
Hi Everyone,
We have some exciting news to share with you about our office!
We’re thrilled to announce an exciting project to completely revamp the first floor, transforming it into a fresh, vibrant, and modern workspace! This initiative aims to not only modernise our environment but also to enhance how we use the space. Expect new furniture, more desks, inviting meeting rooms, and updated kitchen facilities, all designed to create a better working environment.
While we’re enthusiastic about these positive changes, we also want to acknowledge that there will be some temporary disruptions during the renovation period. The first floor will be out of action for the duration of the work, plus an additional week for preparations. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we navigate these works.
To facilitate this process, we encourage those who can (with clearance from your Line Manager and appropriate home working DSE in place) to work from home during the renovation. For those who need to be in the office, we will have temporary desks set up in the demo room and Dev Room 2. These arrangements include designated desks and hot desks, providing you with the flexibility to adapt to any changes during the works.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation and support during this exciting time! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Please read and digest the below schedule of works so you are fully aware of all the requirements to ensure this runs smoothly however, all key dates will be put onto your calendars.
Schedule of Works
Pre-start
Clear out of draws – by Friday 18th October
Please empty all draws and take all personal items home by this date. If you have any work-related items, please let me know and we will find storage for these. Please leave the key to your draw in your top draw once empty.
Remove all personal items and food from 1st floor kitchen – by Friday 18th October
Remove all other personal items such as chairs, monitors etc – by Friday 18th October
SSD hot desks & Finance desks to be moved to ground floor – 17th & 18th October
To facilitate temporary desking whilst the works are being carried out we are utilising these desks as well as the associated chairs and IT equipment. Any corner desks will not be being relocated during this time.
Last working day on first floor – Friday 18th October
From Monday 21st October the desks on the first floor will no longer be available and only desking on the ground floor will be available. Those who require a designated desk are listed on the desk plan. The remaining desks are hot desks and should be booked using the booking system – details to follow. For everyone else who is able to WFH please do so during the period of works but of course utilise the hot desks when required.
Meeting spaces – from 21st October
21/10/24 – 25/10/24 – both pods on the first floor will be available for internal meetings. No face to face external meetings should be held in the pods during this time as there will be a lot of comings and goings whilst we clear out the floor ready for the following week.
28/10/24 – 22/11/24 – We ask that all meetings are held on Teams. If this is not possible then Kirsty’s room will be made a bookable private meeting space which you can book via Outlook as you usually would. We also encourage you to utilise the main kitchen for informal, non-sensitive meetings that need to be face to face; there is also a TV available with HDMI if needed, we just ask that you avoid using the kitchen during lunch time.
Clearing the floor
Clearing out the first floor of remaining furniture and equipment – W/C 21st October
The good news is all the furniture is being re-used by the YMCA at their new office building, nothing will be going to waste!
Refurbishment Works Begin
Monday 28th October
Returning to the Office
First floor is back open for business – Monday 25th November
Layout and Desk Plan
Hot desking – the desks in the centre will be hot desks and will be available to book via the booking mentioned above.
Designated desking – the desks around the perimeter of the office will be designated desks – a seating plan will be published in the coming weeks.
Storage
Personal Storage – under desk draws will be being replaced with lockers which will be located at the end of each bay of desks. Locker keys will be issued out on Monday 25th November when you return to the office.
Coat Storage – Separate coat cupboards will also be located at the end of each desk bay. We encourage you to use this designated area for coat storage opposed to the back of a chair.
Additional storage – Larger lockers and full height cupboards with shelves will be available for further storage of project related documentation for example. These will be made available upon request.
Bins – There will be two dry paper waste bins, one located on each side of the office and integrated into the furniture at the end of the desk bays. One for confidential waste which requires shredding, one for non-confidential paper waste. All other recycling and general waste should be disposed of using the bins in the small kitchen or those in the bins stores for larger boxes etc.
Other Personal Items
If you had previously brought in personal furniture or monitors for example (see IT Policy for guidance) we do not expect to see these items back in the office upon your return. Going forward please do not bring in any items such as these into the office. If you need any additional items to carry out your duties, you should speak to the appropriate Manager and discuss your requirements with them initially.
General Use
As we have put a lot of time and effort into improving our working space for us all and we ask that you continue to contribute in the following ways:
Food Etiquette – To respect one another’s space and maintain a pleasant environment—especially since much of the office is client-facing at various times—we ask that warm or particularly smelly foods be prepared and consumed in the main kitchen (this applies to both ground and first floors).
Examples of foods to avoid at your desk include soup, curry, fish, pot noodles, fast food takeaway.
Examples of desk friendly foods could be apples, snack bar, crisps, sandwiches, wraps.
We are looking into improving the facilities in the main kitchen so that there is more usable space for you to enjoy your lunch breaks if you choose to grab a takeaway or indulge in last night’s left-overs. Please feel free to make some suggestions on what changes you would like to see in the main kitchen by leaving your feedback here 👉 https://forms.office.com/e/ufJRmRAsWd.
Now that all the details are in place, we’re delighted to share the renders and give you a glimpse of the new look for our first floor! We hope you are as excited as we are for this change and that you see the positive improvements and investment the business is making to our working environment.