Your office reception is a vital part of your business.
This is the first area that customers and clients will get to see when they enter your building, and as such, this is the area where they will form their first impressions of you too.
You don't necessarily have to have an all-singing, all-dancing office reception design, but you do need to make sure that the space is professional, welcoming and clean. By doing this, you’re showing your customers that you care about appearances and that you understand the importance of first impressions.
That realisation is pretty impressive on its own!
Look at your current reception set up and ask yourself honestly whether any changes need to be made. You can always move things around and freshen things up occasionally and this will allow you to continue making that high-quality impression on anyone who enters into your reception space. In addition to having a professional and high-quality receptionist at their reception chair, this means you’re going to tick all the right boxes.
However, let’s check out 5 quid ways you can improve the appearance of your reception area.
- Clean the area regularly - It goes without saying that the reception space needs to be clean, but this also extends to the reception seating too, including the sofas. Make sure that you clean the area very extensively on a regular basis and keep it looking sleek and shiny.
- Think about the type of seating you have - The seating has to be clean, as we’ve just mentioned, but you also need to think about the type of seating. Not everyone wants to sit closely, next to other people. In that case, don’t just have a sofa, which forces people to sit together; instead have chairs and sofas, to mix things up and allow visitors to have the right amount of personal space they need.
- Look at your decor - There are certain colours which can affect mood and if you have a particularly dark reception, you might like to think about brightening it up with a lick of paint. In addition, colours such as blue, green, and yellow are known to be welcoming and calming colours.
- Add in a feature of some kind - Whilst people are waiting to be seen, how about having some kind of feature? This could be a feature wall, a living wall, a fish tank, a piece of large artwork, or a TV; whatever fits in with your design. Of course, the reception desk needs to be the dominating piece of furniture within the space, but you should shop around for this carefully as there are many different types to choose from.
- Look to optimise natural light - Try and make sure that as much natural light is entering the reception space as possible. This is boosting for the mood but it’s also calming and gives your space a fresh and bright appearance without having to change a thing.
Some of those suggestions are a little harder to work with than others, but they’re all entirely possible with a little planning. You don’t have to spend a small fortune on the design of your reception, but you do need to try and make the most of what you have.
It pays to focus on this area because of the power of first impressions. There are many reception area ideas you can think about which aren’t going to break the bank but which will tick the boxes you need them to tick in terms of great first impressions. However, by investing in this area, you’ll certainly receive back anything you put in, and then some.