11 Common Commercial Office Fitout Mistakes

Does your office need a makeover? Maybe you’re moving to a new location and need a complete office fitout. Regardless of why you need a commercial office fitout, it can be pretty daunting. That’s why we’ve compiled 11 common commercial fitout mistakes for you to avoid.

1. Not Enough Planning

You can make many common mistakes throughout a fitout project, but perhaps none are as damaging as failing to plan accordingly. Planning your office fitout should be a smooth process, but the reality can be quite different. For example, if you have too many people involved, it’s likely to get messy. On the other hand, if you leave the job to too few, you’re likely to miss things.

Planning your office fitout needs to consider budget, space, number of staff, colour schemes, furniture style, lighting, desk layout, accessibility to shared office equipment and more. Plus, you need to consider whether the changes you make now will suit your business in 5 years and again in 10 years.

Nobody has a crystal ball, but if you have business plans in place, you should have an idea of whether you’ll stay the same size or expand. All of these things need to be taken into consideration, and it’s why the most successful office fitouts are done in conjunction with office design experts.

2. Being Too Creative

If you spend a lot of time online researching unique office designs, it’s easy to get carried away. You can find some incredible office layouts and designs, but the ones that work best are those where everything links together. For example, a trendy new tech business might have table tennis tables or super-comfy beanbags. This is fine because it suits that business and presumably suits the space they are in.

But the reality is that being too inspired by the weird and wonderful office designs out there is a massive risk. No business or office space is the same, so you need to work with what you have. Creativity is excellent, but it should never get in the way of functionality. Often, relying on too many trendy office design gimmicks results in a fitout project that simply isn’t practical.

3. Failing to Consult Employees

We’re not suggesting that employees should be given free rein to design your new office fitout. However, as the people who will use the office the most, they should definitely be given a say. Of course, you may have some employees who couldn’t care less what the office looks like as long as they have a desk and some privacy. But you might also find that some staff members have an excellent eye for design and can contribute some worthwhile suggestions.

You might like to try sending out a request for ideas. For example, are there things most staff members want, such as an open-plan office? Perhaps they desperately want some more space for collaboration. They might even just have some ideas about the colour scheme.

Of course, you’ll work in conjunction with professionals who can guide the office fitout process, and you’ll never please 100% of people. But seeking ideas from staff helps build engagement and allows them to adapt to change if they feel they are part of the process.

4. Lighting mistakes

If you’ve spent a significant amount of time in an office environment, you know how important lighting is. The reality is that poor lighting affects employee performance, health and engagement. Have you ever tried to work in a poorly lit room? It’s not much fun, and it’s extremely difficult to be productive.

Natural light is the best type of lighting in an office environment. If you have the luxury of windows or skylights in your office space, the task of lighting is much easier. Of course, you’ll still need internal lighting, but using natural light is much better for employee health.

Fluorescent lighting is quite common in office environments, but most experts will recommend avoiding this where possible. Today, you can even purchase office lights that mimic natural light, probably the best and healthiest options for the office.

5. Lack of Proper Budgeting

They say that money is the root of all evil, but it’s also the root of many office fitout mistakes. Typically, even when business owners know that the office needs an overhaul, they don’t want to spend more than they have to. And that’s totally okay, as long as you’re willing to compromise along the way.

Since most people won’t have much of an idea how much an office fitout costs, it’s best to do a little research into what you need. This will give you a rough idea of the cost, but you’ll need to get a little more specific from there. Set a clear budget that should, in theory, deliver everything you need.

With thorough planning and budgeting, you can approach office fitout specialists for a quote and adjust your plan according to your budget. That way, once the work starts, you won’t have any nasty financial surprises.

6. Leaving No Space for Collaboration

In modern offices, people love collaboration. The days of people hiding away in cubicles, barely talking to their co-workers, is long in the past. At least in successful offices, that is. Giving your staff the ability to collaborate and discuss things is one of the most important aspects of office design. However, there are many different ways to achieve this.

A common mistake is to focus too heavily on desk setups and not enough on collaboration. For example, consider an open-plan office, but note that most prefer a little privacy while working. People often prefer desk hubs with partitions between them while keeping most of the office open over a completely open office.

Another tip is to consider designated collaboration spaces. Not an extra meeting room as such, but a collaboration space with some couches and a partition from the main office area can work exceptionally well.

7. Failing to Consider Flexibility

There are so many benefits to a good commercial office fitout. But that also means there are a lot of negatives to a bad commercial fitout. One of those bad things is a lack of flexibility in your office design. Business needs change; as we’ve seen recently, even how workforces are structured inevitably changes.

Even if you have mostly permanent staff, you should still allow for some flexibility in the office design. For example, give those permanent staff their own desks, but keep a desk or two available for hot-desking. If some staff members start working from home 2 or 3 days a week, you can maximise space with desk sharing.

8. Not Thinking About the Future

We’ve already discussed the importance of thorough planning when embarking on an office fitout project. But you mustn’t just plan for the here and now. What do you have planned for your business over the next 5 years? If you imagine a period of growth that could result in more staff joining your team, you’ll need room for them.

By the same token, if you plan to move to a more remote working model in the coming years, you don’t want to go overboard with the current office fitout. Businesses change, which is why office design needs to be scalable. Of course, this is easier said than done, depending on the size of your office. However, with professional office designers on your side, you should be able to create a space that’s perfect for now but also scalable for the future.

9. Trying to Do Everything Yourself

It’s tempting to save money on an office fitout by doing things yourself. Maybe you want to have new desks delivered, but you want to arrange them yourself. Or you want to source the cheapest possible furniture and design the layout yourself. From experience, we can assure this is fraught with danger.

Unless you’re a designer with commercial office fitout experience, there are just so many things that can go wrong. Remember, you need to consider things like telephony, cabling, hardware, office equipment, finding matching furniture, and getting the optimum desk layout. There’s so much to think about, and realistically, it is best left to the professionals. Cutting corners can result in a poor office design at best, or at worst, you’ll spend even more money fixing all the problems.

10. Not Matching Your Fitout to Your Brand

Most business owners dream of having a recognisable brand. Well, that starts right at home. Or at least at the office. Think about the public persona of your business. Is it fun and targeted towards a youth market? Or is it a more serious business that requires an air of professionalism in everything you do?

Let your company’s public image shape your commercial office fitout. This includes the colour scheme matching your brand colours and even slogans, posters or artwork on the wall that reflect your company values. This is even more important if you’re open to the public or meet with many clients. If your office matches your brand, it shows cohesion and professionalism and gives clients more confidence in your brand.

11. Not Considering Office Equipment

Finally, a common mistake in many commercial office fitout relates to shared office equipment. Fortunately, there isn’t much use for faxes in the modern world, so there’s one machine that you don’t really need to worry about. However, multi-function printers and scanners are still very much a part of the modern office landscape.

Plus, you might have other specialist office equipment that multiple staff members share. You need to consider this when designing your office layout. If people quickly need to print something, they don’t want to walk miles across the office to collect it. So, carefully consider the placement of shared equipment to ensure it makes sense for everybody.

Need Help With Your Commercial Office Fitout?

Direct Office is your local furniture expert in supplying all types of commercial office furniture in Melbourne, Perth, and beyond. But we do a lot more than sell furniture. Our dedicated team of experts can assist with planning, designing and installing your new commercial office fitout.

Contact our friendly team today if it’s time to upgrade your workplace. You’ll receive free delivery if you’re in the Melbourne & Perth metro area for orders over $500, and for orders over $1500, you’ll get free delivery and assembly. We’re here to help and take your office to the next level.