The Office Landscape of 2017 (Part Two) - Office Furniture for "Dummies"

Looking for some insight into today's office furniture offerings? Maybe this can help...

DEALERSHIPS - The office furniture industry is set up not unlike to the auto industry. Furniture manufacturers from around the world work through a dealership in a given market (some exclusively) as their local sales, design, project management and installation groups. All dealerships work through a number of different manufacturers, but most are typically built around one main (systems furniture) manufacturer as their "staple" product.

PRICING - All pricing in the office furniture industry is based off of a discounted percentage of list price. Typically, the larger the project or the more desperate the dealer, the deeper the discounting you can receive. Dealers are given a "standard" percentage off of list, that they typically mark up somewhere between 18% - 25%. If you have a larger project (think, more than $100K), the dealer will typically work with the manufacturer to secure deeper discounting for your project that will only be extended for the duration of the initial (large) project.

PROJECT SIZE - Whether you're buying one chair or 1,000...whether you're buying one desk or filling a three-storied building: you should receive the best possible service from your office furniture dealer. Some of the larger dealers do spend far more time and resources chasing the "bigger projects", but even after those projects are done, they typically wind up with a bevy of smaller projects from each of those clients. If you're not being serviced in a timely manner, find a dealer who will treat you like they would Microsoft. 

COLLABORATION/CULTURE - The buzzwords in office layouts, lately. Does open, collaborative space work for you? Does it work for your culture? That depends on who you are and what you do. It also depends on what your associates do. People in sales or project management may like an open collaborative area. Your accounting department or even your customer service people might not. Our advice is to work with everyone to find out what they need, by department. Be careful to not bog yourself down with trying to appease every individual. You'll regret it. Break it all down by department then leave some flexible spaces that can be used by multiple departments and individuals seeking a change of scenery. Your culture should be based on who you're marketing yourself to, internally. Hiring people is expensive - you can limit turnover by providing a positive, comfortable and productive workspace.

PRODUCTS...

WORK/TASK SEATING - This is the most important investment you can make. You want your associates to be comfortable at their desks. Why? Because you typically want them sitting, focusing and being productive. Take the time to research your seating options and, if you're going to spend a little extra money - spend it here. Some very good options include (alphabetically): Haworth (Zody, Very), Herman Miller (Embody, Aeron), Humanscale (Freedom) Neutral Posture (High Performance Series, Icon) and Steelcase (Leap, Gesture). If you're planning to buy a large number of chairs, every dealership should be willing to "loan" you some options for a trial basis of typically about a week or two. If you're looking to buy only one to a few chairs, take the time to check the chair out at their showroom or ask them to bring you one for a quick trial. 

WORKSTATIONS/CUBICLES - You'll find a wide range of options here and every dealership/manufacturer typically has all of the same options. Every manufacturer has a monolithic (solid panel, fabric-covered) panel, a tiled (metal frame that can be tiled with metal, wood, laminate, glass or fabric) panel and usually one overly-creative and eventually outdated and discontinued option. Stick with the monolithic or maybe the tiled options. Tiled panels give you options with regard to the tiling and style of the panels, but are also typically thicker and take up more real estate. 

BENCHING - What is benching? Benching is using long rows of tables, connected by power and data wiring and often including desktop-affixed fabric or plexiglass dividers, as workstations. In an open/collaborative work area or if you're really limited on real estate - these can work wonders. 

SIT-TO-STAND - If you're looking for a truly ergonomic experience for your associates, you'll want to include a sit-to-stand desk option in their work area. No matter how great a chair you purchase, sitting all day isn't good for you. There are crank-actuated, counterweighted and electric-motor bases that can raise and lower any desk top or worksurface. The best options are the electric bases and you can typically find them for somewhere between $500-$900 each. Desktop units that raise and lower your monitor and keyboard are not as ergonomically beneficial, but can be purchased for somewhere between $300-$500 each. 

ACCESSORIES - Adjustable monitor arms are a great addition to any workstation. Keyboard trays typically aren't as popular as you would think they'd be and only a few associates wind up using them. With regard to sorting and organizational accessories - it's best to leave that up to the individual, as everyone uses their workstation differently. 

STORAGE - Even if you've gone paperless - your associates will want, need and appreciate as much storage as you can afford them. Whether it's in the workstation or outside (filing and cabinets) storage space will almost always be utilized and can help your office from becoming cluttered.

Have any other questions or concerns? Feel free to contact us at darren.mellas@elev8office.com or 801-783-9655. 

The Office Landscape of 2017 (Part One) - Layout, Budget & Dealer

The modern office space has become more complicated than ever before. Gone are the days of the “one size fits all” cubicle.

What kind of a layout would best fit your people, your culture and your budget?

Many have tried to quantify exactly what’s best for your business. For instance, this advertising exec in NY, has strong feelings that you may or may not want to consider – Google got it wrong…

Herman Miller’s Living Office – Living Office and Haworth’s Organic Workspace Organic Workspace both offer a plethora of legitimate research and insight into what works best for “most” workers.

The bottom line? One size does not fit all.

What you need to consider are the following:

Culture –

What are you trying to communicate to your people and your customers? Are you hip? Are you organized? Are you traditional?

You can offer an open, collaborative and mobile workplace with a dash of color and panache and build a culture like a Google or an Adobe, if that’s the environment that suits you best. Tech companies are the best example of businesses that need to stay current in order to attract and retain talent.

Building a more organized, linear and divided space might be best for your people, if you’re in a business that requires that approach. Think of aerospace or accounting for examples of companies that would fit this mold.

If you’re more of a traditional space, for which we’ll use a law office as an example, you might need something with a bit more wood veneer and rich Corinthian leather.

Generation –

Who are you trying to market yourself to with regard to your prospective employees?

Today’s worker has options and you’ll need to provide them with a workplace that suits them or they may leave for someone who does.

Many Millennials would prefer a more open, collaborative space, while…let’s say…”more experienced” workers might prefer to be divided behind office walls or panel walls from those around them so that they can better concentrate on what they’re doing.

Having different types of workspaces within your office that people can gravitate towards, rather than assigned spaces, is a current trend that makes sense. Allow your people to work in an open area with a team but then move back into an isolated area when they need to do “heads down” work.

Also consider breaking up your office not by generation, but really more by department. If you have a design department or a sale department or groups of project teams working together, collaboration can be key. At the other end of the spectrum, accounting and legal typically prefer some seclusion.

Don’t ever get bogged down trying to give every individual an individualized workspace. Giving them options throughout your space is truly the best approach.

Budget –

Outside of the “traditional” option where veneers and leathers can get very expensive, you should be able to furnish your space however you prefer under a similar budget.

More expensive does not necessarily mean better, other than with regard to task seating/work chairs. A desk is a desk and a cubicle is a cubicle (with some rare exceptions), but the chair you choose to sit your assets in (no pun intended) matters most. You want your associates comfortable and productive and at their desks.

Some manufacturers have better warranties than others and there are certainly differing levels of quality amongst the various manufacturers, but a little research will typically ferret out those options.

Dealer –

Most local furniture dealers are simply a local sales representative for one (or typically dozens) of furniture manufacturers scattered around the country. Think of them as being like a local car dealership.

There are literally thousands of commercial furniture manufacturers, some are focused on certain items (soft seating, tables, etc) while others have a complete catalog of various items to comprehensively fill your workspace.

Every furniture dealer can cover a wide range of products and services that will properly furnish your workspace. Experience is the key with most dealerships, though be warned that the age of the dealership may not necessarily be representative of the experience level of their employees. Insist on an experienced designer who can take the time to interview you and then best put your impressions and requests into a workspace best suited for you.

Also, be sure to take the time to research who they choose to deliver and install your furniture. Some dealerships have their own installation group, but all of them subcontract local installers for some or all of their deliveries. Throughout the process of furnishing your space, the installation will be the last thing you remember.

Have any other questions? Contact us today at Elev8 Office