Does Your Office Reception Need a Revamp?

‘You only get one chance to make a first impression’. It’s a cliché – but it’s true. What’s the first impression that visitors to your office receive? Try to be as unbiased as possible; is the first impression you hope they receive the same as what they actually get?

It’s easy to overlook your office reception; you walk past it every day and probably take very little notice – it’s just the reception, right? That’s the problem with familiarity; you get used to how something looks and, before long, you stop looking at it altogether; it’s just…there, comfortable and, dare we say it, ‘fine’. But (prepare yourselves, here comes another cliché) first impressions really do count and it’s time to take a long hard look at your comfortable, familiar reception and see what visitors see. Does it actively promote the values of your business? Or uninspiringly offer a few two year-old magazines and grubby seats?

Here are a couple of pointers…

1. Welcoming seats = happy visitorsMake the seating/waiting area of your reception a welcoming space. Ensure that seats are inviting (consider your colour scheme), there are plenty available and, most importantly, they are clean and stable.
2. Reception desk = Your chance to dazzleThink of your reception desk as a chance to dazzle visitors, welcome them and, most crucially, give them a real sense of what your business is about. Again, consider the room/area’s colour scheme and, also, decide the angle that you’d like the reception to run with; modern and trendy? Warm and inviting? Whatever the theme, ensure your desk matches it – from its shape right through to the contents that sit on top of it.
3. Never underestimate the power of the humble plant…Personable accents such as plants, pictures and prints can give a reception personality, style and, most importantly, demonstrate to visitors that you are not a faceless business or organisation; you understand the importance of making an impression – and you’re going to make one…