8 Points to Consider When Designing Your Office Reception

What does your office reception say about your business?

According to statistics, it takes a maximum of 7 seconds for someone to form an opinion on your business from your office reception.

A reception desk is the first step. It’s the very first thing a customer, supplier, potential employee or investor will see and you only have 7 seconds to make a good impression.

Here are the 8 main considerations to take into account when designing or redesigning the reception area of your offices:

1. How many staff members are likely to be at the reception at the same time?
   This is important for the form and design of the reception. For example: a long design with several receptionists helping several visitors in lines or a bent design with a central receptionist who can serve several visitors without walking long distances.
2. How many visitors will you have and what type?
   For example, couples or families will be happy to sit together on a sofa for 2 or 3 people, but if most of your visitors are business people, they will be much more comfortable on separate chairs.
   If you are expecting many visitors at the same time, you will need to provide enough seating in the reception area and allow wheelchair access. If you’re hosting families, it might be a good idea to set aside space for toys or children’s books to keep them occupied while you wait.
3. Will the receptionist send and receive mail and packages?
   It is important to leave space for this task by building a screen so that visitors do not see a messy work desk.
4. Should the receptionist be able to unlock the front door without getting up?
   Security is paramount in all businesses and some offices must be locked 24 hours a day. During working hours, the front door can be operated by the receptionist and in this case, it is important to consider a mechanism unlocking near it.
5. Will your receptionist offer your visitors some refreshments?
   If so, consider this in the design by creating a space for drinks, coffee and dishes.
6. Does the reception area that you offer have space to connect?
   Will you have connection terminals? Will they be easily accessible to visitors and clearly identified?
7. Take into account people with disabilities
   In addition to allowing wheelchair access in the reception area, your reception desk should include a lower section.
8. What types of deliveries do you normally make upon receipt?
   You may want to consider a separate, designated space for receiving packages and deliveries. This will keep the main reception area free of boxes and cartons.

With years of experience, Lab.space will help you make sure your first impression is exactly the one you want to give!

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