In the financial services industry, it’s essential to build a high level of trust between you and your customers, because at the end of the day, you’re handling one of the most important things they own – their money. With this in mind, one of the first ways to start building this trust is inviting potential or new customers and clients to your office. This is why your office needs to be spotless and everything should be optimised for your customer’s journey through your premises. In this article, we’ll take you through some of the ways you can ensure your financial services office is meticulously planned and optimised, and why this matters so much.

How to Meticulously Plan and Optimise your Financial Services Office

In the financial services industry, it’s essential to build a high level of trust between you and your customers, because at the end of the day, you’re handling one of the most important things they own – their money.

With this in mind, one of the first ways to start building this trust is inviting potential or new customers and clients to your office.

This is why your office needs to be spotless and everything should be optimised for your customer’s journey through your premises.

In this article, we’ll take you through some of the ways you can ensure your financial services office is meticulously planned and optimised, and why this matters so much.

The Layout of your Office

To begin with, it’s essential to get the layout of your office right, to ensure both your customers’ and your employees’ journey through the space is easy and intuitive.

One of the main points to mention when it comes to the layout of your financial services office is that there should be soundproof rooms for confidential and sensitive information to be discussed.

This way, you can already start to build that trust with your customers, ensuring that their information and your discussions with them is kept within that room.

Technology and Equipment

When you’re running a financial services business, you’ll know that getting the highest quality technology and equipment is essential.

A lot of the time, people’s sensitive and financial information is stored on some form of technology or equipment, and this needs to be kept safe with high-level security.

For this reason, as part of your office, it’s best practice to invest in the best possible technology and equipment – as well as security systems and software – to ensure everyone’s data is kept safe and private.

Setting Up your Spaces for Collaboration

As with any office, in financial service offices, there will be plenty of collaboration going on behind the scenes – and this requires a proper setup.

This can either mean having separate boardrooms, ideally soundproof, or purchasing modular furniture which can be moved around to create a more collaborative environment. All of this depends on your office space and budget.

It’s essential that the furniture you choose for these collaboration spaces – as should be the case with all your furniture – is as comfortable as possible, as some meetings can take hours at a time.

Client-Facing Areas

In addition to the behind-the-scenes areas like boardrooms, you need to consider the design and layout of your client-facing areas.

Generally, you want your client or customer to be able to navigate your space easily, and your office should ideally be accessible for disabled customers, too.

Client-facing areas should be kept spotless at all times, meaning you’ll have to devise a cleaning schedule to ensure it always provides a great first impression.

These areas should also include facilities to make your customer’s experience smooth and enjoyable, whether that’s a drinks and refreshment station, or a comfortable waiting area.

Lighting in Your Office

When it comes to lighting your financial services office, this very much depends on the existing aesthetic of your space.

However, there are things to keep in mind which apply to all aesthetics and designs.

It’s always a good idea to optimise the natural light in your office and to add to this with your lighting.

If you don’t have much natural light, however, you can definitely make up for this, as long as your lighting isn’t too harsh or sterile.

There are also lots of different light fixtures available, again depending on the wider design and style of your office.

Office Plants and Their Benefits

Plants bring a bright and fresh look to offices in any industry.

With financial service offices, bringing the outside in with plants can help employees relax and de-stress after a long day of work, as office plants are known to boost mood.

In addition, if you have lots of customers, clients and employees visiting your office, it’s essential to keep the quality of the air as high as possible, which is where plants come in.

Certain types of office plants are known to remove toxins like carbon dioxide from the air, helping with purification and improving overall air quality.

Your Financial Services Office and Professionalism

There are many ways to demonstrate your financial services company’s professionalism through your office.

Firstly, as we touched on above, having a clean and tidy office certainly makes your business look professional.

In addition, having welcoming client-facing areas which guide your customer through a journey while they’re in your office also contributes to your professionalism.

Also, having high-quality furniture, fittings and equipment can also give the impression of professionalism.

Finally, your employees will also add to the professionalism of your company, from their behaviour to their outfits.

Customer Journey in your Office

One of the things we’ve been alluding to in this article is making sure that your customers have a clear journey around your office – but what exactly does this entail?

As the name suggests, your customer’s journey is all about the path they follow when they enter your office.

Your customer’s journey should be smooth and simple, and the layout of your office should guide them as to where to go next.

For example, you could have a reception desk with a waiting area adjacent, and then a hallway with meeting rooms where clients are taken to discuss their financial matters.

This would be a simple and easy-to-follow customer journey, meaning your customer is more likely to be satisfied with their overall experience.

Furniture and Materials

When you’re furnishing and upholstering your financial services office, it’s important to consider the impression your choices will have on customers.

From creating comfortable yet high-end boardrooms with long tables and ergonomic chairs to adding comfortable and sleek seating to your reception waiting area, there are so many routes you can go down when it comes to furnishing your office.

There are plenty of things you can do when it comes to upholstering, too, whatever the style of your office, from leather to more neutral materials and colours.

Your Financial Services Office and your ESG Strategy

Many financial service companies have an ESG strategy, and this is becoming more of an expectation these days, as well as being something which customers are beginning to search for and prefer.

When you’re designing, furnishing or doing something else to your office and you have an ESG strategy in place, you need to ensure your new plans adhere to your strategy.

Whether that means sourcing furniture from local businesses who share your sustainability mindset, or if it means helping the community by giving away unused items instead of throwing them out, there are many ways to make your new office ideas fit your ESG strategy.

Sustainability and your Financial Services Office

In terms of sustainability, more specifically, there are several ways you can ensure your new office ideas align with your goals.

For example, you might consider going down the route of a biophilic design, using natural materials and plants to make your office a bright and environmentally-friendly space.

You could also think about using recycled materials for your new office design, or using energy-efficient lighting and other equipment.

Planning and Optimising your Financial Services Office

In this article, we’ve explored some of the ways in which you can plan and optimise your financial services office, from ensuring the layout makes your customer journey smooth and easy to navigate, to making your office goals align with your ESG strategy and focus on sustainability.

As you operate in an industry which is all about trust – like we mentioned above – one of the first ways to build this trust is by making a good impression on new customers with a spotless and meticulously-planned office.