Establishing long-term and stable relationships with partners is key to success

Matevž Borovnik, Country Manager of Delight Slovenia, began his professional journey with Delight Office Solution when the company was first established in Slovenia. Over the years, he actively participated in the development of the company’s vision and witnessed its growth from a small team to a dynamic group of over 15 experts.

Before joining Delight, he gained invaluable experience in the construction and project business sectors. Carrying with him a wealth of knowledge and skills, he continued to develop them in tandem with the company’s growth. From the very beginning, a core of the current team of approximately 15 members has been part of Delight, demonstrating a remarkable continuity in our workforce.

The team in Slovenia is amazing! Longtime members of the Delight team, not only possess extensive experience and expertise in their respective fields but also understand the essence of working in the company and the business in general. Additionally, they have a keen sense of aesthetics and beauty, which greatly contributes to their work. All these qualities make them invaluable members of the team, fostering a productive and inspiring collaboration.

Although Delight Office Solution operates in five countries across the region, with expansion plans, each country operates in a unique way based on the market’s needs.
Moreover, Borovnik claims that the Slovenian market itself has tremendous potential.

The Slovenian market is unique in that it hosts many companies that combine both production and office spaces. These are not just business premises but entire companies. For decades, many of these companies have not invested in their office spaces but rather focused on industry, machinery, and innovation. They prioritized research and development to enhance their business, making Slovenia one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of successful and recognized manufacturing companies. Now is the time for the modernization of office spaces, presenting a significant market potential for Delight.

Another opportunity that Borovnik sees lies in establishing long-term and stable relationships with partners such as Steelcase, Interface, and Framery, which represent a winning combination for every successfully implemented project. In recent years on the Slovenian market, special focus has been placed on Framery’s product line, the world’s leading soundproof pods and booths. They have executed remarkable projects involving Framery in the past, and there are more projects lined up for the future, anticipate a successful collaboration with this excellent partner. Additionally, in the last two years, they have resumed business with their old partner, Interface, and believe that their collaboration will remain successful for a long time.

As the business has developed, so has the team, and with plans for future expansion, the logical next step is a change in the space where Delight operates in Slovenia. We have been in the same showroom for 10 years, which, while charming and meeting their needs, is becoming insufficient. We need a larger showroom and more extensive spaces to showcase their offerings comprehensively to clients. The goal is to make ourselves known to those who haven’t heard of us, emphasizing why we are leaders in the industry at first glance.

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The team is the key to success

Even during his studies, Daniel Told, the Country Manager of Croatia, began his career in sales, which has been thriving and developing for almost 10 years. His previous positions and the successes he achieved have led him to be at the helm of our company’s sales team in Croatia today. He started his sales career as an agent at a real estate agency and later continued his sales career in an international company where he received an award for the highest increase in sales. Additionally, for two consecutive years, he was named the top seller with the most new clients opened, both years, competing with over 100 other salespeople. His journey at Delight is very interesting because he built his career within the company gradually.

When I came to Delight, my position was a Workplace Consultant, and at that time, I already knew that my arrival at Delight was a significant investment in knowledge, career, and my future. Effort, hard work, and perseverance were the guidelines I followed and continue to follow today. After that, I was promoted to the position of Senior Workplace Consultant, and then to the position of Sales Manager. The next position is the one I hold now – Country Manager for Croatia. My journey at Delight has been long, and I took it step by step, familiarizing myself with all the processes and the entire sales business before taking the lead of the team, which I consider crucial for personal development, as well as for the development and progress of the team I now lead!

Communication is the key to sales

After completing my undergraduate studies in economics, I considered continuing my education with a postgraduate degree in the same field, but I ultimately decided to take a different direction and completed an additional two years of specialized studies in communication management. I was interested in communication because sales is precisely that – communicating with people. For successful sales, it’s essential to know how to talk to people, listen to them, and ask them the right questions. Working in sales provides endless opportunities and freedom, and it’s great if you know how to leverage it. In that case, sales work offers room for growth, and the sky’s the limit.

Around me, the team changed and was recreated, and now that we have slightly fewer than 20 members in the team, I believe that this team is using its full potential, and we are very strong. The Croatian market has developed significantly, and we expect the continuation of that growth and development in the future. In the coming years, there will be an expansion in Zagreb! At this moment, there is a shortage of business buildings in the capital of Croatia, and as they soon begin construction, we see an opportunity to expand our business even further. We are already working on numerous projects that will happen in the coming years, and we are confident that this sales segment will significantly contribute to our business growth.

Delight has top-notch products and incredible versatility, allowing us to respond to client’s needs and offer exactly what they require – I like to say that it’s impossible not to sell something, given that we have everything!

Although we have completed large and successful projects all over Croatia, in Split, Zadar, Osijek, and Istria, most of our business is based in Zagreb. Since our showroom is in the very heart of Zagreb’s business district, a significant number of our clients come from there. Croatia is a tourist destination, and there is enormous potential in the Adriatic, especially in the HORECA segment. Part of our business strategy is to grow in that market where we have already established ourselves as a reliable partner for our clients.

When work is a pleasure, life is a joy!

The Croatian market is large and offers various opportunities, and high salaries – if you are a good and hardworking employee, you will quickly find a job! Considering the opportunities available, the biggest challenge I face is keeping the team together and motivating them to stay and grow together. We communicate daily and spend a lot of time together. Although I consider our sales team very strong, each of us faces various challenges, but we strive to support each other. The team does the job, but the team also needs to be worked on! Delight’s sales team in Croatia is a real team, and that’s our response to market challenges.

Considering these challenges, we try to attract and retain people not only through better business conditions and benefits but also by valuing their opinions. People, as social beings, need to know that they are part of a community, feel good, and that their work contributes to the growth and development of the team and, consequently, the business. When people within the company are satisfied, the results are inevitable!

Our goal is to achieve a new record every year compared to previous results, and with a stable and strong team, we are working to increase it! We are making good progress towards making 2023 a record year for Delight in Croatia. We have announced significant projects for the period ahead – some of them are existing clients we have been working with for years and who always return to Delight, thanks to us and our partners – Steelcase, Interface, and Deko.

In addition to expanding our showroom a few months ago, we want to continue to grow and have plans to increase our team and turnover! We are growing as a company, both locally and regionally. Growth is planned, foreseen, and achieved! On one occasion, our CSO, Zoran, mentioned a sentence that I often quote, and I truly mean it word for word – When the work is a pleasure, life is a joy!

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Delight’s unique approach propels constant collective development

Ivan Čanović is the new Country Manager at Delight Office Solution for the Montenegro market. He is a husband, father, and a master’s degree holder in economics, having earned his higher education degrees at universities in Podgorica and Vienna.
He began his professional career at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica, working as a teaching assistant for courses in Organizational Behaviour and Market Communication. He continued his career in an international company that also operates in the Montenegrin market, where he had the opportunity to lead the firm and contribute to its growth and business development.
Ivan first learned about Delight a few years ago from a friend and is now the Country Manager for our company in the Montenegro market, with incredible plans.

Achieving Better Results Together
I first heard about Delight from a friend in Belgrade. His experiences as a client were excellent, and after conducting further research, I realized that Delight is indeed a credible and reliable company in its field of operation. Through analyzing the local market and informal discussions with businesspeople in Montenegro, I concluded that despite its successful regional operations and years of delivering top-notch design and quality turnkey projects, Delight has not yet fully tapped into its potential in the Montenegrin market. It’s clear that Montenegro will be a bigger focus for the company in the near future.

After spending a decade in my previous company, initially as a sales manager and since 2018 as an executive director, I felt that I had reached certain limits and it was time for a new challenge. Delight seemed like the perfect place for me to apply my acquired knowledge and experience, acquire new skills, take on a new challenge, leave a personal mark, and contribute to the team and the company’s business fulfillment.

The Direction of Delight’s Development in Montenegro
What I particularly appreciate about Delight is that it’s not a company engaged in traditional sales but strives to improve the quality of life for the employees of its clients. What Delight does is a completely different dimension – it’s a holistic, sophisticated approach that allows me as an individual, as well as Delight as a company, to further develop, constantly explore and find new and better solutions, and provide the local and regional markets with a modern perspective on this business segment.

I also started with the assumption that a company focused on improving the lives of its clients’ employees would certainly also care about the satisfaction of its own employees.

I am confident that with globalization, digitalization, and a wide range of new business opportunities, it is becoming increasingly challenging to attract and retain top talent. Delight, with the business segment it represents, certainly offers a range of tools that can help companies gain a comparative advantage in this regard. This is the experience that sets us apart from competitors in the market in which we operate, and it should be leveraged for further business development.

When it comes to HoReCa, Montenegro’s potential is truly significant!
Montenegro can offer something that very few countries in the world can – the ability to ski on a mountain and swim in the sea on the same May day is truly impressive! Regarding tourism, Montenegro has a vast untapped potential that nature has bestowed upon it, and I believe that in the period ahead, there will be significant progress in harnessing this potential.

The development and progress of tourism go hand in hand with the development of the hotel industry. In recent years, hotels of renowned global chains have opened, but smaller boutique hotels and condo complexes have also begun to be built. I believe that the growth and development of the HoReCa sector in Montenegro open a new dimension of potential for our company.

In addition to clients in the hospitality sector, multinational and rapidly growing IT companies, which are increasingly present in Montenegro, are clients that we should also aim to serve in the future. Alongside this, there is a growing need for business centers and co-working spaces, and we will certainly be there to support this development and bring their ideas regarding ambiance and organizational culture to life.

Our primary goal in the months ahead should be to make our brand, ideas, and portfolio even more recognizable! The opening of our new showroom will be accompanied by a special event, which we are carefully planning. We want to thoroughly introduce all interested parties in the market to our wide range of offerings, the quality, and reliability of our services, and provide them with the opportunity to test a part of our product range through the showroom.

I am personally a strong optimist when it comes to Delight’s future, and I firmly believe that our company in Montenegro is entering a period of dynamic growth.

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We proved that we can deal with significant challenges!

Radoslav Milosheski is one of the youngest employees at Delight Office Solution company throughout the region, and the youngest country manager! The experience Radoslav gained after finishing college led him to this responsible, and challenging position at Delight North Macedonia, where he has been for over a year. After his time as an office consultant at a corporate real estate company, as he reached a certain level, he needed a new challenge. Thanks to the job he was in, which he successfully carried out, he became familiar with the real estate market as well as Delight. Therefore, the logical next step is for him to become a part of our company!

Knowledge and energy are the formula for a successful team

I lead an amazing team of 16 people that operates seamlessly in all conditions. There are several reasons I consider crucial for the success of our team and our company in the Macedonian market. One of them is that our team is a blend of experienced individuals with years of company service and younger members. Some selflessly share their knowledge and some are eager to listen and learn something new. When these elements come together, knowledge and energy combine, which, in my opinion, form the formula for a successful team.

I believe that our energy is what colleagues from the region primarily associate with our team. Beyond excellent collaboration, we are also friends outside of work – there is great chemistry among the team members!

Market in North Macedonia

The market in North Macedonia is quite specific due to its limitations, but we are moving in the direction of constructing such buildings and having investors who want to build such structures. The previous year was quite good for both Delight and the entire Macedonian market, as we completed several business centers. This led people to acquire new business spaces, renovate them, and expand – considering this, the past year was very dynamic.
I believe that the trend happening in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia is also coming to us, and an expansion will occur in North Macedonia. The market will develop, and businesses will grow, with companies like ours being the initiators. Companies that emphasize investing in employee conditions and well-being, because when employees are satisfied, they give back to the company with hard and valuable work. The pioneers here were IT and international companies, which have standards they must follow wherever their company is located, and we are here to help them. Call centers invested in their offices, and they have changed the way of operations!

What we do best is listen to our clients!

What people sometimes think is that Delight only sells furniture, and the truth is that furniture sales are just one segment of our business. Delight is a company dedicated to the science of office space! Our biggest distributors, Steelcase, Interface, and DEKO, share their knowledge with us, and we are grateful for that. We use everything we receive from them. It’s worth mentioning that our employees are the only ones in the market with such wide and comprehensive knowledge.

What sets us apart from other companies in the market is that we offer a specific approach for each client because each client has specific needs and challenges, they face. When we talk to a client, we don’t just discuss the warranty of our products, but the benefits of the space they are in – what kinds of zones need to exist, how the space should look, the importance of having areas for concentration, rest, and private conversations.

Additionally, our distinction in the market lies in the fact that our relationship with clients doesn’t end with a sale. After we complete a project, we provide clients with 24/7 after-sales support! Our goal is to ensure that clients still are happy even after the project is completed and that they still are our clients for many years, as we have provided them with top-notch service not just during the purchase but also afterward.
In business, as in life, having a reliable partner is essential, and Delight undoubtedly fulfills that role for all clients who use our services for the next 10 years!

Presenting Philosophy Through the New Showroom!

Although the old showroom was beautifully designed, Delight Holding recognized the potential in the Macedonian market and decided to open a new space in an exclusive location in the city centre, to position ourselves at the heart of events and among all clients. We are now situated in one of the finest business centers in Skopje, in a building that everyone is familiar with.

In our new showroom, we have implemented everything we recommend to our clients is necessary. Our space includes collaboration zones, an area for informal meetings, an oval room for private discussions, as well as offices for teams that require separation from their colleagues. It took an extraordinary effort to bring everything to life, but it was smooth because the entire team participated in the realization!

Judging by the employees’ reactions and behavior, I see that they like the new showroom – it’s more spacious, offers greater privacy, less noise, a different working atmosphere, and employees don’t leave work tired, but rather content. All the necessary elements are present, and there’s scientific evidence of their importance in the workplace. Through our own experience, we’ve realized the process of creating a space according to rules and standards, and our offices will also serve as an example to show clients everything we recommend for their own offices.

From demolition to furnishing

During the earlier period, we’ve had numerous successful projects under our belt. I would like to highlight the Allocate Software project, one of the largest IT companies in Skopje with over 300 employees. We managed the entire project from demolition, renovating old installations, floors, design, and space furnishing, providing turnkey solutions. This project presented significant challenges, from the functional requirements the space needed to meet to the complexity of the building itself where Allocate Software is located.

Following that, we collaborated with another global company, Endava, which occupies over 3,500 square meters. We managed the complete Interface flooring as well as curved glass partitions, a first-of-its-kind installation in the Macedonian market. Despite the challenges, from transporting the glass to North Macedonia to installing it everything went smoothly.

While there are indeed several excellent IT companies in North Macedonia, we were fortunate to have the best companies as our clients! Our collaboration with investors has intensified lately as they recognized the quality of products from our suppliers. Through investor partnerships, we completed two business centers – Palata Kan and Maksim Gorki. This means we installed 16,000 square meters of DEKO glass partitions and Interface flooring. This shows our ability to tackle substantial challenges, leading investors to continue their collaboration with Delight.

I want to emphasize that I’m extremely proud to lead a team like Delight North Macedonia. I’m glad to be here and to have colleagues who accepted me despite my young age. Together, we’ve proven our compatibility and ability to collaborate successfully, paving the way for more achievements in the future!

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When “I got the job” becomes “I accepted the offer”, changes are required!

Ivana Peričin is a Master of Psychology, a travel lover, and the HR manager of Delight Holding, which operates across the region and has around 100 employees.

We talked about her goals for the business, how it would evolve, and the standards she set for HR management.

Unique regional identity

One of Delight’s unique aspects is its complex and interconnected structure, consisting of several sectors that collaborate closely daily. A significant challenge is creating a seamless organizational flow that accommodates each team’s specificities.

We aim to preserve and strengthen regional cooperation among our teams, as daily regional communication allows us to share experiences, exchange essential information important for employee efficiency, and enhance our regional identity.

Establishing a unifying identity for the whole Delight group while embracing the unique specificities of each place we operate in is a key objective for our business culture. This unique identity is based on universal values upheld by everyone in the Delight group, both internally between colleagues and externally with our clients.

We also aim to intensify regional cross-team collaboration in the future, fostering a sense of belonging and unity among our teams, all working towards the same goal – client satisfaction.

Delight currently has around 100 employees and a wide network of subcontractors in local territories. Today, we are working on improving team structures through more efficient organization, development of company culture, and improvements in internal software and digital communication while retaining flexibility.

Since our clients come from a variety of sectors, our flexibility and open lines of communication help us to understand their needs.

Company culture makes the company alive!

Every company has a culture, whether it’s clearly defined or not. When looking at a company’s long-term success, culture is crucial alongside external business strategy as it reflects the quality of work, products, customer relationships, and the quality of life within the company. It makes the company a living organism and guides its overall quality.

At Delight, we strive to understand and embody our values dimensionally, both in our internal functioning and in our collaboration with clients. Some of our values are:

Responsibility – first and foremost, responsibility to ourselves, our values, and interests, followed by responsibility to our team and colleagues we work with, responsibility to the company we are a part of, and of course, responsibility to the client and their needs, as they are the main reason we exist as a company.

Transparency – a clear setting of expectations, determining deadlines, and adhering to them, transparent sharing of information. Transparency is essential for efficiency and ethics while respecting our colleagues and clients.

Flexibility – not only in hybrid, remote work, and flexible working hours, but also in openness to different opinions, sensibilities, and needs. All of this contributes to faster adaptability, not only to changes in local market dynamics but also to global trends that inevitably affect us through our clients.

Teamwork – both internally and with clients during project execution. The projects we work on are often long-term and require continuous presence and evaluation of the entire process.

Integrity – alignment of internal values that exist “on paper” with what truly happens within the company, how we represent the company, build our brand, and act daily in the external market.

Culture is crucial for the quality of life within the company and greatly influences our company’s ability to adapt to the rapid changes happening in the global market. Our attachment to the company, how well we feel as part of it, our efficiency, and our willingness to change, embrace innovations, and follow market trends from month to month are all significantly influenced by the company’s culture.

Culture determines who we accept and exclude from the company. Today, when the concept of “team fit” exists, anyone who does not share these values may not function well or disrupt our established homeostasis. What’s important is to create a healthy system that naturally excludes what doesn’t belong and strengthens the segments that are good and healthy, ensuring the company’s continuity and improvement.

Global and regional recruitments give us an excellent insight into current values in the job market. For example, in the region, the importance of flexibility has become evident lately, especially in Slovenia, Croatia, and even more so in Serbia compared to previous years. The focus on delivering good results, creativity, development, and the desire for flexibility in terms of location and sliding working hours have increased. Creativity seems to be increasingly present as a need among employees. Delight can boast about this, especially considering the diverse spectrum of clients we collaborate with. Financial stability is undoubtedly essential, but it seems that it is often not decisive for whether we will stay somewhere and be fulfilled in our workplace.

Continuous development and adaptation to change are vital. The psychological safety environment is also important, as it provides us with space for continuous growth – a space to make mistakes, learn from them, and evolve. Without mistakes, there is no growth; perfection is an illusion. To be competitive in the market, continuous growth is necessary for both individuals and the company.

What I truly believe and what particularly motivates me at Delight is the significance of the work environment, especially as the demands of employees have changed considerably. It’s fascinating to observe how the workspace influences relationships within teams. Flexibility not only entails hybrid work but also working in a physically healthy atmosphere, where we can change our location during the workday, take a walk through the space, and be inspired by the environment itself. The workspace is crucial for connecting employees; it serves as inspiration and the foundation of our company identity. The workspace can be the base that provides stability and routine when needed, while simultaneously offering flexibility when the need arises.

Today, companies face the challenge of accommodating different generations with diverse approaches to work, values, and demands, and the workspace should connect and reconcile these differences. This is a significant challenge for those designing the workspace, but it’s fantastic to see how people connect and integrate into a unique system.

To be competitive in the market, rapid adaptability has become necessary because changes are constantly happening in the global market and our personal lives.

With the opening of the global market and digitization, high-quality employees have many more opportunities than it has been before. We all compete for quality employees who continuously work on themselves, have a desire for self-improvement, and are unafraid of change. However, companies need to be aware that every professional, aware of their experience and potential, also has self-respect and will seek a company that respects them as human beings and as an employee. Their criteria will inevitably be high, and this requires us, as a company, to continuously improve and advance our human resources strategies.

Thanks to the opening of the global market, conditions have drastically changed, and there is a visible trend toward further changes. For instance, when talking about recruitment, it used to be typical to say, “I got the job,” and now we say, “I accepted the offer.” Through this sentence, we can see the change in the psychology of power in the job market and the change in the relationship between employers and employees.

Humanity, ethics, knowledge, transparency, reciprocity, and a common goal can take us far and significantly improve us both as individuals and as a business.

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Interview with Mr. Marko Tanazević, Delight Group CEO

Two decades of hard work and dedication in serving our clients led us to today where we have a strong and prosperous regional company, and more importantly where our results and clients remain delighted.

What is your success path?
In the initial years of the new millennium, we began developing our range of services and products. In most recent history, we became a regional fully integrated office solution provider. We truly believe that we offer the best value for our client’s investment and deliver creative, innovative, and inspiring office solutions with high-quality products and services. The Delight Group is the only regional player in SEE in office solutions with a comprehensive portfolio of leading global brands, exclusive partnerships, and best performing associates.

With business strategy at acquiring, advancing and nurturing long-established partnerships and collaborations we have instituted a range of creative, architectural and technological solutions designed to advance and foster an improved work environment. For our clients and their teams this means supporting them to reach their full potential while simplifying their daily work by delivering our solutions.

What is your greatest forte?
Our greatest asset is human capital, and with more than 100 specialized and creative professionals we, the Delight Group, have the competence and capacity to deliver complex project undertakings. Systematic and customized approach to clients, transparency, cost control, and project management are just some of the Delight Group advantages and opportunities. Single point communication and methodology is faster and quicker, therefore truly valuable to most businesses. Integrated business operations, unified team decision-making process, and finally a secured solutions’ delivery leads to fulfilment of our clients’ needs and overcomes their expectations. Our centralized business operations system provides our client with the possibility for procurement at the highest and unified level of quality, service and professionals’ pool, regardless of their location.

What is the aftermath of Covid-19 to your operations and what changed?
Our corporate approach has brought us to where we are today, and at the core over the recent years was digitalization of all operations and automation of main business processes. Regardless of the challenges and economic effects of the Covid-19, the Delight Group has reorganized and advanced its already initiated plans to lead us to the success story we have today. We optimized workflows and established collaboration practices which brought us to the position where we continued to grow and expand despite the given situation faced by us all. With ever-changing work environment our set processes brought new value to customers, gave space to innovation, and increased our productivity to a record-breaking result.

As we reached our milestones of more than 10,000 clients from an array of industries and 50,000 unique customer cases, we are also getting ready to mark the most financially successful year to date, regardless of the last two challenging Covid-19 years and heavily impacted economy and industry.

What are your future goals and plans?
Our future is preselected by our core values which we plan to respect and uphold, and our corporate strategy underlines this. In short, our aspiration is to keep on growing and offer the best possible service to our clients with nurturing our high-performing human capital and forever improving our innovative processes that deliver a better day @ work to our clients. Our growth will be ensured through further digitalization of all processes encompassed through custom made solutions and business modules. Together with our partners and management we recognized that one of the steps to achieve these goals is to expand our Adria presence even further onto Southeast Europe and position ourselves in 8 countries, covering a market of 40 million people. Furthermore, our clients are our most valued ambassadors. If you combine this with highly specialized and innovative professional team and inspiring leadership, and finally a superb and unsurpassed products, you are set for success and growth without obstacles.

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So what office chair do I need?  Well, we’ve answered some of your burning questions so when the time comes to buy your new office chair you’re all clued up and know what you need.

What different office chairs are there?

Office chairs have come a long way from standard swivel chairs.  There’s now posture chairs and executive leather chairs for maximum comfort which are a great investment for you and your business.

Office chairs come in a wide range of different styles. Here are some of the common styles available:

Task Chair

Task chairs are also known as operator or computer chairs and are probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about an office chair.

Standard task chair features include swivel castors and gas lift for adjusting the height to fit your needs. However, more advanced task chair models includes features such as adjustable armrests, headrests, adjustable backs, lumbar support and an ergonomically designed seat pad.

Task chairs are suitable for both home and business available in wide range of materials, from plastic chairs with padded foam seats, through to fabric, mesh and leather finishes.  These chairs are designed for operators spending a lot of time in front of a computer. Task chairs will provide good all-day comfort for most users as long as you choose high quality and ergonomic designs.

Executive Chairs

Executive chairs are large, more stylish and offer more comfort than most task chairs due to their elongated shape and padding.

Generally, executive chairs offer height adjustability, but don’t come with fully adjustable backs which means they are unsuitable for people who need to work at a computer for long periods of time.

Designer Chairs

These chairs are designed to look a bit different with their simple, elegant style available in a range of colours and materials to suit any environment.

One downside to these office chairs is that comfort does sometimes suffer due to often being manufactured from hard materials like plastic, mesh, chrome and leather so they don’t have the same levels of padding, support or adjustability as other office chairs.  They can be very much about the looks over the function.

These chairs are suitable for short working sessions, but generally won’t be comfortable or supportive enough for all day use. They are ideal for communal areas like meeting rooms and breakout areas enhancing your current workspace.

What are the benefits of buying an ergonomic office chair?

An ergonomic chair is any chair that’s designed to work with the human body, providing the right support and improving posture to maximise comfort during extended work hours. Since office chairs take up a big part of our lives, it’s more than important then ever to choose ones that provide us with maximum comfort. Here are 3 of the best benefits from choosing an ergonomic office chair:

Increased Productivity – Sitting in an uncomfortable chair can cause you nagging back pain constantly moving to find a comfortable position to sit in can affect your concentration and make your mind wonder.

An ergonomic office chair that molds to your body will make you feel more relaxed and focus on the work in hand instead of your uncomfortable chair.

Improve Posture and Back Pain – Slouching over your office desk for 8 hours a day will affect your posture and you’ll soon start to resemble the Hunchback of Notredame!

Sitting in a slouched position for long periods of time puts a lot of tension on the muscles and ligaments in the back which results in serious back pain. Having a good office chair will allow your body to the adjust to the ergonomic shape. Office chairs are designed to offer the necessary back support and can adjust to every size and body type.

Reduce Health Risks – In recent articles we mentioned how sitting is as bad for you as smoking and that it has similar dangerous effects on our bodies. A bad sitting position affects the blood circulation in the body which can cause blood clots.

Investing in a good chair means reducing the pressure on your muscles from sitting down which will allow the blood to flow through the body without any obstructions.

AUTHOR: Chloe Beevers

(https://www.kitoutmyoffice.com/blogs/news/what-office-chair-do-i-need)

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Read the comment sections on any article that discusses this trend and you would think that employees are ready to jump out the window to escape the sinister, dark intentions of their employers. “How can you value me so little?” “They are just trying to save money by cramming me into this awful environment.” “As soon as I find another job, I am out of here!”

No doubt, there have been some terrible mistakes made in the name of improving the workplace. But there are some great successes as well.

Workplace design is a complex process. Workplace acoustics is one aspect of the process that is frequently overlooked and regularly a major reason for disappointment.

The problems

Employee distraction has been surveyed by dozens of organizations. The results are consistent and startling. Roughly 70 percent of all employees in open work areas report that the biggest impact on their productivity is the conversations of their coworkers.

When an employee takes a phone call within earshot of another, the content of the conversation is enticing to the brain of the neighbor. Once distracted, productivity drops. Studies have shown that it can take as much as 20 minutes to fully regain concentration on complex tasks once distracted. Once distracted, error rates increase as work is resumed.

Living a cliché, I am writing this on a Sunday morning at a Starbucks in Washington, D.C. A chatty couple just sat down next to me. The first several paragraphs of this piece flowed from my brain in minutes. Then poof. I am re-grouping.

The solutions

As we plan for new workplaces and for modifications to existing workplaces, there are a few simple acoustical concepts that can help ensure a better outcome for the employee’s satisfaction and the success of the enterprise.

1. Acoustically absorptive materials

Offices full of people create noise. Conversations, ringing phones, and keyboard clicks are a constant. This is all energy. The energy of this sound radiates away from its source and interacts with every surface. Concrete, glass, and painted sheetrock reflect the sound. Multiple reflections take place within fractions of a second. This sound creates a web of distracting noise. Further, as humans, we hear this noise and react by increasing the level of our voice to compete with the distraction. This causes a “ratcheting-up” of the noise levels. Before long, instead of a productive work environment that encourages productive pursuit of the business enterprise, we have employees isolating themselves with headphones and fingers in their ears to find relief.

Adding acoustically absorptive materials improves this condition. Absorptive materials take many forms. Acoustical ceilings, acoustical wall panels and carpet are a few we all know. Acoustical ceilings seem to have become an unattractive alternative to many. The look of the exposed building lends a feel that is more in line with the brand of many occupiers. When ceilings and carpet are not a part of the design, it is the responsibility of the workplace design team to strategically add absorptive materials in other places.

With Europe in the lead, there has been an explosion of interesting acoustical materials developed in the last several years. These materials are not only an effective way to reduce reflective noise but to provide interesting looks that can augment the look of the space.

By placing acoustical materials in areas of the noise creation, the levels of noise can be reduced to the benefit of the productive workers living in the space. As a general principle, placing the absorptive materials as close as possible to the noise source is most effective. Once the noise is free within the space, it harder to control. Highly absorptive desk dividers placed in front of the person talking is very effective. A hanging cloud of material above a talkative group is good as is placement on nearby walls.

When choosing the materials, make sure that they have a high Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC). The NRC rating indicates the ability of a material to absorb sound. The rating indicates the percentage of sound energy that strikes the surface and does not bounce back. A rating of .50 (50 percent) is typical of an average acoustical ceiling tile. A rating of 1 (100 percent) is available in a few of the best acoustical products.

I was in the space of a startup company recently that suffered from too many hard surfaces and a lack of absorptive materials. When conversations broke out, the noise levels in the space spiked. People leaned in to understand each other. It was a fun environment, in many ways, with great daylight and color. But the noise levels were oppressive. Adding acoustical material to the space would not lessen the fun or the bright feel. However, it would improve the communication in the space and allow the employees to better interact.

2. Sound masking systems

The next key acoustical concept for consideration is reducing the radius of distracting conversations. The radius of distraction is simply the distance from a talker to the distracted party. In a benching environment, we don’t expect adjacent people to have any acoustical separation. They are likely adjacent to each other to collaborate and share information. But their collaboration and sharing should not impact other collaborative groups.

Most modern commercial office buildings have very quiet background sound levels. With no one else in the room, the space is dead quiet. A whisper can be overheard at significant distant. Opening a bag of chips is a distraction at 50 feet! I call this “creepy quiet”. When conversations begin in a creepy quiet environment, they can be easily overheard at distances of 50-60 feet. This does not allow for productive work.

Sound masking systems provide relief to creepy quiet environments. By adding a soft background sound to the space, the radius of distraction is significantly reduced. In many cases, the distractions can be significantly reduced down to about 15 feet. Sound masking system come in many varieties. The key to a successful sound masking installation is the uniformity of the sound delivery, the spectrum of the sound and the volume of the sound.

Uniform sound delivery requires that the speakers not be facing towards the occupants of the space. As employees circulate through the space, they should not be able to discern the location of the speakers. A consistent sound delivery allows our human brains to filter it and push it out of our consciousness.

The spectrum of the sound is the composition of the sound energy by frequencies. As humans, we hear from low frequencies, like a sub-woofer, to high frequencies, like a small bell. The frequencies that we use for speech are in the middle of our range of hearing. A good sound masking spectrum concentrates sound within these middle frequencies. Rumbling lows and hissy high frequencies are not needed. The result is a smooth sound that should resemble gently moving air or water. An analysis of sound will find that the sounds of ocean surf or a rushing stream are very effective sound masking spectra.

The volume of the sound masking is important for employee acceptance. If the sound level is too low, it will not be effective. If too loud, it will not be accepted. Successfully achieving this balance will determine the success of the system.

Good workplace acoustics are attainable!

Productivity is nearly impossible to measure in today’s knowledge-based economy. But imagine if a magic pill could be taken to improve employee productivity just 5 percent. Good workplace acoustics are that magic pill.

A well-designed acoustical workplace will feel comfortable to employees. Collaboration will be aided and will not distract surrounding groups that are not involved in the discussion. Competing conversations will not cause the ratcheting-up process making the stress levels of the occupants rise.

AUTHOR: Steve Johnson

(https://workdesign.com/2016/11/acoustics-open-office/)

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 Laptops, smartphones and tablets offer unprecedented mobility, allowing increasing numbers of professionals to retreat to their favorite places in the coffee shop or at home. Flexibility fuels the idea that work can happen anywhere.

But does “anywhere” really work?

A recent turnstone survey revealed that while 71% of office workers are remote at times, 72% of them report facing challenges when away from the office. Whether it’s loud surroundings, limited wifi, the inability to print documents or difficulty connecting to company servers, these problems threaten to derail productivity and diminish employee engagement.

So, if real hurdles exist when working remotely, why do so many workers still choose their “favorite places” away from the office?

A recent turnstone study suggests it may be because they prefer options that often don’t exist in the workplace. For example, when given the choice, 32% of 18-34 year old’s  prefer working in lounge settings to traditional work environments. However, the s ame survey found that just 25% of professionals have these spaces available to them. For the lucky few who do have office lounge areas, nearly half say they use them to do real work—not just to mingle or socialize.

So what does this mean for entrepreneurs wanting to create spaces that attract and retain the best and brightest?

It means that offering a true palette of posture in the office is critical to employee wellbeing. With research linking physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing to employee engagement—and linking engagement to bottom line results—the notion of space impacting business results is not far-fetched.

That’s why turnstone created new additions to our Campfire line. Our Slim Table is built to provide power in lounge settings, while Footrest supports feet and the backs of legs while you recline. Skate Table offers a movable work surface that adjusts to you, rather than you adjusting to your work.

If you’re ready to explore what lounge settings could do in your space, we’re ready to help transform your office.

AUTHOR: Jane Graham

(http://myturnstone.com/blog/lounge-areas-matter-modern-offices/)

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The obvious key to a successful business is hiring the best and brightest people for your team, but enabling them to operate at their highest level is also vital to running an efficient enterprise. We’ve put together a little guide to help you buy the right office furniture and have a good layout without negatively impacting your employees.

The negatives of getting seating & desk plans wrong

Firstly we look at the pitfalls of getting it wrong; if you don’t get your office seating and desk plans right for your employees there may be severe repercussions for your business. Everything from increased levels of stress, job satisfaction, absenteeism and staff turnover, all of which can result from the way the office environment has been designed, or through badly designed hot-desking whilst continuously moving desks and seats.

Office Environments through the years

Office environments hadn’t really changed much until the 90’s with new office layout ideas following the influx of ‘modern’ tech businesses. In the 1900s offices were open plan and people were sat in long rows in their departments, shackled to their phones and typewriters, with a manager close by to keep an eye on what employees are up to.  For many larger businesses not much changed for many years, even with the introduction of computers and better working practices.

Fast forward to the ‘21^st century’ and companies such as Google start to influence one of the biggest changes seen in office layouts. Influences such as hot desking and breakout areas for example, alongside ergonomic improvements around standing desks, booths, and flexible working hours. Some office designs even aim to bring the outdoors inside, or think a bit differently by bringing a theme into the office or room.

A closer look at some of the types of office environments

The Lean Office Environment

This environment involves a minimal layout which allows for easy hot desking because of the lack of personalisation. Many people believe this is the most efficient way to work as clutter free desks ensure there are less distractions.

There are many positive that comes with hot desking in certain office environments such as allowing employees to communicate between departments, with the flexibility of working from different locations, plus it can save you space and money. However, this layout may negatively impact your employees as they can’t personalise their desks and leave work in their drawers which means the hassle of taking papers home with you at the end of the day or packing it up to put in a locker.

The Enriched Office Environment

The enriched office environment sees employees working in an office environment that has decorations around the office, but this is strictly dictated by management.

This has a slight positive impact on the environment, but the problem can be that it ‘forces’ enriched environment that has no empowerment or personalisation by individual staff members.

The Empowered Office Environment

This office layout allows employees to enrich their environment by deciding how they want to decorate their area. You don’t want to allow complete free-reign of the office to create a massively cluttered environment, but perhaps suggest to members of staff the budget or the number of items they’re allowed to buy.

Not only do you want your employees to add personalisation to the office, we also suggest allowing small amounts of colours to splash through the office environment that keep in with your business’ branding. Our HD colour office desk and storage range are available in 5 bright colours. There are also numerous different ways you can add colour into the office as a bright office will help to motivate your employees.

Office seating arrangements

Not only do you need to consider the importance of the office layout, but also where and how people are seated.  When coming up with a seating plan in the office you need to think about your team(s) and how best collaboration will work. For example, sitting individuals close to their colleagues in the same department will allow for them to communicate about work.

Where to sit in meetings?

Typically in meetings people have a free choice of where to sit. Pay close attention to the seating positions if you’re wanting a certain outcome (or at least help perpetuate one), the following seating principles will help you.

Rectangular meeting tables – Leader of the table

A rectangular meeting table often requires a leader. If you’re not naturally the best leader or communicator, but are in a position that means you need to lead a discussion the best place to sit is at the ‘head of the table’. However, be aware if there is someone seating at the opposite end of the table this person may feel like they want to offer a counter view to yours.  In this instance, it’s best to remove the seat at the opposite end of the table to keep the conflict to a minimum.

If there are people in the meeting that have the same views as you, you may want to sit them close by.

Circular meeting tables – Requires no leader

A circular meeting table means that everyone has the exact same amount of space and there is no leader of the table. This encourages people to be more open in expressing their opinions.

In addition to the layout of your office, you should also consider adding a touch of creativity to your work space as it can be a great way to boost your productivity.

AUTHOR: Chloe Beevers

(https://www.kitoutmyoffice.com/blogs/news/how-can-your-office-layout-impact-your-employees)

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