Beyond the bottom line: Budgeting for an office renovation or move
04 Nov 2024
Published on:
09 August 2019
Updated on:
11 December 2023
Read time:
3 minutes
Any company that wants to stay ahead, driving growth and increasing productivity, needs to start by considering the office as a valuable point of engagement.
To genuinely succeed, the working environment must appeal to all of the workforce, future and incumbent, across a greater mix of ages and skill-sets than ever before.
Measuring success: Case study one
Many of our clients have opted to implement agile working in order to get the best return on investment whether you choose to measure that success by productivity, staff wellbeing or attraction and retention.
We worked with leading out of home advertising company, Exterion Media on an office fit out solution that enabled it to increase its head count capacity by 50 per cent while reducing its space by 50 per cent, saving them over million in property costs per annum and over 10 million for the full course of the lease.
These great results were achieved by agreeing on the implementation of a new agile working strategy and design in the early stages of consultation. Workplace consultation studies were carried out which indicated that the previous space contained lots of wasted areas and was, overall, uninspiring, impacting negatively on productivity.
The new agile working model, with its activity based spaces and reduced amount of fixed desks, worked favourably on all levels, improving productivity by 32 per cent.
Measuring success: Case study two
Such fantastic results were reflected in a second project undertaken for BDO.
The global accountancy and business advisory service had been occupying 19,600 sq ft but utilisation studies indicated that they needed much less than that for the staff to work efficiently. The overall square footage was reduced to 14,000 making a million saving over the 10 year lease period.
The investment in the early stages planning, surveys, staff interviews, questionnaires - enabled decisions to be made with confidence. The company has since reported a 46 per cent improvement in activity, again indicating that informed agile workplace design is the way to go in order to see a genuine and measurable return on investment.
Bringing disengagement to a halt
And then there are the immeasurable ways in which new office design and fit out brings a return on investment.
Staff happiness and the quest for wellbeing is a constant. If a member of the team enjoys coming in to work and is given choice in how he or she works, it makes sense that they will remain engaged and be more productive.
The level of wellbeing and contentment can be measured by a drop in sick days and absences, higher work targets achieved and staff sticking around for longer periods.
However, there's also something less tangible but just as valuable which offers a way to keep check a warmer and more harmonious atmosphere, improved interaction; not to mention, a lot more smiles!