Try to imagine an alternate history where you never took up your current job at your current office, but instead have only just decided to visit it as a client of the company that occupies it.
What do you think your first impressions would be? Now, hold that thought…
First impressions are as crucial in business as your mother told you they are in everyday life – and research bears this out. So, what exactly can affect first impressions of your office?
The exterior
Here’s some food for thought: it can take fewer than seven seconds to form a first impression, as Business Up North says research reveals. Now, here’s something scarier still: in a study reported by Business Matters, 73% of respondents said that they would judge a firm from its external image.
Candidates indicated the increased likelihood that they would turn down working with a company if they believed that this company had not looked after its external grounds or image.
That’s worrying because it suggests that many clients could make up their minds about your business even before they speak to any of its workers’ faces. This situation puts the onus on you to keep the windows gleaming, external grounds tidy and guttering free of blockages.
The colour scheme
Colour is certainly one of the first things a client will notice about your office, both outside and inside it.
It would be a good idea for your colour choices to reflect your company’s brand, as this brand is meant to effectively reflect what your business is all about.
Therefore, even just the way your office is coloured can serve as an advertisement in itself – but you should think carefully about exactly what you want to say with colour.
Cool hues, for example, might be appropriate for spas, as these colours often foster the feeling of serenity, says Thrive Global.
Yellow and orange, meanwhile, are associated with creativity, making them obvious choices for design studios. Nonetheless, you might want to save those colours for the exteriors rather than interiors, where they could too easily aggravate employees. That’s according to the principles of colour psychology, anyway…
The layout
Let’s assume, in this alternate history, that the office has sufficiently impressed you to tempt you inside, right through to the reception area. From there, a member of staff could guide you to a different room, such as a conference room – but how easily could you get there?
That’s where the matter of the office’s layout is important. In an open-plan layout, you might not struggle to make your way to the meeting room, such is the simplicity of this layout.
However, what if the carpets haven’t been replaced for a while? They could be harbouring bacteria that later compromises your wellbeing, even if you never notice that the carpets are dirty.
This is all in the alternate history, anyway – but, with office design services, you can help to prevent your workplace from putting visitors through unnecessary risks like this.
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New research : How to leverage next-gen CCM – TheMarketingblog https://t.co/cfnTuNMOrO pic.twitter.com/66Epnscrvh
— Will Corry (@slievemore) April 10, 2019