Knowing when to buy office furniture can be an art. Businesses and office managers know well the complexities of choosing and ordering furniture that will work for the space, employees and budget. There are many reasons you might be looking into purchasing new office furniture, such as:
- The old furniture is outdated or broken
- Your company is moving offices
- Your office is undergoing a redesign
- You’re expanding your office space or into new locations
Whatever the reason may be, continue reading to discover when to buy new office furniture.
Office Furniture Buying Timeline
Having the right office furniture can promote collaboration and teamwork and increase your team’s productivity and efficiency. When your employees have comfortable spaces to work, you can rest easy knowing they have the materials to do their best.
Take a look at this office furniture buying timeline to figure out when exactly you need to purchase your new furniture:
- Nine months before: Believe it or not, purchasing office furniture should involve some research. If you’re looking to buy all new furniture, you’ll need to put a plan in place to ensure everything complements the design while still maintaining the function you need. Consider the specific needs of your employees — you might even send out a survey asking them for input on the new furniture choices.
- Six months before: Around this time, you’ll want to choose a company. Ask for examples of their previous work, or go online to check out testimonials before committing to a company. You can measure the space yourself or have a professional come to offer a consultation.
- Three months before: This is when you’ll definitely want to order your office furniture, but talk to your furniture provider for more specific details about timing. Pieces like cubicles and workstations may have longer lead times than chairs and desks, so you want to give the manufacturer ample time to complete every part of your order.
- One month before: About four weeks before the expected arrival and installation of your new furniture, begin planning how your company will accommodate the slight disruption. While most businesses cannot shut down their operations, planning in advance can help the transition go as smoothly as possible. You can begin packing things or moving nonessential items to another area to make setup quick and efficient.
- One week before: A week out from the installation of your new furniture is when you’ll want to kick it into high gear. Communicate with your furniture installation service about the particularities of your building if you haven’t already, including access to your office and any stairs or elevators they may need to navigate.
Best Times To Buy New Office Furniture
Barring unexpected events like fires and natural disasters or the odd broken chair or table, you’ll likely have plenty of planning time when preparing to buy furniture for your office. But what is the best time of year to buy office furniture? When is the best month to buy furniture?
January: At the beginning of the year, many manufacturers across industries are preparing to introduce new products and designs. As a result, January is a great time to put in orders for new office furniture, as you may be able to take advantage of special deals as companies try to clear their warehouses to make room for new products.
April: Tax time is another great month to take advantage of good deals. Additionally, following the theme of spring cleaning, many retailers offer deals on items people may replace in their spring cleaning endeavors.
May: Apart from Black Friday, Memorial Day is one of the biggest days for sales in the whole year. Furniture retailers in particular often offer big deals around this time of year.
August: Back to school shopping heats up in August, leading to deals on all kinds of electronics, appliances and even furniture.
Best Times To Buy Office Cubicles
When you buy office cubicles for your space, you’re investing in your employees’ efficiency and productivity. Today’s offices are more mobile than ever, and they need transformational office furniture that suits today’s rapidly changing business needs. If you’re looking for office furniture that gives you the freedom to change configurations and offer plenty of storage, look no further than cubicles.
If you’re in the market for a new office configuration and you’re wondering when to buy cubicles, the timeline that best suits you depends on your unique needs. Some offices require significant renovations to accommodate cubicles. Many offices elect to install electrical updates to support the increased demand from the electronics in the cubicles.
Cubicles often have longer lead times, meaning it takes the manufacturer and the retailer more time to produce and assemble the materials than smaller items like chairs and desks. Allow plenty of time between your order and the installation date.
If your office already has cubicles, you might know about how many you’ll need and how big they need to be to accommodate all the employees you have. If you’re newly renovating a building or adding cubicles for the first time, you might not know how to choose the right size cubicle for your office. The most important features of cubicles include their flexibility and ergonomics.
Best Times To Buy Open Office Workstations
In the real estate market, open-concept floor plans are all the rage. We also see similar commercial and office real estate trends, with floor plans featuring individual offices making way for expansive, open-concept office spaces. Having free visibility throughout the room with open access to natural light can energize employees and promote collaboration.
When you buy office workstations, you can design a layout and floor plan that works for your team. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, the top three ways to make a successful transition to an open office floor plan are:
Talk with employees about the proposed change and the reasons behind the decision. Even better, ask for their feedback and suggestions.
Leadership should convey enthusiasm about the change and participate fully in the new space.
Employees need to feel encouraged to make the space their own by modifying it to their needs.
As a company, you should also plan for the cultural changes that an open office workstation may bring. Taking employees from separate offices and cubicles might mean more distractions, so you might want to implement new office procedures, such as allowing noise-canceling headphones for those who work best without outside distractions. You could also offer separate quiet areas for private, individual work.
Best Times To Buy Office Chairs
Most people might not think about office chairs as one of the most important purchases for an office — however, anyone who’s had experience with a bad office chair knows this all too well. Poor chairs can contribute to a host of issues, including:
Neck and shoulder pain
Back pain
Sore wrists and fingers
Hip soreness
To enhance ergonomics and prevent these issues, buy new office chairs when the old ones break or wear down. Office chairs with the proper spinal supports, armrests and adjustable height are essential to keep employees comfortable.
Offices need chairs for various places including desks, boardrooms, collaborative spaces and waiting or reception areas. Different chairs serve different purposes, but having adjustable height swivel chairs is your best bet to make your workplace as versatile as possible. If you plan to use cubicles or open workstations in your office, rolling office chairs offer the flexibility for team members to collaborate and work in different spaces.
Thinking about design is important when buying office chairs, but employee and staff comfort should be paramount. Consider asking your employees to vote on the office chairs they like best, or even buy a few different models so they can choose the model that suits them best.
If you want the latest and greatest models, the worst times to buy might be during the summer and winter. Nothing’s worse than spending money on big-ticket items just to learn the improved version is coming out next week or month. That’s where our furniture buying timeline will prove the most useful. Beginning your planning process as early as possible can help you get a feel for the industry and find out what upcoming products are expected to release.
When you find a reputable office furniture retailer, you can work with them to find a design and style that works with you. Having an official consultation and professional installation can make the furniture buying process as simple as possible.
