Top Office Design Tips for Professional Services
The professional services industry is a competitive market with specific requirements when it comes to office design. It is an industry made up of a wide variety of professionals that need an office design flexible enough to accommodate individual business goals, while also projecting a comprehensive and unified brand.
To meet these disparate conditions, professional office design needs to fulfill specific requirements that boost employee productivity, fulfill client needs, and promote workplace excellence. And, with proper planning and foresight, your professional services business can accomplish all of these things and more.
Create an effective office space for your professional services workplace by following these tips:
1. A need for privacy
The open office concept has been popular with new tech companies looking to impress, but this trend has largely not been adopted by professional services firms. This is because no matter the type of professional service, agencies and firms all have a need for privacy.
Professional office design needs to create an environment that allows workers to concentrate on their tasks and serve their clients discreetly. This means a professional office should have an ample number of small, enclosed rooms that can partition a workplace into manageable, workable spaces.
By allocating specific spaces to your employees, a professional office can provide the privacy needed by professional services workers.
2. Comfortable and effective meeting rooms
Professional services such as accounting and legal don’t tend to collaborate in large groups, preferring instead to congregate in smaller numbers. That means that it is important for professional services offices to provide meeting rooms that are small yet effective.
Prioritize comfort to ensure your clients and guests get the hospitality they require. Make sure that sight lines are clear around meeting tables, and that lighting can be dynamically adjusted. Ensure that meeting rooms are properly equipped with necessary equipment to allow for clear communication with out-of-office meeting members.
Consider the needs of your workers to ensure they have everything they need to complete their tasks. Impress clients with a welcome that will ensure their visit at your office is fulfilling and productive.
3. Reduce external noise
Quietness is a golden quality for professional services. It allows your workers to concentrate, and creates a distinguished tone that befits a high-ranking business. And to accomplish this, your office design needs to create noise-free workspaces where employees can work freely without distraction..
Try placing meeting rooms and board rooms near the front of your office, and away from workspaces. Consider adding sound-dampening materials such as carpets and tapestries. Be careful using hard surfaces like glass to partition your office in order to avoid unwanted sound reflections and echoes.
By keeping office noise down, your professional service will see its productivity go up.
4. Create different office zones
Your workers have a variety of tasks they need to perform. And, to do them properly, your office should provide a variety of work zones that cater to their different needs.
In addition to concentrating on individual tasks, professional services workers need to work with other team members as well as unwind. As such, try creating a professional services office that designates space for contemplation, collaboration, and conversation.
Create formal and informal meeting spaces that include lounge furniture for a change of environment. Make these areas distinct so that they won’t negatively impact employees in other zones.
Provide an environment that is able to serve different functions to better suit the needs of your employees.
5. Maximize space efficiency
Location is a prime consideration for professional services. A professional services office should ideally be in a commercial space located in a high-traffic area, signifying that rental expenses will be an ongoing concern.
To get the most out of your office, maximize the space in your office design. Try maximizing usable vertical space to make offices feel larger and more open. Put your heavy storage on the floor, and arrange your tall storage space against a single wall. Break free of the limitations of a closed office by using translucent and bright materials that create a light, bright and open atmosphere.
Make sure that every last square inch of office space serves a purpose to ensure the space of your professional services office has been fully maximized.
In all, a professional office design needs to present the brand and services of a professional services firm or agency with distinction and confidence. Create a modern environment that allows for collaboration and future growth to inspire your workers and encourage trust in your clients!
Find out how you can improve your office by reading our blog! Learn how you can improve workplace wellbeing in your office, or how to avoid a disruptive office renovation.
Read our explainer on the differences between flexible, agile, and activity-based working, and find out what technology is required to make your hybrid workplace successful.
Do you want to increase productivity in your office? Are you looking for an office design that lets your employees fulfill their potential? Sensyst creates premium office interior designs for all types of businesses. Contact us and let us know how we can help!