Choosing the right Task Chair

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

We often sit for hours at a desk daily in the office, although everyone knows that sitting for hours at a time is bad for the back, bad for the health its sometimes unavoidable.

How many employers actually take the time to test out the plethora of task chairs? Very few it would seem.

The challenge is that one size does not fit all, for large companies who have a team of all different shapes and sizes it can be a daunting task to select the appropriate chairs for the whole team.

With Activity Based Workspaces becoming more and more popular chairs may have to be adjusted every single time someone selects a new place to sit.

Companies want to avoid staff getting injuries from bad ergonomic chairs so the key is to find task chairs that have intuitive tension controls which with minimal adujstment can become comfortable and ergonomic for the whole team.

Working with a Furniture Consultant who can advise and help select the task chairs to fit your teams needs is a sensible solution. They will have tried and tested numerous task chairs and their industry knowledge will take the hard work out of the selection process saving you time.

ABW or not to ABW by Denise Thomas

/0 Comments/in , , /by

ABW (Activity Based Working) has been around for a considerable time now. There are argurements for and against, Companies who adopt this style do so with an understanding that this environment wont suit everyone. Not everyone embraces change so its important to have open and transparent conversations with all the team before any final decisions are made. Fears can often be overcome by open discusions and solutions found even if compromises need to be made.

There must to be a culture of trust within the business and a team who understands the importance of being accountable to eachother. Everyone should feel comfortable and valued at work to get the most out of their day.

With flexible hours and flexibility of where we work trust becomes more important than ever.

Managers who over micro manage or employees who ‘clock watch’ will need to learn to adjust their thinking or potentially move on to a more ‘regimented’ working environment.

Change the workplace, change the thinking by Andrew Holder

/6 Comments/in /by

The secret to having the most effective workplace lies in the connection between the physical
workspace, and the culture.
Creating a new office fitout and work environment is a large investment for any firm, but it is only one piece of the puzzle.
Change requires not only the restructure of the physical environment but also a mental restructure.
To win the hearts and minds of a team and elicit mental restructure, you must ensure staff want change as much as
you. This takes planning, strategy and persuasion.

Communication and collaboration is key in any office environment and engagement between teams can be assisted
by changing the way people work. Staff are no longer tied to their desks, they have a variety of activity based settings allowing people to ‘choose the place they need’ for the task at hand. This can be an open area with smart boards for brain storming, a stand up meeting setting for impromptu and short meetings, or perhaps individual pods for quiet concentrated work. Or of course, it can be about enabling the technology to allow people to work from a local café and away from the office and distractions.
Let people choose how they work.

Changing the culture of your company doesn’t happen overnight and may require some external help. However,
the most important concept to consider is that this change and positive move has to come from the top. It has to be
embraced by those who run the company, otherwise the chance of it filtering down through the team and sticking is
very unlikely.

Negotiating the Lease – by Giles Knapman MRICS

/0 Comments/in /by

With the business premises lease typically being the largest fixed cost, the utmost care is required. This is required to make sure not only are the headline numbers reasonable, but also so that other lease terms are fair and allow for a number of ‘if’scenarios.

 

There are a host of factors to consider if there is a forthcoming lease expiry; a small number are captured below:

 

  • When should it be addressed? This depends on the size of the premises and what geographical market the tenant is in. An office of say 1,000sqm should have action taken, whether the intent is to stay or go, no later than 9 months before the expiry date, if there are existing premises. A premies of 5,000sqm needs consideration at least 18 months before expiry. Action too late is clearly undesirable but approaching the market too early can also be at a cost to the commercial tenant.
  • If staying put is viable, is there an option in the lease? If there is, note the timing constraints and most importantly the rent review mechanism. All too often we see options exercised by tenants who then end up paying an artificially high rent (by upto 40%+) for the new option term. This can cripple some businesses. Exercising the option can be precisely the wrong thing to do.
  • How do you know what you are being offered by the existing building manager or landlord agent  is fair? Essentially, you don’t. Comparisons can of course be made with other options on real estate websites but any terms agreed should ideally contain at least 35 clauses, which means that there are 34 others which deal with issues other than rent. A Heads of Ageement light on detail will come back to bite a tenant come the time for lease negotiations.
  • Don’t just focus on the rent. There are some clauses which can have a far greater impact than saving $10/sqm on the rent. For example does the proposal allow for the tenant to sub lease (in part or whole) of the premises if they don’t require it any more? Are there any unfair tests? Is the landlord under a reasonable timeframe to provide its consent to a sub lease. If there is a month to respond, most tenants wont wait that long so the lessee looking to offload their premises could lose their sub tenant.
  • What are the reinstatement provisions? Are they back to the same condition as taken by the current tenant, the previous tenant or back to a base building state – and what is that? A typical full ‘make good’ can cost upto $250/sqm (and more for extensive fit outs) so the finally agreed wording on this is important.

 

These are just a few examples.Unless a commercial tenant has in house staff with significant knowledge/ experience specifically in lease negotiations they will be at a major disadvantage compared to the landlord and agent whose business is property. An experienced commercial tenant advisor will save both money and time for any tenant looking for a sound lease for their business at a fraction of those savings made.

 

Moving Office avoid the pitfalls

avoid the pitfalls

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

When planning an office move or refurbishment you need to be aware of the approval process that governs the industry. There are many aspects to the approval process for a fit out, and a set sequence by which they need to be considered. If you get this wrong you will not be allowed

to move in and your business will be without a home.

10 Things You Need to Know about Statutory Approvals

  1. In order to gain approval for a fit out you need the landlord and the local council to approve the scheme. This means they need to approve your plans.
  2. Before embarking on the approvals you first need to establish whether the building in question has any unusual qualities. For example ,does it requires a change of use order or is it listed on the Heritage register. These ambiguities will throw up additional challenges which you will need to seek relevant advice for.
  3. The two essential approvals that are required for every fit out are a) Development Application (DA) and b) Construction Certificate (CC). If there are no ambiguities with the building, these two approvals can be combined into a joint application – Combined Development Certificate (CDC).
  4. A CDC can be obtained either directly from the council or through a Private Certifying Authority (PCA). Often PCA’s are used as they will take care of all the paperwork on your behalf, making the process quicker.
  5. The first step is to develop and approve your fit out plans. These will then need to be approved by the landlord who will need to sign the CDC paperwork to certify that they approve the work to their building.
  6. The plans will need to be drawn up with all Australian Standards satisfied (disabled aspects, escape distances, corridor widths, fire services, air conditioning, egress and access, bathrooms etc), in order to achieve compliance. Often the landlord will insist that air conditioning, electrical, fire and hydraulics engineering drawings are prepared, before they approve your plans. Ask the landlord what level of detail they need in advance to avoid unnecessary delays.
  7. Once the landlord has approved your plans the Private Certifier or the Council will accept the CDC application. When the application is submitted, it will carry a levy fee which
will need to be paid by you. This levy is called the Long Service Levy and is expressed as a % of the likely anticipated construction costs.
  8. Assuming the plans are compliant, the landlord has approved them and the fee has been paid, the PCA or the Council
will then issue the CDC approval. Once approval is issued construction can commence
  9. Upon completion of the construction period, all major contractors engaged on the project will need to certify their work. These certificates are sent to the PCA / Council for review.
  10. The PCA or the Council will then visit the completed site and check that the construction matches the approved plans.
If this is the case an Occupation Certificate will be issued to grant access. Often an interim Occupation Certificate is issued if a project completion is staged. Without an Occupation Certificate your business cannot occupy the building.