- fchurchcpx
Hit "Refresh" on your Office
The pandemic has caused a huge shift in how workspaces are viewed. During 2020 the world saw their living room become their office; and as the world begins to open unconventional spaces are now accommodating the new work from home lifestyle.
In October 2020, the Hilton chain of hotels launched a “work from hotel” service called WorkSpaces. This involved converting unused hotel rooms into rent-by-the-day offices for the new more adaptable workforce. 2020 also saw Starbucks launch a new store in Tokyo, designed specifically for remote workers with the second floor of the café as a business centre. Covid-19 has sped up demand in the short-term office rental market and these converted spaces have proven extremely popular.
The conversion of spaces has also happened within the office with new layouts needed to support socially distanced working. Offices are beginning to need to convert from open plan to more divided spaces, with enclosed meeting rooms and a layout to support an often-reduced workforce in the office. Furthermore, offices are needing to change their interior to provide environmental solutions. With demand for individuals and organisations to become more environmentally sustainable, offices are having to
include recycling solutions, introduce sustainable alternatives to office supplies and switch to renewable energy sources for electricity and heating.
Jukka Saariluoma, CEO of Hansaprint, explained the dilemma that many companies have as the world emerges from Lockdown:
“Businesses must not be complacent, as employees have become used to working from home, and they need to be given an incentive to come back, even if only on a part-time basis. There are benefits to businesses of their employees returning to a central point, including encouraging innovation, group work and brainstorming ideas, all of which are difficult to do remotely. At the same time, they have a responsibility to their employees to encourage social contact and ensure wellbeing.
To do this they need to ensure their offices and workspaces are an attractive place to work in. They need to provide better conditions than at home, including ergonomic environments, quiet zones and a relaxing, yet productive environment to work in. We are seeing businesses being really forward thinking, using graphics, furnishing and spaces to provide an engaging and enjoyable environment for employees. It is not only tech companies and agencies who are embracing the provision of both fun and chilled environments.
There is also a knock-on effect of creating new dynamic spaces. As businesses start seeing their customers face-to-face again, they are seeing the benefit of providing more engaging environments to meet one another. It is also a great time to think about refreshing how employees and clients view your business by creating new environments, all subliminally a part of branding through physical and visual experiences”.
At the perfect time to support this large demand for help in redesigning office and new workspace interiors, Hansaprint has acquired Arazzo, an interior design print specialist. The exciting partnership has resulted in the ability to provide solutions to the fast-changing nature of the workspace from design to installation. Their client base has also expanded to serve not only companies and offices, but also retail chains and real estate.
Taking a closer look at the solutions provided by Hansaprint and Arazzo there is a clear focus on making offices and new workspaces more suited to the post-covid workforce. Printed space separators provide a great solution to the need to break up the open-plan office and provide more isolated areas for employees to work in a covid-safe environment. These separators also provide the opportunity to display inspiring images or graphics to motivate the workforce. An exciting solution to the need for segregated areas for online meetings is the completely customisable phone booth. This gives employees a quiet space to make important calls, with a more professional background than their usual living room!
Jukka Saariluoma emphasised the fact that businesses should consider how space should be used, rather than the traditional open-plan office with designated meeting rooms:
“Our acquisition of Arazzo brings great experience and creativity to the group. They understand that office spaces can be designed for different purposes. Historically, one of the most common complaints from employees about their offices is that they are much too noisy and that they find it difficult to concentrate. We recognise the importance of providing discrete, acoustically controlled spaces where employees and their train of thoughts do not get disturbed. However, the need for productive human interaction also needs to be met; creating specialist, and often informal, spaces to encourage team idea generation, supported by tools to help them work together.
Finally, the social aspect of being together is important for bonding and encouraging the move back to the office from home, if only maybe a part-time basis. We are increasingly installing bespoke coffee lounges, bars and games rooms, creating relaxing environments for team members to both work and play together”.
Hansaprint and Arazzo also add value to environmental solutions in the office by offering customised recycling points. Additionally, Hansaprint offers PVC free print solutions, allowing the redesign of office interiors to maintain the commitment to protecting the planet of the companies they are working with.
However, whilst there is a demand to provide new environments, Hansaprint also recognise that offices cannot afford the luxury of closing for refits just when their employees have returned. The new materials and solutions, backed by planning based on experience, mean that we can install a new environment with minimal disturbance. A lot of their solutions are either modular or pop-up, so can be dropped in overnight. Also, walls can be refreshed in a course of a couple of hours by applying pre-printed, custom-made graphics, typically with creative designs that re-enforce the brand – much more engaging and less intrusive to install than painting walls!
These solutions can be adapted and changed frequently, keeping the feel of the workplace fresh and interesting for everyone that works there. Summing up, Jukka commented, “The work environment should provide comfort, a framework for functional meetings and encounters, and provide peaceful conditions for phone calls or focused tasks. It must be a flexible place that employees and clients look forward to visiting and encourages productivity whilst they are there”.
It is evident that the collaboration between Hansaprint and Arazzo is fulfilling all these aspirations for the work environment, with solutions that are innovative, have a focus on environmental sustainability and importantly place the customer and employee experience at the forefront.
We love seeing CPX members thriving with the fast-paced changes that the pandemic has caused. Additionally, despite the challenges of Covid-19, our members continue to maintain a steady focus on exceptional experiences and environmental sustainability.
Jukka Saariluoma is CEO of Hansaprint who specialise in bringing colour to your life. For further information about how Hansaprint can help refresh you office, drop him an email at Jukka.saarilouma@hansaprint.fi or connect with him on LinkedIn here