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These days it can be tricky finding reliable facilities management services, the difficulty lies in what to benchmark a company’s offering against especially if you’re hiring a company for the first time. There are growing pressures businesses face today that result in the need to find a reputable company to take over the upkeep, maintenance and repairs of properties. It may be that a previous agency or company has let you down, or that you don’t have the resources yourself anymore to do this.

There are some things you should keep in mind when considering upon a facilities management firm. For starters, you should find out if they are insured to work on your properties. Using a company that doesn’t have the appropriate insurance policy, could result in a lot of headaches if anything happens whilst they are working on-site. Always ask if the company has public liability insurance, and if their policy is active – this will ensure piece of mind, especially if you’re going to be working with a new company.

Usually, the company you’re looking at hiring will want to inspect the properties that they will be maintaining. This is the perfect opportunity to ask them any questions and potentially get a discounted quote. Property maintenance services will favour long-term contracts over shorter ones, and may be able to offer a discount if the contract is for an extended period. It’s worth asking if this is something they could factor into their quote.

As with anything else, it’s important to get a few quotes in so you can get an idea of the market rates. Remember going for the cheapest quote, might not always the best option. Sometimes the cheaper facilities management companies might take short-cuts when it comes to maintenance and repair work. They might be paying their staff sub-standard rates and this might reflect in the quality of their work. Going for a company in the middle of the pricing range, could be a better option.

As a facilities management specialist that have been maintaining private and commercial properties for over 30 years, we have the skills and expertise to take on any job. If you would like to discuss more about your requirements, please call us today on: 02 9554 3394

Getting your office fit out right can be tricky. It can be perfect for your needs at the time of the initial design but as the business evolves and staff numbers increase, or needs change within the business the design can becoming ill-fitting. Below are 4 tell-tale signs that the design of your existing office fit-out is not working for your team:

Difficulty to Focus

How effective is your office design at allowing employees to work without interruption when required? With the increase in popularity of open-plan offices over the past 5-10 years there has also been a huge increase in noise levels with workers having no shelter from talking, laughing, music, phone calls and even office pets running loose. This can unsurprisingly lead to an inability to focus and keep concentration on certain tasks. If your office fit-out design is guilty of this it may be time to reconsider the layout.

Lack of Diverse Space

Studies have shown that diversity in your office space can have a hugely positive effect on employee productivity and happiness. It’s important to have areas of your office assigned to collaboration as well as those designed for individual work. Collaborative spaces can be relaxed breakaway areas or inspiring meeting rooms or board rooms depending on the nature of your business and what your employees will feel most comfortable in.

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere

Many of us have worked in a business where 10 employees quickly turn into 20, or 80 staff turns to 130. Staff growth levels are a hugely positive sign for the business as a whole, but can be an indication that your office fit-out design no longer works and is in need of an office remodel. With more staff in the same space comes more objects such as desks, computers, wires and other possessions. This leads to clutter gathering like wildfire and the office progressively feeling and looking untidy. If this sounds familiar to you, then the likelihood is that you need to rethink your office design.

Your Office Doesn’t Inspire

Whether you run a design agency, an investment banking firm, or anything in between, your space needs to inspire its workforce. Dull, cold, clinical spaces are boring and will leave your employees feeling undervalued and uninspired. The result of this is not just sub-par productivity but also leads to employee burnout much faster. The cost of productivity and burnout of the brightest stars in your business can equate to a lot more than that of a beautiful new re-designed office.

These are just some signs that your office fit-out is no longer optimal or in line with the visions and goals of your business. It’s important to speak to your employees themselves and get their opinions given they are at the coalface of the company. Call SpiknSpan today to discuss the various options available to you for a modern office design that increases productivity and happiness amongst your workforce. We have vast experience transforming Sydney offices and will be able to produce an office design and layout that is just right for your business.