Setting up your office correctly - What needs to be considered?
The optimal office setup is a question that companies are constantly addressing. Due to a constantly changing world of work - new work models, new legal requirements or changing demands of employees on the office - the office setup must also be regularly adapted to these changes.
The office concept - the foundation for successful work
Before dealing with questions of furnishing and designing the office, conceptual and strategic considerations are necessary. Because today, an office is far more than just a collection of workplaces. In times of increasing hybrid work, the office must offer employees added value so that they decide against the home office and for working in the office. Modernly designed offices are therefore oriented towards the tasks and processes in the company and help to optimize them.
When creating a room concept, two basic questions should be answered.
- How many employees are regularly in the office?
- What tasks do employees have to perform?
How many employees are regularly in the office?
Until a few years ago, the question would have been how many employees the company has. But with the emergence of new work models (keyword Remote Work), the office landscape has also changed. Employees are increasingly working part-time or taking advantage of the opportunity to work from home. Freelancers are hired on a project basis and are only in the company for a specific period. All of this leads to a changed capacity requirement in the office.
Companies need to take this into account and incorporate it into their office planning accordingly.
What tasks do employees have to perform?
Office work is not all the same. Depending on the area of responsibility, the requirements for office design vary. In general, there has been an increasing trend towards more communication and cooperation in recent years. This means that employees are increasingly working together on projects, and tasks require ever closer cooperation within a team as well as across teams. This must also be taken into account in the concept phase, and the office space must do justice to this circumstance.
What different office concepts are there?
The following general office concepts are typically distinguished:
Cellular office
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
|
Open-plan office
The counterpart to the cellular office is the open-plan office. A large number of employees work together in a shared, open space. There are no specific values as to when an office counts as open-plan in terms of area or number of employees.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
|
Group office
A combination of cellular and open-plan offices creates the group office. This concept attempts to combine the advantages of both, aiming to enable effective collaboration while also allowing for concentrated work. Separation can be achieved through permanently furnished rooms or with the help of mobile partitions.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
|
Combination offices
The combination office combines different approaches and leads to an individually adapted and optimized design. Individual offices exist alongside multifunctional areas. The multifunctional areas can be designed in various ways and offer meeting opportunities as well as café and lounge areas.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
|
Open-desk and non-territorial offices
A relatively new concept that has emerged due to increasing fluctuation caused by new working models is the non-territorial office. With the desk-sharing approach, workstations are no longer provided for every employee. Instead, employees choose a free workstation as needed.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
|
From these approaches, each company must find a solution that suits its own requirements. Although pure forms such as the cellular office or the group office will continue to exist in the future, individual office concepts are unavoidable in most cases in order to create the optimal working environment for employees.
Suitable equipment for the office
The planned office concept serves to divide the available office space into different rooms. In order for the rooms to optimally fulfill their purpose, appropriate office equipment is required. Which office furniture, technology or work equipment is needed depends on the respective area.
Use the following checklist to ensure that your office is properly equipped.
General infrastructure
Regardless of specific concepts, every office needs a functioning infrastructure so that all employees can work without any problems.
In times of advancing digitalization, this includes a high-performance broadband Internet connection. Take into account the number of employees and ensure sufficient transmission speed.
Furthermore, every office needs technology for processing documents. This includes printers and copiers (or multifunction devices) for reproducing documents, as well as shredders for the professional destruction of sensitive documents. Which and how many devices are needed in the office must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Companies should also pay attention to security. This starts with an alarm system to prevent theft. For the safety of employees, the equipment also includes a fire alarm system and first aid equipment.
Many companies are now also taking care of their employees' wellbeing. They show their appreciation for their employees with coffee machines, water dispensers and snack vending machines. Air conditioning or mobile air conditioning units ensure pleasant temperatures in the office during the summer months.
Checklist General Infrastructure
- Powerful broadband connection
- Shredders, printers & copiers
- Security devices such as alarm systems, fire alarm systems, emergency equipment
- Coffee machines, water dispensers, snack machines
- Air conditioning, mobile air conditioners
Workplaces
Regardless of whether it is an open-desk policy or a fixed assignment, the workplace remains the primary place for productive and concentrated work. Accordingly, it should also be equipped with everything you need. The minimum requirements for a workstation include a large desk, a comfortable office chair, good lighting and a computer. What else is needed depends very much on the respective area of responsibility and the needs of the employee.
You can find out more about "Optimal workplace equipment" here: Set up your workplace correctly
Checklist Workplace
- Large desk
- Comfortable office chair
- Lighting – ceiling lights, floor and table lamps
- Computer
- Storage space as required(mobile pedestals, sideboards, filing shelves)
- Printers, Copiers
- Accessories (keyboard, mouse, headset)
Conference and meeting rooms
Due to the increasing importance of cooperation and communication between employees, the need for meeting rooms is also growing. In most companies, there is a chronic shortage of conference and meeting rooms.
On the one hand, conference rooms must offer sufficient space for all participants. A suitable conference table forms the center and provides all persons with sufficient space to sit and for documents and laptops. With comfortable conference chairs, you ensure that participants can sit comfortably even in longer meetings.
On the other hand, it must be possible in a modern conference room to allow external people to participate in meetings. High-quality conference room technology is required for this, including telephone and video conferencing systems.
Last but not least, there is a need for modern presentation technology that allows project plans and progress to be presented easily and effectively to all participants, such as projectors, televisions or smartboards.
Checklist Conference and Meeting Room
- Conference table
- Conference chairs
- Telephone & video conferencing technology
- Presentation technology such as projectors, televisions & smartboards
Open Space
As a multifunctional area, open spaces are increasingly being included in the planning of more and more offices. These areas can be used flexibly. This makes them ideal for short meetings with a few participants, making them a good addition to conference rooms. With open desks, the open space is a popular alternative to your own workplace.
The specific equipment requirements for the open space can vary greatly and depend heavily on what the area is to be used for.
To create additional meeting options, you can use phone booths and meeting booths can be placed. Acoustic furniture can also be used to create meeting points that minimize background noise. Supplemented by smartboards, the areas are ideal for discussing projects.
Desks, office chairs and suitable lighting can be used to create flexible workstations.
Checklist Open Space
- Phone & Meeting Booths
- Acoustic furniture (armchairs, sofas)
- Desks
- Office Chairs
- Workplace lighting
Lounge area
Lounge areas are also enjoying increasing popularity. The lounge area offers guests a pleasant atmosphere while they wait for an appointment. But employees also have the opportunity to relax in a pleasant atmosphere during breaks and quickly switch between work and break mode with a lounge.
Sofas and armchairs can be used to create comfortable seating landscapes that not only serve as a place to relax, but can also be used for meetings in a relaxed atmosphere. Here too, the meeting point can be expanded with technology such as a smartboard or projector for greater productivity.
Coffee machines and water dispensers can be provided to improve the quality of break time.
Checklist Lounge Area
- Upholstered seating furniture such as armchairs, sofas & ottomans
- Alternative: Acoustic furniture (armchairs, sofas)
- Meeting technology such as smartboards, televisions, projectors
- Coffee machines, water dispensers, snacks