How to Organise Your Commercial Property Layout

As a business owner, you will no doubt be looking for any opportunity to be able to promote an enjoyable and productive working atmosphere within your company. The most obvious ways to do this are, of course, through incentives and excellent leadership, however you should consider how the working environment itself contributes to this.

In 2020, workers expect a certain level of care in the workplace, and rightly so. Offices and commercial property should be designed to encourage teamwork, while also providing spaces for relaxation and downtime to avoid burnout. 

When renovating or designing your commercial property, therefore, you should consider how it can suit both business needs and human needs.

Base your building around your people

The building is important, but not half as important as the people within it. A report in 2019 showed that one in three UK workers did not feel valued by their employer, while 87% of small- and medium-sized enterprises acknowledged that they understood that employees are looking for more than just a sufficient pay packet in return for their work. Taking this into account, building a commercial space that suits the needs of your employees – break rooms, suitable washrooms, quiet working spaces and excellent fire safety – is essential.

Use appropriate partition walls

Depending on the type of commercial property you are designing, you may require certain partition walls. These are particularly key in office spaces, as they allow focus and tranquillity to spread throughout the workforce and can also create conference rooms.

The benefits of architectural walls and partition walls alike cannot be underestimated. While an open-plan office space may seem like a 21^st-century utopia, it ignores the fact that many employees desire at least the option of working alone when they need to concentrate on a pressing task.

Remember fire safety

As a business owner, an awareness of your responsibilities around the safety of your employees is critical if you are to run a workforce who trusts and respects you. Fire safety in the workplace can, admittedly, be an uninspiring topic – risk assessments, evacuation plans and fire drills are nobody’s favourite hobby – but it is essential and a requirement of the law. Proper commercial property designers and fitters should have fire-rated equipment and know how to keep your employees safe.

Identify the key business needs

When setting about organising your commercial property layout, identify the key business needs. This will help you decide on features such as conference rooms, shared desks, glass walls and storage space.

For instance, a business that deals in paper and printing will likely need more storage space and perhaps more private working rooms than a software development business, whose work is primarily done in teams and digitally.

Provide light, space and a relaxation room

Do not forget to include ambience and atmosphere in your considerations of how to design your commercial property’s layout. 

Having a light, airy space with plenty of windows will help prevent eye strain in your employees, while designating space for breaks and relaxation is key to boosting productivity and making staff happy in the workplace. 

Consulting professional distributors, suppliers and fitters of interior workplace layouts will help you come to the best decision for both your business and for your workers.