The medical office space reception area gets a lot of traffic, and the reception area design is crucial to the flow and efficiency of patients, as well as their psyche.
As a patient walks in the reception area, they have to check in with the reception desk, and then take a seat and wait to be called to go back to the patient room. Then that patient has to check out when they are done. When this is all done in the reception area, it can get chaotic if it does not flow properly, and if there is any slight delay and patients start to back up, the chaos can become apparent. Throw in current Hippa privacy laws and you can more issues then I even want to cover here in this rant!
An often over looked aspect of the reception area design is the way it presents itself. If it is sterile and boring, it will irritate patients as they wait for their appointment. Especially if their appointment time has come and gone and they are not yet taken to see the doctor. Creating a pleasing atmosphere will help temper patients attitudes as they wait for their turn to see the doctor.
An interior designer is not only able to help you systematically control this chaos, but will also make your space look great in achieving that goal. Sure you could buy chairs and pick out some paint & carpet colors for your space and “doctor” it up yourself. But did you go to school and get a degree in interior design? A professional knows the value of hiring a professional.
A great medical practice that truly cares about comfort of their patients would spend a little extra money to get it done right. They would hire a specialist, that is an interior designer to design the reception area. Just as a patience sees a specialist because of their experience and expertise to help with an ailment or disease, an interior designer is your specialist to design your medical office practice space.
Hiring a professional interior designer to plan your office space is a great way to assure that your space lives up to it’s potential. An interior designer is trained to make sure that your space is functional, and looks great. Spaces that look great takes planning.
An interior designer is trained to make sure that your office space layout is functional for your business operational needs, that your colors scheme works and looks awesome, & to ensure proper implementation of your project occurs.
When planning your space, not only do you want to make sure that you meet your space requirements, but it is also important at that time to plan what the final outcome of the space should look & feel like. After the planning and design is complete, the fun begins with the Create phase. It is in the create stage that your space gets created and you have a finished product.
The create stage of any project is where the rubber meets the road. If you have planned properly and taken the time to make the investment in the design of your new space, the create stage should be a smooth process. But it is in this stage that you want to make sure that your interior designer is also the project manager. The designer who helped you plan and design your space, will assure that you get the finished space just as planned. The project becomes the designers baby, it’s her pride and joy. It is a reflection of her hard work. A great interior designer will make sure that the project is done right, is on budget and on time.
Interior designers are not in this business on accident. They love what they do, and take great joy in seeing their design implemented. An interior deisgner has an internal love for design. They see things differently than the average person.
Interior design professionals are not in this business on accident. They love what they do, and take great joy in seeing their design implemented. An interior designer has an internal love for design, and they have invested in their love for design.
Let’s talk about what separates an interior designer from a “decorator”.
A sure way to offend an interior designer is to call her a decorator. It is like calling a psychologist a counselor. Or a CPA a bookkeeper. Like counselors & bookkeepers, decorators can be anyone who hangs out a shingle.
A professional interior designer has a bachelor degree in interior design, and take their profession seriously. There are interior design school such as Harrington College in Chicago that offer degrees in design.
A decorator can be anyone who says they are a decorator. Now I have nothing against decorators nor do I think designers look down on them, however they are not professionally trained. Interior designers spend a minimum of four years in college, and some go on to get master degrees in design.
So if you are a professional, or have a company, you may want to make sure that you have a professional interior designer designing your space.
Since your reception area is the “living room” of your office space, it is important to make sure that you have seating that is professional, stylish & comfortable.
Who sits in this “Living Room”?
It is your customers, vendors and other visitors to your company. It is from this seating area that the visitors of your business start forming an opinion of your company and the owner. If the visitor is sitting in a plain old chair, the impression is going to say “we are just another plain old company” at best.
However if a forward thinking owner cares what his visitors think of the company he/she will make the investment to assure that the seating is comfortable and elegant for their guests. In a medical reception area waiting room, this should be the rule not the exception!
In a medical practice reception area, patients, let’s call them clients, are often waiting for long periods of time. To top it off, chances are they have some sort of ailment that has sent them to your medical practice. By making an investment in seating to assure that your clients are comfortable, you will give your clients peace of mind that they are at a doctor’s office that cares about their patients.
The best way to achieve this:
Plan the reception area for the patients, not for the doctors.
In a world of chaos, the successful business controls chaos as much as they can by building systematic ways to conduct their business based on experience of what works well and what doesn’t. From shipping to sales, systems are built to handle the flow of operational activity.
Included in that operational activity is the layout of your office space as well. Interior designers are trained and have experience in space planning that will fit your business systems.
Here are just a few things Interior designers take into account:
1. The flow of business activities that happen between departments by doing adjacency studies
2. The need of shared business tools such as filing, technology, etc.
3. Square foot analysis for current staff growth or divestiture
4. Growth or divestiture plans
5. Work Space requirements for the work being performed for each person
6. Creating an atmosphere that is pleasurable to be in
A professional interior designer will help minimize the chaos in your office space.
The planning stage in interior design is also know as the programming phase. After the vision for your space is determined, the next thing to determine is the project scope, or goals for this project.
Here are 5 things to consider when thinking about the goals for your project.
1. Moving to a new space, expanding existing space, or a remodel of existing space
2. Incorporating existing furniture and fixtures, buying all new furniture, or a combination of both
3. Determine the style based on the vision
4. Consider “green” elements that want to be achieved
5. Planning for growth or divestiture
While this is a short list of considerations, these tend to expand as they are talked through.
And of course the million dollar question is, “How much will this cost?”
I did not budget enough time to write about cost right now so that will have to wait until a future post!
If you want a nice beautiful and functional reception desk at an affordable price, then we suggest you explore a laminate reception desks as an option. When you look at laminate reception desks, there are some things you should know.
The process that laminate manufactures use to make their product will determine the quality. For example, some companies laminate only the sides that are seen such as the top and sides of a reception desk, either leaving the area under the receptions desk or on top of overheads and bookcases with exposed wood core or some sort of thin sheet of contact paper. Higher quality manufactures fully wrap each piece in laminate. Having each piece fully wrapped in laminate adds to the quality and the structure of the furniture. Be sure for longevity to always look for furniture that is fully wrapped with laminate.
Most laminate companies have out of the box reception desk they sell. The company we recommend Three-H, has a manufacturing process that is set up to make furniture that is custom, at non-custom prices. Their marketing slogan is furniture to the inch.
Since all spaces are not created equal, this gives our clients an opportunity to get a custom reception area desk, at an affordable price. Additionally these receptions desks are modular, and can be configured if you move to a new location, or need to redesign the reception area.
You can also add glass or a wood bull nose edge to sharpen up your piece, without breaking the budget.
Since your reception desk is the first thing that is seen when entering your space, we suggest that you take the time and make the investment to do it right the first time.
Whether you like it or not, the appearance of your office has an effect on the brand image of your company.
If you want to present a particular brand image to your customers and employees, then you must live that brand.
Your employees must buy in to your brand image, after all they are the ones dealing with your customers and creating value for your company. If you expect your employees to live out your company brand, then everything you do as a company should be tied into that brand image. You can’t have people buy into your brand if there is nothing to buy into.
We were recently at a company that understood this brand image concept. They have a game room, a candy store/lunch room and they cater food in for their employees everyday. They provide the little comforts for their people so they can thrive.
This company has been trying to get the interior design of their new offices completed. They attempted to go at it on their own, but realized that they were not in the interior designer business, and did not have the resources to get the finished look they wanted. So he hired us to assist in completing his vision of providing an interior office space that lived up to his brand.
This company was not just portraying a brand image.
They are living it, and will stop at nothing to complete this vision.
This type of attitude is what makes great companies.
The planning stage in interior design is also known as the programming phase. It is in this stage where the client is interviewed to catch the vision that is desired on the project. The vision may include re-configuring current furniture to meet growth or divestiture needs, or to do a remodel of the space so that it creates an atmosphere that inspires.
The vision of your space is very important in that it will reflect the culture of your company.
Take some time and consider the following 2 questions:
Is your vision to have an office space that is inspiring to your team?
How do you want your space to be presented to your customers?
If you want your company to be a great company it starts by having your space reflect that desire. It starts with planning. The planning is either great or bad.
The more planning that is done, the better the outcome of your space. Can you remember a space that looked great? You just wanted to be there and felt good about being there? That was great planning.
Can you remember a space that does not look that great? That is bad planning. Or the plan was that there was no plan.
If you want great results than the planning stage should start with;
