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Setting up a new office


Blondie

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Quite random, I know but there is so much knowledge here....


I have been tasked with setting up new office space and have no idea what I need to organise.


We have our premises, 6 offices and reception. I need to organise..


Carpet

Painter

Carpenter to add a couple of internal walls - can loot at the phone book for that (haha remember phone books!!)


I need to organise a phone system, stationery (beyond pens and printer paper, paper clips staplers and sticky tape, anything else!!!!)

I need to organise all furniture. Heavy duty printer, new computers, board room equipment ie interactive whiteboard, docking stations. Its all so overwhelming to get it right, given the financial outlay, I need to get it right!!! I am sure there is a lot I have forgotten.


Any advice or tips, especially for the phone?

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Sugarplum Poobah

Are you able to give a broad sense of the industry area or whether it's corporate or not? Because different areas have different needs.


But generally --


I would be looking for advice on OHS issues in terms of desk set ups etc.. Are these offices for individuals or areas they shared spaces? Because individual desk set ups done by a professional are wonderful.


Also pay attention to light, noise and ventilation. Personally I find it soul destroying to be somewhere with no natural light and the inability to open a window, but sometimes these areas unavoidable. And poorly placed ceiling ights have given me migraines in the past.


You definitely need to make sure there are lockable drawers/cupboards for personal items,

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Thank you. Corporate/white colour business, mostly sole office occupancy, 2 meeting rooms. There are windows in all offices. Horrible fluro lights/mixed lighting at the moment. Can look/reevaluate the lighting a little further down the track but still this year.


Lockable draws - great suggestion


re printer/copier - something to look at - not high volume, maybe 30-50 pages daily, tops.


OHS set up is a great idea, we do this at my work too - didn't really consider it for the new office!


Where do I start with the phone system?

Edited by Blondie
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We've found that the Toshiba printer / copiers are the best value. May have changed since we last got quotes but at one stage they were the cheapest by quite a margin and their machines were much better quality. If you have the cash then buying makes sense over leasing. The lease period is generally 5 years however we've found they last longer plus you will probably pay interest on a lease. Then we buy a maintenance plan at x cents per copy. This covers toner and all maintenance costs.


Look at umart for computers. We used to buy ours through them however now we get them through our external IT provider.


Phones - ours are through our external IT provider.



ETA just saw your update. For 30 to 50 pages per day look and see what umart have. The higher volume ones for leasing are more like 50 pages a minute. You definitely don't need one of those.

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Thanks Feebi, will look into it for sure. Can you pm me your phone provider (if you are comfortable) so I can look at the website to get an idea of what it is all about?


Will talk to our IT guy on the best way to go with computers, he is also pushing his printers into us so we feel there is a bit of an agenda there. We have a great local computer shop and can get things cheaper through them than we can through our IT chap. Will probably make do with what we have now and snap up a few bargains in the eofy sales


Ed to ad, Umart - looks good, thanks!

Edited by Blondie
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Maybe you need a new IT provider. That’s one of the most important things to get right, and it’s a right pain to change later. The IT people should be able to set up your phones as well. Have you got an internet connection sorted?

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Gah! I lost my post!


I've been involved with a new fitout but we mostly hired someone to do it. It was a completely new fitout, the office was stripped bare, then new walls, kitchen, entryway, alarm systems and locks etc so a big job. He organised furniture as well.


Ours was open plan with a few of meeting rooms, so figuring out the rooms and where the desks go was done first, then power and networking came down from the ceiling.


The ISP will be able to help with networking, phones etc. They'll either have a service or have some names.


We went through Dell for computers, printers etc. It was a while ago but back then they had great service. If something breaks they'll have someone onsite to fix in 24hrs. You can set up an account with them and just ring/email when you have a new person and need new stuff or theres something extra you need eg a second printer.

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Not Escapin Xmas

I would break it into the different areas:

- computers/printers/peripherals (docking stations etc)

- utilities (internet, anything else?)

- usables (printer paper, post it notes etc. Get an account with officeworks or similar and get into the habit of doing a monthly order)

- fit out (paint, carpet, desks, curtains etc). Frankly I would pay someone to do this part at least.


Do a project plan, break it down. Then you’ll know what you need to organise and also you can use it to show your boss what a mammoth task it is and get the OK to get help to organise.

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Noticeboards/whiteboards for offices, meeting rooms and communal spaces.

Definitely look into the OHS side of things for furniture. Try and tailor office furniture for staff. Sit/stand desks.

Bookshelves with some magazine type holders.

Lockable drawers/filing cabinet.

Don't forget about art and plants.

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oh my gosh, such great responses, thank you everyone. It has been overwhelming knowing where to stat as have not done this before. Will look fora project plan template on line.


Many years ago we had a plant hire firm rent plants and come and service them - is this still a think? In our current office the plants look so manky and rely on various green fingered staff to take care of them. Not sure if it is viable for a small office....

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I would keep it all cloud based, don’t go with a server, can really make working from home or remotely a pain.


Our company is completely cloud based and we didn’t miss a beat when lockdown hit and everyone was suddenly working at home.

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Not Escapin Xmas

I would keep it all cloud based, don’t go with a server, can really make working from home or remotely a pain.


Our company is completely cloud based and we didn’t miss a beat when lockdown hit and everyone was suddenly working at home.

 

I completely agree. Office 365 or google all the way.

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we have office 365 but we don't use cloud based. I vaguely remember using it when we had a physical office pre-covid. At that time we were renting office space in another company (same industry so everything was set up.) We probably need to re-learn ho to use office 360 to its potential. I am not tech savvy so don't really understand the whole cloud based/server thing. Cloud based is the way to go because we would need/want access from home as well.

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Re the furniture, walls, paint etc, I used an interior design company that specialised in commercial spaces. They had a draftie who could draw up working plans for the carpenters and ensure that you’re compliant with OH&S regs.


They do mock ups of colour plans, furniture options etc so you can show your boss for approval. That way, you are not responsible when the paint colour isn’t quite right - there are thousands of whites available, getting the right one can be tricky.


Most can get discounts with suppliers so you end up with a professional finish but it hasn’t really cost much compared to doing it all yourself.


Re plants, yes, you can definitely hire them. Same as fish tanks lol

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hire fish tanks!!!! thats funny.


Basil, I really like the idea of using an interior design company, and I hear you on the thousands on whites! I have a design brief in my head, but dont know how to begin to execute it..

Edited by Blondie
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Princess Peach

I would keep it all cloud based, don’t go with a server, can really make working from home or remotely a pain.


Our company is completely cloud based and we didn’t miss a beat when lockdown hit and everyone was suddenly working at home.

 

Not necessarily, we run a Linux based server & all Remote Desktop into it, the thing is where our server is based, the internet speed is ultra fast, so it’s great.


As for the phones, VOIP is great, we have a few offices, so can easily transfer calls between offices & then even working from home, I had a phone at home, clients never knew the difference (ok, so being the boss, I can take the phone home, we don’t let our staff do that, but it may be something to consider).

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