Office Fit-Out Checklist

An office fit-out might not be the way you’d envisage spending your hard-earned profits, but there are numerous benefits associated with creating the best possible environment for you, your team and your clients. This type of project can be expensive, so although we can provide all the advice you need, it makes sense for you to know exactly what’s involved.

With that in mind, here’s our office fit-out checklist to get you up to speed…

Who should manage your office fit-out?

A big part of an office fit-out is picking the right person to manage the project. It’s best to have a single individual who can manage the process from your end to make sure they have all the information when any decisions need to be made. The perfect person for the job should be:

• Senior enough to make decisions
• A good communicator
• Aware of the budget and able to stick to it
• Extremely organised
• Capable of multitasking

Make sure you do the maths

The cost of the fit-out is likely to be one of your business’s biggest expenses, so it’s essential you set a realistic budget in your office fit out checklist and know exactly how much each part of the job will cost. All reputable contractors will provide free estimates, so make sure you get quotes from at least two contractors before you start. This is always one to consider on your office fit out checklist!

The costs you may need to consider include:

• Planning permission fees
• Transaction fees for agents and lawyers
• Costs incurred by the landlord to draw up a Licence to Alter
• Fire plan assessments
• Environmental assessments
• Insurance
• Design costs
• IT and telecoms
• Furniture
• Contingency costs

When is the best time to carry out the work?

When thinking about the timing of the office fit-out, you need to consider the amount of disruption it will cause and whether it can be completed out of office hours. Within your office fit out checklist, you should:

• Ask the contractors whether they have experience completing’ business as usual’ fit-outs
• Discuss how much work needs to be one during office hours and the likely impact it will have
• Discuss measures that can be put in place to minimise disruption

What do you want to achieve?

If you’ve spent months thinking about how your perfect office will look, now’s your chance to make it happen. It’s important not to let your imagination be confined by physical restrictions, such as walls which are already in place. Explain your requirements to your office fit-out team and ask them to draw up some designs that make the most of the available space.

Feasibility studies have an important part to play in the process as they will help you evaluate your needs now and in the future, both in terms of the storage space you’ll need and accommodating more employees as you grow. Things to consider include:

• How many workstations do you need now and over the next five years?
• How can you make it easier for employees and departments to communicate and work collaboratively?
• How many meeting rooms do you need?
• What communal spaces will you have?
• Where will the reception area go?
• Will you have enough toilets?
• How big is the furniture?
• Where will the storage units go?
• Where’s the best place for the kitchen?
• How can you make the most of natural light?

The lighting, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems are another important aspect of the work. You need to think about how you will keep energy bills down and give the building the best possible environmental rating.

Does that sound like a lot of work?

If that sounds a bit daunting, at the Invisible Group, we can take control of the whole office fit-out process for you, creating an attractive, usable space that’s a perfect fit for your business. Take a look at some of our office fit-outs or get in touch to discuss your requirements today.