Maximise Your Investment with the Right Office Design Partner
Partnering with an Office Design Firm: How to Maximise Your Investment
Working with a reputable office design firm isn’t just crucial to the success of your project, it’s also crucial to the success of your business. Whether you’re eager to impress clients when they come to visit or want a welcoming space that leads to less WFH, an office that isn’t fit for purpose will mean a lot of precious time and money wasted.
To prevent this from happening, it’s vital to find a company that you know you can rely on. And as a trusted UK office design and fit out company, we believe the best way to do this is by using a thorough (yet fair) vetting process.
In this post, we’ll be delving into the perks of working with an office interior design firm, as well as taking you through some office designer ‘must-haves’ that will hopefully make you more certain about who you’re going to pick.
Why Enlist The Help of an Office Designer?
If you’re planning an office refurbishment, enlisting support from an office designer or office interiors agency is a smart choice. Handing the design, construction, and build decisions over to a professional eliminates a lot of the headache. All that worry over choosing materials, sourcing trusted contractors, and sticking to a budget is taken out of your hands because the office designer does it for you.
That’s not to say that as a manager or CEO, you’re completely excluded from the design process. Any reputable office design firm will consult with you every step of the way, but at least as the delegator, not the doer, you can get on with running a business while your design team do most of the leg work.
Selecting Your Design Firm: What To Look For
Ready to draw up your very own design firm checklist? From industry expertise to recent reviews, here are some essentials that should always be considered:
Find an Office Design Partner That Knows Your Industry
A great way to uncover whether your prospective design partner will be a suitable fit is by checking the types of industries they normally design for. Take a look at their website: have they worked on similar projects in the past? Do they actively target your industry in their adverts? If they’re not experienced in fit outs for your industry, do they seem like the kind of company that would be willing to learn about your work?
If the answer’s yes, it’s a good sign that they should be on your list of ‘companies to work with’.
Check Out Their Previous Office Interiors
This one’s a bit of a given, but if you’re selecting a company to work with, always check their case studies. While companies that can only show design prototypes or mockups shouldn’t be scoffed at, finding the right design partner is about knowing what they can deliver. And that means having photographic evidence.
Check to see if they have a consistent design style or if they’re able to adapt to different projects. From there, prioritise what suits you best. Perhaps you want a design partner who can pull off a specific look? Or, maybe it was their signature style that drew you in in the first place? Take the time to think about what you truly want from your space, and let that guide your choice.
Look For Designers Who Will Listen To Your Needs
Early on in the process, it can be tricky to suss out whether a company will be good at listening, but you can still get a good indication of how they’ll behave from their initial email correspondence and other communications.
Take note of whether they ask you questions in return – do they display curiosity to know more about the purpose of your space? Do they show a willingness to adapt to your priorities? If, at the quote stage, your designer offers something completely different to what you want or need, they’re probably not listening, and may be best avoided.
Check Out Recent Reviews
Another way to figure out whether a prospective designer will be good at listening is by checking out their past reviews. Head to Google and explore what other companies have said. Have they left any comments that mention communication? Were they satisfied with the overall job? Have they testified that the company can deliver on the brief? While anything over 4 stars is usually a promising indication that you can trust a company overall, zooming in closer on what people have said can help you to truly understand whether they’re likely to stick to their word.
Expect Exceptional Service
Finally, if you’re paying for a project, there’s no reason why you should expect anything less than exceptional service.
The service you receive relates to every part of the process, and – yes – that even includes the period before you’ve signed on the dotted line.
Be aware of how their staff treat you when you call up to ask a question. Are they helpful? Do they offer to send you any resources? Do they point you in the direction of the thing you might need?
If they’re polite, friendly, and show a willingness to support your project, you’re off to a good start. If you ring up and experience hostility or a lack of willingness to help, no matter how great their portfolio is, it’s a clear warning sign that the working relationship might not meet your expectations.
Make McFeggan Brown Your Trusted Office Design Partner
Looking for trusted UK office designers who care about doing a great job?
With our passionate team at McFeggan Brown, you’re in safe hands. Our experienced designers have worked on a wide variety of office design projects and take pride in their ability to provide exceptional service from start to finish.
Want to find out more about what we do? Take a look at our latest case studies to explore our recent work or get in touch with our friendly team to tell us about your project. We can’t wait to hear from you.