces. The best way to focus is by having as few distractions as possible, and partitions will help with tuning out the visual noise.
They don’t need to see what the whole office is doing; they only need to attend to the task at hand.
Of course, this tip goes hand in hand with meeting rooms and lounges. With partitions, their working space may feel cramped.
They also need some space where they can move around and refuel. Remember, productivity isn’t directly tied to the number of hours worked on a task.
Give your employees the opportunity to recalibrate away from their desk so they can go back to work with new determination and possible the solution to their problem.
4. Have a Reception Area
Having a reception area might be the one thing you need if you want your startup office to look “official.” This is where you’ll be greeting your guests and clients; it’s basically an introduction to your company
Go all out with the design in this area. Showcase your brand and make it a reception area that everyone will remember. Make your first impression count.
Set up some chairs, install a nice wall art, maybe have a coffee corner, and get a television if your budget allows it. You might have seen offices with televisions in the reception area. This way, they can show their brand and activities through videos to their visitors as they wait.
This is also good for your employees’ morale. This area will be greeting them first thing in the morning as they come in for work. This sets a nice tone for the rest of the workday.
5. Decorate Your Startup Office with Your Brand
While you’re designing your office, don’t forget to incorporate your brand any way you can. From the front door to every area, it’s a good idea for your office to make it obvious what your company is about.
Not sure where to go for graphic displays? You can always turn to Image360 for their professional services.
It also helps the employees in some way. It creates a feeling of solidarity and it’s a reminder of whom they’re working for. This way, the brand seeps into the work culture as well.
The biggest advantage of this, however, is the trust it instills into your clients and customers. If you do a great job of branding your business and office, your visitors will be more likely to trust you.
Aside from putting your logo everywhere, let your design and furniture choices speak your brand. For tech startups, for example, get tech office furniture and incorporate tech savvy decor into your startup office design.
Get Professional Help
The last thing you’ll need to do is to make your startup office design ideas come to life. Get the help of professionals and see how they can do wonders.
But don’t stop discovering new strategies!
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