Workspace Strategy Options
Are you beginning to plan an office fit out, but aren’t quite sure where to start? You may be considering using a workspace consultant to help you create a workspace strategy. Whether you should use a specialist consultant or an office fit out company is a key decision to make. Specialist consultants and design & build companies will have different processes, pricing, and outcomes.
As a design and build company, we sometimes get asked “Should I use a specialist consultant or a design and build firm for my workspace consultancy project?” In this article, we’ll explain how to decide whether you need workspace consultancy at all, the differences between specialist and in-house consultants, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. By the end, you'll understand the differences between each option, and you'll know how to make the right decision for your company.
Consultancy Vs Design & Build Firm: What’s The Difference?
Workplace Consultant
A specialist workplace consultant is an independent consultant who provides analysis, insight and recommendations as to your workspace strategy or upcoming projects. They will work on a one-off consultancy fee or an hourly rate.
Exactly what is included in your package will depend on your requirements. Commonly, it will start with workshops with senior leadership and relevant departments. These will uncover your workspace challenges and create a vision for what your office(s) should achieve for your company. They may also carry out online surveys or in-person interviews to get staff feedback. This will cover their current environment and what would help them perform better.
Occupancy studies are also a common part of a specialist consultant’s package. Using cameras, sensors, and trackers placed throughout your space, snapshots are taken of occupancy levels throughout the day and week. This builds up a detailed picture of exactly how your people use the office. The end result of a specialist consultant’s work is a report. This details their findings and makes recommendations as to your future workspace strategy and/ or upcoming project(s).
Design & Build Consultancy
A design and build company will provide a much broader range of services than a specialist consultant. Many service offerings from design and build companies include office design, office fit out, and office refurbishment, as well as consultancy.
Some fit out companies employ in-house consultants, while others will subcontract the package to specialists. Fit out companies will either include consultancy in the main contract cost or split out consultancy as a separate phase.
The services provided by a design and build company will be similar, but the processes and outcomes will be quite different. It will be more practical and focussed on the office design and project, rather than your workspace needs in an abstract sense.
Benefits and Drawbacks
Consultancy Advantages
The main advantage of using a specialist consultant is that their process is very data-based. Using their specialist equipment, they will be able to collect and analyse more data than a fit out company. As a result, their report will be backed up by data that is specific to your company. Specialist consultants also tend to be highly experienced, which means they can better utilise the data they collect.
Consultancy Disadvantages
However, specialist consultants are not always better for workspace consultancy. Because the end result of their work is a report rather than a design, it can be hard to make sure it is fully integrated into your new office design. As the process is carried out completely desperately to the design, it can also lengthen your project timeframe.
Design & Build Advantages
The main advantage of using a fit out company for your office consultancy is that they are exactly the same company that will be designing and delivering your office fit out. As a result, they will have a much better understanding of your needs than if a different consultant had handed them a report. This means the design will be closely aligned with the findings of the consultancy process.
Design & Build Firm Disadvantages
Because the result of an office fit out consultancy package is a design rather than a report, it does mean it is less transferrable to other offices or future projects. In many cases, it will also be less comprehensive than a specialist consultant’s report.
Consultancy Vs Design & Build Firm: Which Is Best For Me?
By adding structure, data, and research to your project process, you can be a lot more confident in the resulting office fit out plan. However, consultancy is not always necessary. It can sometimes lead to over-engineered strategies, increased costs, and lengthened project timeframes.
If you decide you do need a workspace consultant, your next decision will be whether to use a specialist workspace consultant or a design & build company. Which is best for you will depend on your unique circumstances. Some crucial factors to consider are the state of your existing workspace strategy, the level of data analysis you require, and how the strategy relates to your upcoming project.
To take the next step, get your Ultimate Guide to Workspace Consultancy. There, you'll learn All you need to know about workspace consultancy and why it matters, including costs and outcomes. By the end of this guide, you'll know how to decide if you need a workspace consultant or not, and if so, where and how to begin. Get your Ultimate Consultancy Guide here.
To learn more about the impact workspace consultancy can have on your business, read 5 Ways Office Consultancy Can Improve Your Company Performance and What Can You Expect From A Workspace Consultancy Package?
