Are you in the midst of planning for a new office or a refurb? If so, you might be feeling anxious about getting the details right at the planning stage so that you don’t have expensive regrets down the road. To help you through this process, we’ve compiled the ultimate office space planning checklist, covering 20 essentials to consider along the way.
After all, as experts in ergonomic office furniture design, we know all too well how important it is to get the details of your office right. A workplace that’s well-designed can support your employee’s well-being and productivity no end so it’s a worthy investment.
When you’re ready to put the finishing touches on your office, our ergonomic and stylish office chairs are the ultimate choice. Until then, work your way through this list and you’ll have all of your other key bases covered.
1. Set a realistic budget
Factor in all the key costs like construction, furniture and your technology setup. Get granular with your costings as smaller items like cable management and bins all add up. We’d suggest adding around 10% as a contingency for unexpected costs that crop up.
Remember, the more quotes you can gather, the more likely you are to come to a consensus on what it should cost. Beware of prices that seem too good to be true, as you may end up with unexpected additional costs as the work progresses. A nightmare if you’ve already allocated your spend elsewhere.
2. Gauge your space requirements
Get a grasp on exactly what space your team will need currently as well as with projected company growth. After all, it would be frustrating to plan the perfect office space for 40 people and then hire a dozen more within the year and have nowhere to seat them.
Flexible areas can be great for handling this inevitable team flux. Plan in places like breakout spaces, booths and storage that could be easily converted to an extra bank of desks if the need arises.
Wondering how much space you need? The benchmark is around 11-12 cubic metres per person.
3. Choose your basic layout
Think carefully about how your teams actually work together. An open plan office space might suit more collaborative teams but client-facing roles may need private offices to handle calls and meetings. Zoning is an ideal solution to this headache.
4. Build in storage from the start
Think about it – a hot desking setup won’t work if paperwork, stationery, kitchen supplies and reams of printer paper are clogging up desk space. Storage should be high on your list of considerations, which is exactly why features so highly up our office space planning checklist.
Some office storage ideas to consider:
- Floor-to-ceiling units on a back wall – These can be easily taken down if needed as additional work space and use the full height and width of the wall for storing essentials
- Adequate kitchen storage – You’ll likely be buying in bulk for the best price, so plan for the space that items like teabags and kitchen roll take up en masse
- Personal storage for employees – A coat cupboard, personal lockers or under-desk drawers go a long way to maintaining a harmonious environment as well as a feng shui office
5. Consider accessibility
This should be a priority from the start to ensure every team member or visitor can easily access your workplace. In fact, accessibility is a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). Your adjustments could take the form of wheelchair-friendly layouts, braille signage or even assistive tech.
6. Plan your tech stack
Wifi doesn’t just magically appear – it has to be based from somewhere. Preferably not behind a large, signal-blocking element like a metal filing cabinet. The same goes for planning cable routes and additional electrical connections.
For both a Cat A or Cat B fit-out, you should be able to plan for running any crucial wires (like ethernet cables) under your flooring and walls to prevent them from being a trip hazard.
7. Make the most of natural light
There are countless benefits to working in natural light – from better sleep at night to lifted mood during the day. If you’ve got access to window light, ensure your desks make the most of it and don’t block it out with any structural elements!
Daylight is a mega mood booster and productivity enhancer. Go for an open layout with glass partitions to let that light flood in. And don’t block those windows with tall furniture!
8. Create spaces for collaboration
If you’re opting for a physical office location over fully remote working, you’re likely invested in the collaborative benefits of having your staff in one place. Help them make the most of it with video conferencing tech, whiteboards and of course spaces intended for gathering outside of their office desks.
9. Balance this out with privacy
Yes, desk banks and breakout zones can foster creativity and collaboration. But sometimes it’s essential to have a quiet space for focused work or client meetings. That’s why office space planning guidelines typically suggest you include private workspaces or booths in your design, too.
10. Check building regulations
Make sure your office plans tick all the compliance boxes. This means proper fire exits and routes, adequate ventilation and the right amount of space per person.
This could also mean getting expert advice on accessibility requirements or checking if you need planning permission for structural changes, especially in listed buildings.
Ensure you’re compliant with:
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 for basics like lighting and ventilation
- Fire Safety Order requirements for emergency routes and exits
- The Equality Act 2010 for accessible facilities and reasonable adjustments
- Display Screen Equipment (DSE) regulations for workstation setups
- The minimum requirement of 11 cubic metres of space per person
- Local authority planning permissions for any structural changes
- Specific regulations for listed buildings if applicable
- HVAC requirements for adequate fresh air circulation
- Building Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standards
There are a lot of boxes to tick, so give yourself plenty of time to tackle them all. And remind yourself, it will all be worth it for the finished product!
11. Invest in sustainability from day one
There are a range of ways that you can put sustainability at the forefront of your mind while refurbishing your office. A key one is to ensure that aspects of your build, like materials and resources, water and energy usage, meet the standards of certifications like BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).
Here’s a quick video guide on just how this assessment process works:
However, even small changes can make a big impact on how people use your office. That could be planning space for a recycling point or opting for energy-saving LED lights.
Need more inspiration? We’ve got a whole list of eco-friendly office ideas to consider.
12. Incorporate plant life
You might not think of plants as something that requires planning, let us change your mind. Plants have been shown time and again to be a fantastic mood booster for staff and also a great way to aesthetically spruce up your office. However, you can’t just plonk them anywhere.
Think about:
- Where natural light falls – As there’s no point putting shade-loving plants in direct sun
- Where they’re positioned – Hanging across a character metal roof beam might give a great industrial office look but will likely be a pain to water and maintain
- High-impact spots – Consider meeting room corners, reception areas and common areas where they’ll wow the most staff and visitors
- Plant varieties – Opt for plants that won’t die if no one waters them over the long bank holiday weekends
Tip: If you’re worried about maintaining your greenery, check out fake office plants for the same visual effect but no care needs. Their quality has really come on in recent years!
13. Plan for employee wellbeing
You do more than just work at work and your office space planning should account for this. You need spaces where people can store food, eat together and store bags and equipment.
You can take this as far as you like. An extra, bookable leisure space could host lunchtime yoga or an after-work book club. An outdoor space or balcony could become a place for after-work drinks or a lunchtime gardening club. Another popular idea – when redesigning your toilets, consider installing a shower for those employees who make the most of your cycle-to-work scheme.
These things might seem like unnecessary extras, however the recent Fellowes Workplace Wellness Trend Report reveals that 87% of workers would like their current employer to offer healthier workspace benefits. That’s a compelling figure.
14. Loop your staff into your plans
Has that last point left you wondering what would actually benefit your team? We get it, you don’t want to silo loads of money converting a room into an after-work karaoke room if you have a team of introverts who like an early finish on a Friday.
Check in with your staff along the process and ask them to sense check whether their needs are being met by your working plans. They’ll often notice things you haven’t. Plus, it’s way cheaper to build or buy things from the start than to have to make big retrospective changes after the work is complete.
15. Master your building occupancy
If you’re planning to stagger when different teams come into the office, you’ll need to consider if your building delivers what every team needs within your current rota.
For instance, imagine you plan to have client service execs in at the same time as your sales team and your senior management team. You might find your privacy booths overwhelmed with people trying to speak to clients, sales leads or hold sensitive business discussions.
16. Consider solutions for hybrid working
On that note, if you do have staff who’ll be working from home at least part of the time, there’s a high chance you’ll be implementing hot desking rather than letting desks sit empty half the time.
If so, consider where employees will put coats, bags, lunches, stationery and any other items that would typically sit on a desk. This might mean installing lockers or carving out space from your layout for a more generous-sized cloakroom than is typical in offices built in pre-Covid times.
17. Create a showstopping first impression
You know how the motto goes, you only get one chance at a first impression. Invest in some smart-looking custom signage that establishes your corporate identity to staff and visitors alike. If you have a reception area, make sure there’s a pleasant waiting area with comfortable seating – after all, this could be interviewees’ or prospective clients’ very first impression of your business.
18. Plan for the new normal of video calls
What we mean by this is that there’s a new status quo that’s not likely to change dramatically now that it’s arrived. It’s highly likely that both your staff and customers (or clients) will need to touch base ‘virtually’ with your business using technology. So it pays to consider this in your plans.
How? Invest in great quality video conferencing technology as part of your tech costs and consider that video conferencing might increase the internet bandwidth you need for glitch-free (and embarrassment-free) calls.
19. Sort out your acoustics
You don’t want to waste space in your office layout by adding lots of dead space but you also don’t want to be able to hear every word of video calls, conferences and sensitive HR meetings. That’s why you need to have acoustics on your office space planning checklist.
Add these upgrades to your building spec to ensure your sound insulation is top-notch:
- Use double layer drywall with acoustic sealant in between the two layers instead of using standard single layer drywall
- Install mass-loaded vinyl barriers to the outside of walls during construction
- Place acoustic floor matting under carpeting
All of this should combine to deaden sound as much as possible.
20. Bare the seasons in mind
Remember, you need to be able to work comfortably all year round so keep the seasons in mind. Thanks to the variation in British weather conditions you’ll probably want to consider air conditioning or fans for the summer as well as smart heating solutions for the long winter.
Office space planning checklist complete? Here’s your final item
You’ve got your layout sorted, worked out where everyone’s sitting and even planned where to put the bins. But now that you’ve set up the perfect space, you need to get your team sitting comfortably in it.
For that, you need Slouch. The most comfortable and custom-adjustable office chair on the market. Did we mention we have sturdy matching desks too for a seamless matching look?
Contact our team today if you want to speak to us about buying in bulk using [email protected]. We’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.
