Commercial interior Design; why it matters

Eleni Fantis, 11/07/2024

Think commercial interior design is just about creating fancy hotels and restaurants, retail outlets or swanky offices for the multi-national giants? Think again! I’ve personally left a role primarily due to the surroundings I had to work in, and I’m not alone; research carried out by DELL indicates that as many as 73% of employees would consider leaving a post if they find they are not provided with a workplace that inspires them to fulfil their role - and for me, this is the biggest reason employers should consider hiring a professional interior designer to help. As business owners, you are likely to be already hiring a range of specialists to help you launch, run and grow your business and this explains why interior design services should form part of the specialists you surround yourself with:

Brand identity:

Before starting your business, you probably spent hours coming up with a name, logo, brand colours, fonts and graphics, possibly hiring a range of specialist services such branding experts, marketing and advertising services, website and app developers. You probably also have committed to ongoing research and development to keep new services and products in line with your core branding - but do your business premises reflect this commitment to your brand? If not, why not? Even if you don’t receive customers into your workplace, your premises should be considered as an asset and the face of your company, with design, style and colours that are in line with the rest of your marketing and products or service. Strong brand identities promote a sense of purpose and belonging in employees, and this in turn boosts job satisfaction, happiness and motivation.

Employee health and well-being:

Well-being is considered more and more as being instrumental in our overall health and happiness, but how does that equate to the workplace? Consideration must be given to ergonomics, colour, lighting, biophilia (in simple terms, bringing in touches of nature), adequate heating and cooling systems, noise reduction, and crucially, making sure that you provide flexible and agile work spaces where possible to contribute to happier staff, and therefore, productivity. The days of WFH during and after COVID saw a huge rise in the numbers of staff resigning when they were asked to return to the office, and some forward-thinking employers reacted proactively by adopting the growing trend of ‘resimercial’ design, which seeks to blur the lines between the comfort of home and the professionalism of business.

The bottom line:

Quite literally, interior design for your business can and will improve your profits! We know that having motivated staff promotes productivity, healthy staff take less sick days, and that happy staff remain committed and inspired to stay in their roles and ensuring a stable workforce. Still not convinced...take a look at these figures: 2022/23 - 6.6m working days lost due to musculoskeletal problems, which can be reduced by ensuring ergonomics are a vital factor of design within your business (HSE) 2022/23 - 18m working days lost due to mental health issues; there is such a strong link between overall mental health and work related stress that all employers should be ensuring the utmost is done to nurture and protect their staff - and simple changes such as providing quiet areas or break out spaces for respite can make a huge impact (HSE) It’s worth repeating...a whopping 73% of people surveyed by Dell agreed that they would leave if their workplace did not inspire them to fulfill their role! If, as an employer, the impact of that number still isn’t resonating, the Society of Human Resources Management estimate that every time you need to rehire to fill a position, it costs your company the equivalent of 6 - 9 months salary of the new hire, in recruitment fees, possible temp fees, and time spent retraining.

If your business is a bit tired and you were thinking of a quick lick of paint, perhaps it’s time to call in some professional help and instead of wondering can you afford it, ask yourself can you afford not to!