Office Refurbishment Transparency
If you're planning an office refurbishment, you'll have hundreds of concerns about your project. One of the biggest is probably an unaccountable office refurbishment company. They might go over budget and over time without you even being aware of it - much less able to do anything about it.
If this sounds like you, you're not alone. We speak with multiple companies each day about their office refurbishment projects. This is a common, if unspoken, concern. Many of these people are worried about all the risks this poses, yet they're unsure what to do about it.
The answer lies in a transparent relationship with your office refurbishment partner. This means you are fully informed and in control of your office refurbishment.
In this article, we'll explain 5 key reasons why transparency matters so much in your office renovation project. We'll then go through 5 ways you can make your relationship with your refurbishment partner fully transparent. As a result, you'll be able to make your office refurbishment faster, better, and less stressful.
Why Renovation Transparency Matters
Trust
Transparency is crucial because it’s a major part of trust. Trust, in turn, makes your project a lot less stressful. If you know what to expect from your fit out company and you understand their process, you'll feel much more confident in the outcome.
Trust between you and your refurbishment company comes down to values alignment, good communication, and competent staff. Trust makes your office refurbishment better, faster, and more efficient.
Communication
Communication structure is one of the most overlooked yet important parts of an office refurbishment. Transparent communication ensures that expectations, timelines, costs, and challenges are understood by everyone in a timely manner.
A communication structure that is both effective and efficient will improve the transparency of your project. It will make sure you need everything you need to know, when you need to know it. As a result, there will be a lot fewer misunderstandings and conflicts. It will also make your refurbishment a lot quicker to complete.
Accountability
A detailed, deliverable, and agreed-upon programme from your design & build company is essential. This ensures you know exactly what is happening when and why. You can then hold your refurbishment company to that programme.
A transparent relationship with your refurbishment company will help you hold them accountable. You are not powerless to prevent things from going wrong, or unaware if something does go wrong. When they know they are accountable for their actions and decisions, your project is a lot less risky.
Satisfaction
Transparency in your office fit out allows you to have a clear understanding of the progress of your project. This includes what has already happened, what is next, if the project is on track, and if there are any challenges. As a result, you can provide feedback and make well-informed, timely decisions.
This leads to a project that is less stressful because there is far less uncertainty. You are informed and involved. As a result, it’s a much more satisfying and enjoyable project, free of the stress often associated with construction projects.
Risk
If your office refurbishment partner is transparent, you'll have a better understanding of the risks of your project. As a result, you won't get any unwelcome surprises, and you can make much more informed decisions. You can take preventive action to mitigate risks before they occur.
If your contractor isn't transparent, you have little awareness of the risks of your project. This in itself is a huge risk for you, as you can't know, much less control, the challenges that might derail your project. A transparent process is a crucial part of de-risking your office refurbishment.
How to Make Your Refurbishment Transparent
Contractor Selection
For a transparent relationship with your refurbishment partner, you must choose an appropriate company. Such a company will understand the mutual benefits of transparency. They will also have the systems, knowledge, and processes to enable a transparent project.
When choosing your refurbishment contractor, drill into how they communicate, how they will be accountable to you, and how they ensure that you are kept fully informed. Based on this, you can choose a contractor that will be transparent throughout your project.
Detailed Quote
A detailed refurbishment quote is essential. Before you sign the contract, you need to understand exactly what you are getting in terms of specification, quantity, and total cost.
A detailed quote will give you a complete understanding of exactly what you are getting. This transparency will improve accountability and reduce your risk by giving you a baseline to work from throughout the project for any disputes or queries.
Contract Terms
Your refurbishment quotation should also be referred to in the contract. This will mean your refurbishment partner is legally obligated to honour everything in their quote. Otherwise, the quote is almost meaningless. A fixed-cost contract is especially helpful, as it locks the final price, giving you complete cost certainty.
There are also other provisions you can make within the contract to ensure your relationship is as transparent as possible. These include stipulating information that must be reported on, and decisions that you must be informed about.
Regular Reports & Meetings
A clear cadence of reports and meetings is one of the most important parts of a transparent office refurbishment. These are necessary to keep you informed as to project progress, especially risks or challenges.
The appropriate structure for reports and meetings will vary depending on the size and complexity of your project. However, it’s important that they are regular, and that you hold your refurbishment partner accountable through them. The transparency these reports and meetings provide mean you can be confident you're informed, enabling you to make effective, timely decisions.
Open Communication
Reports and meetings are a crucial part of communication, but there is a lot of information to exchange and decisions to make outside of these. You need to agree on a clear communication structure with your design & build company as early as possible. This includes who is responsible for what, what channels you will use for what, and expected reply times.
Setting up such a structure may seem unnecessary, but it will save a lot of time, frustration, and conflict throughout the process. It will help ensure you are aware of everything that is going on, and enables you to make good decisions quickly.
Making Your Refurbishment Transparent
A transparent relationship with your design & build company is crucial to a successful office refurbishment. Without it, you won't know what's going on, if your project is on track or not, and how much it will cost. You will be unaware and powerless to manage your project successfully.
However, with a transparent process, you'll be fully aware of all that is going on and in control of your project. You'll be able to make effective decisions in a timely manner, leading to a project that is completed on time, on brief, and on budget. Ultimately, you'll have peace of mind.
An effective planning process is a central part of a transparent refurbishment project. To take the next step, download How to Plan an Office Refurbishment. It's a 7-step comprehensive guide to take you from building your brief to signing the contract! Download your refurbishment guide here.
To learn more about running an effective refurbishment project, read 7 Underestimated Office Relocation Problems (and How to Avoid Them). You should also read 5 Steps to Office Refurbishment Success.
