Why businesses need décor and good ambience

While employee benefits, offerings, good organisational culture, proper training and flexible schedules rank high among staff, creating a relaxed and calm ambience top priority.

This as companies do everything to make employees feel at home – in the office and after work-from-home schedules.

Customers also need a bigger reason to come to the office, again, after normalising staying away from crowded places.

And décor, special branding and other aesthetics might now mean more than ever before for the office.

Bradox Osumo, founder of the Big Fish restaurant, understands this well. He had this year opened what has now become one of the famous restaurants in Westlands, another branch to add to the Big Fish outlets in Garden Estate.

Why would a businessperson be so concerned with décor in the workplace? Why would a company use so much resources in boosting the aesthetic appeal of the office?

“The general look of an office, or any workplace, has a big impact on both the staff and the customers,” ?says Osumo.“The workers’ morale is boosted when they are working in a beautiful, comfortable environment. They are more productive.”

It all starts in the mind. Workers tend to feel they are operating in a high-level setup. As such, they are willing to produce quality that matches their environment.

Osumo knew that to have a competitive edge, he had to, alongside ensuring the quality of the food, provide décor that would naturally attract customers.

He chose a unique wooden theme, which he reveals was a cheap option but aesthetic. It ensures a blend of both the natural light and that from dangling lightbulbs make the place illuminated.

“For clients, the environment you offer also helps you in determining prices,” says the entrepreneur.

“If you offer the same quality and quantity of food at a kibanda as in a five-star hotel, customers are more willing to pay a higher price in the five-star hotel. People go for ambience sometimes, not just the food.”

Photogenic visitors also fall in love with the ambience he created, and especially ladies. Lots of them will be keen to post their experiences on their social media pages. “They are looking for an “instagrammable” place,” he says.

In a previous interview with The Standard, Café Deli founder and Chief Executive Obado Obadoh said the facility theming was done with the modern customer in mind. “A customer wants a beautiful background, excellent service and exceptional food all at an affordable price,” he said.

He had noticed there were lots of young customers who wanted to dine and have memories of doing so in beautiful hotels but often had to contend with unusually high costs of food.

Osumo says that often, the décor is costly. The benefits that come with it are however so massive that business people should consider spending that money. They recoup it eventually.

High-end clients will always choose places that have an executive feel, insists Osumo. Décor and quality of service are key elements that set aside good businesses from great ones.

‘Nelson Mandela’ is not your ordinary tailor. The founder and owner of Logical Clothing, Mandela has dressed some of the country’s biggest names in politics and in the entertainment industry.

With a skill in tailoring honed over the years, Mandela understands the fashion industry better than most of his competitors.

He also understands, as the boss, the need for making a workplace as conducive as possible by ensuring the environment is enabling. The morale of the employee comes to the fore as does the loyalty of the customer.

“The fashion business is quite sensitive,” he says. “It needs a big branding strategy. Everything from a quiet working area, to good lighting, to sitting space, to the installation of safety measures matters. A good working environment encourages staff morale.”

“ I wonder how employees would feel comfortable working in an environment where they have to keep on stepping outside for a breath of fresh air? Or for light?” he cations.

Mandela observes that walk-in customers love the clean and well-lit office. A spacious office is also advantageous to a business.

This comes at a time when offices have been cutting out excesses, be that décor or even staff. Overheads that escalated with Covid-19’s outbreak, with significant numbers of workers having to operate from home, were a wake-up call for businesses.

Granted, some prime office space remains unutilised. However, some still hold onto expensive décor they had procured before the pandemic.

Others, in a fresh bid to attract customers and foray into new markets, are going big on aesthetics and comfort. Even as priorities differ, experts concur that aesthetic appeal for any office is advantageous for business.

“For any developers who heavily invested in Class A offices, we cannot conclusively say it was a waste,” says Moses Okemwa, Managing Director at Amber Construction Ltd.

“We live in a dynamic world which demands flexibility and creativity – that will ensure the spaces are taken up. This could include redesigning the available space to accommodate several other activities.”

Mathew Gathua, founder of Valentine’s Cake House says while décor is important, what matters most to him is placing the business in a strategic location and offering top quality.

But even as he denies any deep understanding of the use of décor, Gathua admits the colour for his business purple – matters.

“You look at political parties, and even they brand using specific colours, chosen for a reason. Branding matters. The colours represent something,” he says.

The reception that customers receive, in the case of the cake house with sofas also cements their loyalty and are likely to feel more appreciated. In June, the Fortune Magazine website wrote that 74 per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs expected to reduce office space.

But even reduced office spaces will do well with good aesthetics. It is one of the least discussed, but most important, factors to consider in business.