Growing your team is exciting… until the new hire shows up and the only available “desk” is a folding table shoved between a filing cabinet and the breakroom trash can. Yeah, that’s not really ideal when it comes to business growth, right? Plus, add one more person and the Wi-Fi starts having an identity crisis (or so it seems). For example, it gets to the point where everyone’s fighting over outlets. Plus, that open floor plan feels less open and more like a game of human Tetris.
While sure, none of this is ideal in the slightest, and yeah, that’s totally true and understandable. But at the same time, you don’t need a full remodel or a million-dollar budget to make your workspace grow with you. Just a few smart moves now can set you up with an efficient scalable workspace setup that saves you from losing your mind (and your Internet connection) later.
Here are three smart tips for scalable workspace setup:
1. It’s All in the Furniture
If your desks make a weird cracking sound every time someone tries to scoot them six inches, that’s a red flag. Sure, nowadays it does seem like furniture is getting worse in quality. But the goal is flexibility, and yeah, cheap furniture might not cut it. So, modular furniture is the best choice here. You really don’t want desks that fit together like building blocks, chairs that don’t weigh as much as your car, and storage you can shuffle around without calling maintenance.
Just try and invest in good furniture for a scalable workspace setup, that part just can’t be stressed enough here!
2. You Need to Think About the Tech
Here’s the thing people always forget: every new hire adds one more laptop, one more video call, one more device streaming true crime podcasts while working on spreadsheets. Now, unless they’re working remotely (and there’s still some impact), then yes, this does actually make an impact. So, if your network’s already huffing and puffing, growth is going to hit hard.
Yes, by all means, growth is good, but this seriously gets overlooked, it seems. Which is exactly why your tech setup needs to scale right along with your team. Now, sure, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just reliable stuff that won’t fall apart under pressure. Something like the Cisco 9200L Series switch is the perfect example since it works behind the scenes (and it’s pretty reputable too).
But of course, this is just one example for a scalable workspace setup, but regardless, more growth does mean more tech.
3. Layouts that Go with the Flow
Open office, closed office, hot desks, collab zones, yeah, it’s all a bit of a buzzword salad. Yeah, it does seem to be a bit of a problem nowadays (and there are already too many buzzwords to deal with as well). But really, what matters is this: can you move stuff around when you need to? Can that random corner be a quiet spot one day and a brainstorming area the next?
Believe it or not, you don’t have to commit to one rigid layout forever. You just need a setup that can change without it turning into a full-on construction project every quarter. For example, mobile partitions can get the job done, or even those little silent pods (and they can usually be rented too).
