How to Style Your Reception Area with a Sustainable Mindset

Julie Starr • Jan 24, 2023



As people walk into your business, you want them to make a great first impression. The reception area of your businesses is where first impressions are made; given that, it’s important to place importance on the decor and the setting to ensure that these impressions communicate your business culture and values.  Nice accessories, like carpets, paintings, and so forth, are nice, but don’t necessarily communicate the message you want to convey. 

Sound can be an influential element that is often overlooked. You need to reflect the character of your organization which means that you need to look at the best waiting room music that suits your brand. Additionally, color can shape impressions as well.  Designing your reception area around your company values with color may be applied in specific color hues versus solids.  For example, if you are a casual company with a casual work environment, a solid black-and-white scheme would contrast against your culture. Instead, you need to design your reception area with elements that bring integration to the culture and to the aesthetics.  Consider the following: 

  • Make the area welcoming and comfortable. If visitors enter your office and have to wait in the waiting area, provide a welcoming and comfortable seating area. Opt for furniture pieces that are relatable to your brand and pair with a sustainable mindset.  Perhaps the chairs are re-used from another setting or the furniture is made of reclaimed wood and organic cushions. Of course, you don’t want your reception area of your professional business to look like a lounge, but the furniture can be stylish, acting as accent pieces to communicate your corporate values. 
  • Keep it calm. People should be able to walk into your business and feel calm from the moment they walk in. This means naturally inspired materials and Zen-style reception areas with minimal clutter. It’s a good approach for those who want to put visitors at ease, especially if you are at a doctor’s clinic or a spa. It can also be a great fit for an organization looking to promote their sustainability image. When it’s done right, with the right plants and the right colors, you can ensure that Zen-like aesthetic.
  • If you are looking to highlight the fact that your business is prestigious, consider darker colors and metals. You don’t need access to a gilded gold framer framework, but you do need to think about styles that have beautiful accents, such as opulent bouquets from a niche florist or dramatic accents, if you really want to make an impression.
  • Get your employees engaged. One of the best ways to decorate your reception area to make it more welcoming is to ask the professionals that actually work there. Ask them how they feel when they walk through it. If your employees aren’t feeling very inspired, then you can’t expect your clients or visitors to feel inspired, either. 

A welcoming reception area sets the tone of your business. Be mindful in the design to leverage sound, color, and sustainably made items to support the message you aim to convey and to support the success of your business.

By Julie Starr 07 May, 2024
Bringing passionate, enthusiastic and talented people into your business is obviously a top priority when you’re growing a company. However, the only way to onboard the brightest talent is by ensuring that your brand is an appealing place to work. Driven employees have certain expectations when it comes to choosing their ideal workplace, so you need to show them what you have to offer. Whether you’re looking into your business ethos , or reassessing certain compensation plans, you can do so much to ensure you’re attracting the best possible employees. Consider some of the following methods and your small business will soon be the go-to place for skilled, driven and talented individuals to work. Pay and Benefits Should Be Competitive When you’re running a small business, the idea of paying regular salaries to your employees will always be on your mind. Keeping up with bills and ever rising costs will never be easy, but you have to offer a competitive salary in order to attract the right type of people to your business. You should also consider all elements of a compensation plan so that your employees always feel valued for their contributions at your workplace. It may be worth talking to your current staff members to see what would be most important to them so you can assess it in the near future. Create a Career Development Plan Working towards the next goal is certainly something that most career driven individuals are keen to do. Staying stagnant in the same role for a prolonged period of time can reduce motivation and cause issues with staff retention. Making sure that there are clear progression opportunities will help to bring in the most talented and focused employees who are willing to put in the work and climb the ladder within your business. Adopt an Eco-Conscious Approach More and more employees are looking for workplaces that put the environment at the forefront and actively choose sustainable processes. Taking care of the planet and going green with your business may help you to align with the right talent for your company. Although this might not be the priority of everyone, it’s certainly a very popular value that a number of people carry in the modern day. Working in an environment where sustainability is a priority is extremely appealing and these people will help you to work alongside like minded colleagues within your business. Your small business goes above and beyond you as an individual; it’s also about the people who work for you and the potential employees you could be onboarding very soon. You can be sure that you’re reaching out to the right type of people and attracting the best possible talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits and working in a sustainable way that always keeps the environment in mind too. Hopefully, these ideas will give you a huge advantage when it comes to bringing in new people who would be an asset to your business.
By Julie Starr 07 May, 2024
Running a business means you should know how to follow a sustainable path toward success. But while this is straightforward in some industries, it can be trickier in other professions. One common problem involves scientific businesses and laboratory environments that often struggle to ensure full sustainability and eco-conscious approaches. So how can clinical trials become more sustainable? Here is some advice to consider. Early Planning Planning is always a useful tool when working out how to improve sustainability within any workplace. You already know what you need to do, so why not focus on planning the different stages to ensure you can avoid delays or other problems that could generate wasted resources and electricity? Planning in laboratory settings is arguably even more crucial as the controlled environment requires a careful approach that is entirely error-free to ensure success and genuine results that scientists can use. Digital Solutions Businesses are using digital solutions more often as these can accelerate lessons and help them find accurate information immediately. The same can apply to clinical trials where using AI will reduce costs and provide quick insights into what you have learned, allowing you to make the most of the data without worrying you’ve made a mistake. Furthermore, this approach can avoid delays and reduce the number of people required in the lab at any time, meaning you can use fewer resources and don’t need to worry about getting to and from the lab. Partnerships Partnering with other companies or organizations can also help clinical trials become more sustainable. You can collaborate to share information, which means you have an entire library of data at your disposal without needing to collect it yourself. This can provide fast and efficient solutions and you don’t need to waste time and energy going into the field to collect this data yourself. Finding The Balance As much as clinical trials can improve sustainability, they also need to know how to find the balance. Since many central laboratory services require face-to-face conversation, it’s important to determine when to hold these meetings and invite patients into the controlled laboratory environment. You know you need to collect samples, but you must do as much as possible to avoid wasting resources. Ensuring you get everything right the first time will make a significant difference and help maintain a sustainable approach. Recognizing Where to Improve No business is perfectly sustainable, so understanding where to improve will be a continuous process. Clinical trials and similar environments can identify strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and take a more eco-friendly approach to their work. Although you won’t reduce your emissions or environmental impact entirely, you can do as much as possible to minimize any damage by maintaining transparency and following compliance regulations that put your laboratory in the best position to excel in every area. Sustainable Building sustainable practices is vital for any industry, and scientific environments are no different. These tips should highlight how and why clinical trials can become more sustainable to improve conditions and reduce the impact on the planet while also striving to further humanity’s knowledge and ability to overcome diseases and other issues.
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