Office Interior Design Blog |

The Installation group here at SPACE inc continues to grow within themselves. Each member is now willing and able to handle daily deliveries as well as lead large installs. They all now have the ability to manage a large crew that can consist of our own crew as well as 2 other preferred crews. Managing 1 crew is a job in it self, but the ability to manage a crew consisting of 3 separate crews, brings on a larger challenge. I am glad to say our Installation team has stepped up to that challenge. We now have a greater ability to handle all of our clients needs and the ability to handle multiple clients simultaneously.

In today’s times of selling office furniture, in a tough economy, it is sometimes hard to get yourself motivated.  SPACE Inc has always believed in making the client’s needs come first.  Having a core value like this has made weathering a tough economy a little easier especially when so many companies have closed their doors.  We are fortunate to be a preferred dealer for Haworth and have a GSA contract and a Blanket Purchase agreements with the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of NAVY in these tough economic times.   Even though SPACE Inc has been taking care of customer’s needs as if they were their own, several of our clients too, have gone out of business.  How does a sales force stay motivated when they see several of their clients are no  longer in business, even when things are looking better for the coming year? 

I was looking for motivational literature for my sales meetings when I came across several great quotes on the internet.  I am going to share a couple of the one’s I thought were great.  If anyone has others they would like to add, I would like to hear them, so please respond back to this blog.

“People often ask me if I know the secrets of success and if I could tell others how to make their dreams come true.  My answer is, you do it by working!” - Walt Disney

“The way to get started is quit talking and begin doing!” - Walt Disney

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up.  It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning a lion wakes up.  I knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.  It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle- when the sun comes up, you’d better be running” - Unknown

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world is just the beginning for the butterfly” - Richard Bach

“Tough times don’t last tough people do!”  Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Let me hear your favorite motivational quotes or ones that made an impression on you!

SPACE’s newly-selected Employee Council didn’t take long to come up with some great ideas to emphasize and promote SPACE core values.  One they’re working on right now is to set up a blood drive at SPACE.

There’s always a need for blood, but the overwhelming catastrophe in Haiti has kept that need front and center.  Our Employee Council took it upon themselves to answer the call and make it a company-wide event.  While many of us have donated blood, SPACE itself has never sponsored a blood drive.  Thank you to our Employee Council for embracing the SPACE core value of giving back to the larger community.

According to Jessie, an Employee Council member, if you can’t give blood, you can volunteer to help in some other way.   Volunteers are needed to promote the drive, recruit and register donors, schedule appointments, etc.  Further details will be forthcoming once a firm date is known.   So…keep an eye out for the mobile blood unit in our parking lot!

Potential Office Safety Hazards part #2

Continuing on with my blog about the potential office hazards let me give you a few more tips that can benefit your office area.

Filing Cabinets

         Keep drawers closed when not in use

         Don’t open all the drawers at the same time

         Use handles to open and close drawers slowly and carefully

         Don’t let a cabinet get too heavy

o       Fill from bottom up

o       Put heavy items in lower drawers

o       Put lightweight items in top drawers

Furniture

         Chairs should remain squarely on the floor

         Casters on all chairs should be secured

         Furniture should be selected and maintained free of sharp edges, points

Stacking and Storage

         Store heavy articles on lower shelves

         Keep aisles and exit corridors clear

         Don’t obstruct fire extinguishers, fire alarm pull stations, or electrical   

         Limit storage of combustible materials

         Maintain 18” overhead clearance from sprinkler heads

Stay tuned to my blog to learn more about Potential Office Safety Hazards at SPACE, Inc.

If you ask four different people what company culture is, likely, you will get four different responses.  Our culture includes our values, personality and practices of SPACE Inc. The culture determines how our teams interact, problem solve, provide client satisfaction and solve problems.

A company with a strong culture may find they have mutual trust and cooperation, open communication, efficient decision making processes and fewer internal disagreements. Creating and maintaining a vibrant culture is what SPACE Inc. strives to do year in and year out. Building relationships and encouraging teamwork help to enhance and grow company culture. Communicating and empowering team members solidify a strong culture.

SPACE Inc. values its team members viewpoints and styles and this makes our growing company attractive to potential employees and is why our current employees stay!

SPACE Inc has been in business for close to 15years now and we are a Haworth Furniture dealer. SPACE has seen good times and as of recent seen how the recession has effected businesses on every level.  We pride ourselves on serving our clients and helping them come to the best possible solution for their unique situations.  This attention to customer service has just paid off for SPACE Inc for the month of July where they have just turned in over one million dollars in new business for the month.

With all of the talk about the bad economy, SPACE Inc’s sales professionals and designers have been working relentlessly on serving the client’s needs as the number one focus. Even in a bad economy, when customer service is made a priority, customers will be drawn to a company with great customer service.  A lot of companies in today’s market have tried to cut corners to save money and forgot about the customer.  The furniture business is what some might say a hard business to be in right now.  One million dollars in sales for one month shows SPACE Inc has not forgot about customer service and is forging ahead in these hard times with the story “We want to make you feel special”. 

Companies can buy furniture from a variety of venues today, but who will service you after your sale? Who cares some might say.  Haworth is not the cheapest office furniture on the market, but it is one of the highest quality products you will find anywhere, and it lasts for years.  If there was to be an issue with the furniture, SPACE Inc will be there to help, whether it be a warranty issue or if it is just an adjustment that needs to be made on a chair. 

Congratulations to the sales and design departments on turning in a great month and thanks to the rest of the teams for making it all go smoothly.

SPACE Inc. can convert any work area into a stylish and private office environment. With a variety of panel heights, widths and connectors, hundreds of possible configurations can be created. SPACE Inc. specializes in Haworth Office Furniture. Haworth is a leader in office furniture safety and performance.

Modular Office Furniture cubicles are perfect for growing with your business. Simply add to your modular office furniture system as your needs change. Our open office environment systems are built to last, plus they are easy to re-configure.

Haworth Premise

What do you get when you combine 70-degree weather with team members’ spontaneity?  A hotdog cookout at lunch time!

After an extremely gruelling winter, Friday dawned sunny and warm.    As our weekly management meeting drew to a close, we looked out the window and noticed one of our warehouse guys scrubbing out a grill.  In the meantime, members of the administration team ran to the store to pick up the necessary eats and sent out email invitations to the rest of the team.

Soon the smell of grilling hot dogs filled the warehouse and permeated the office.   Open space in the warehouse was outfitted with a few tables and chairs of varying makes and models (as a Haworth furniture dealership, we have these readily available).  Gradually, team members filtered out to sit in the sun, watch Chef Jacques turn the hot dogs, and eat their fill. 

This simple act of an “instant picnic” affirms the camaraderie and team spirit at SPACE.  What promotes contagious positivity more than sunshine, grilling, and laughing.   Throughout the week there are multiple opportunities for sales, design, and administrative staff to dine together.  What made the cookout special is that it included, and, in fact, was hosted by, our warehouse/install crew.   People from all departments joined the festivities, which subliminally reinforced the team bond. 

Wonder what’s going to happen when we get 80-degree weather?

April 25th is MS Walk Day in Midland MI.   Each year SPACE team members raise donations to support research for a cure for multiple sclerosis.   This year SPACE Inc will be well represented both on the course and behind the scenes. 

We are fielding our largest team ever.   With 16 employees and their family members, the SPACE contingent will number about 40.  Team members who are unable to walk that day participate by pledging funds to help walking team members reach their goal.  

The day of the event we will meet at Central Middle School, register, turn in our pledges, have our team picture taken, and hit the course.   We may straggle along the way, but at the end, we’ll meet up to determine how many will continue on to a group breakfast.  (This last part is the reason some walkers participate in the first place!)

All in all, this is a win-win-win event.  The National MS Society benefits from our donations, our SPACE team members participate in a team-building/team-strengthening event, and the walkers get healthy exercise. 

There’s another win in this that’s very personal to me:  my daughter has MS.  The National MS Society medical services allowed her to continue her therapy even though she’d been laid off and couldn’t pay for the injections. 

The overwhelming commitment my SPACE coworkers and the owners have toward this event make me proud to work at such a caring company.   Thank you all.

 Midland, MI, March 10, 2009:  SPACE, Incorporated announces that Gary Andrews has been hired as our Director of Sales.  He started his position on March 2, 2009.  Gary is a native of Midland, Michigan and has previously been employed by Feeny, Chrysler, Dodge of Midland as a sales professional.  During his sixteen year tenure with Feeny Gary won numerous sales awards and consistently achieved outstanding ratings in customer service.   Gary graduated from Northwood University with a Bachelors of Business Administration, majoring in management.