Our End of Financial Year Offer ends Thursday midnight! There is still time to get 10% off our favourite chairs Mila, Cali and Gogo!
Simply enter the coupon code MILCALGO at the checkout of our online store.
Don't miss out!
*Offer applies online only and ends on Thursday 30/06/16 midgnight AEST.
To celebrate the end of the financial year, receive 10% off our most popular occasional seating, when you use the MILCALGO* coupon code, at the checkout stage, on our online store!
Place your online order before the 30th June 2016, midnight AEST, to receive 10% off Mila, Cali and Gogo.
Get in quick!
* Coupon code valid online and on selected styles only
Yesterday, at Krost, we held our annual Biggest Morning Tea, to raise some much needed funds for the Cancer Council.
A lot of fun was had playing bingo, enjoying some delicious treats prepared by the entire Krost team as well as sipping on a wide selection of teas.
But more importantly, we are very proud to have raised over $1,100 for the Cancer Council!
Thanks team!
In last week’s blog, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of open and closed plan offices. Although open plan offices have been the popularised choice over the last few decades, both strategies have their benefits and there isn't a one size fits all solution.
Types of work performed by employees vary throughout the day and so does the environment they work in, from needing a quiet private space to concentrate to a collaborative space to brainstorm and think creatively.
With this, the more flexible concept of Activity Based Working has emerged which aims to give employees the best working environment for the task at hand.
What is Activity Based Working or ABW?
Activity Based Working supports the idea that a work space should be based on the type of work or “activity” that is undertaken by an employee. Therefore, the workspace should be designed accordingly and foster a number of varied spaces that allow for different activities to be performed at their best. For certain tasks employees will need to think creatively, for others they will need to collaborate and others to concentrate without any distractions. ABW implies that employees no longer have their own desk and become mobile, choosing their desk, room, work area depending on the work they need to achieve.
What are the benefits of ABW?
What are the disadvantages of ABW?
What spaces should be created?
This highly depends on the industry you work in, your company culture and the employees’ needs. Careful consideration should be given when implementing ABW to ensure it meets your business strategy. A mix of collaborative spaces with team desks, quiet concentration rooms, phone booths and meeting rooms are the most common spaces seen in ABW. Other ideas range from leisure areas featuring table tennis and pool tables, media rooms and café style or lounge spaces encouraging impromptu and informal meetings, but there is really no limit to what you can do.
A few things to take into considerations before implementing Activity Based working
Is ABW for you?
Each business is unique and the reason for adopting ABW should be carefully considered. Activity Based Working presents a lot of advantages and could be the ultimate solution to providing the perfect workspace. Look at whether your current model is working, weigh up the benefits and disadvantages of Activity Based Working to help you decide whether it is the right solution for you. The truth is that most people resist change, it is therefore important to implement this new strategy in stages and to explain the reasons behind ABW and its benefits to the employees to facilitate the transition into a vastly different style.
Click through our gallery below for more ABW inspiration.
When designing new offices, one of the main questions concerns the office layout. The open versus closed office debate has raged over the last few years. It seems there is not a “one-size-fits-all solution” but rather a need to understand the needs and functions of employees to design a workplace that will enhance employees’ wellbeing and productivity at work.
We’ve compiled a list of key advantages and disadvantages for each preference to help you weigh up the options for your organisation.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Today’s workplace seems to be shifting more and more towards open plan offices however this doesn’t mean that closed office plans are dead, indeed they offer many strengths. Recent research suggests that certain personality types are differently suited to closed and open planned working spaces.
Additionally, certain tasks require communication while others require concentration. Therefore, some different models of office design like activity based working have become prominent as a solution to the open vs closed office dilemma.
We will explore Activity Based Working in next week’s blog post. Stay tuned.
This year again, Krost is supporting the Cancer Council in their mission to beat cancer by hosting a company Biggest Morning Tea on 2nd June 2016!
Last year we managed to raise over $1000 to help fund Cancer Council’s vital research, prevention and support services programmes, but we know we can do better!
You can help us, and get involved by making a donation. Simply click here to donate.
Any donation, small or big, can make a difference. Find out more about how your donation can help.
To find out more about the work that the Cancer Council does, click here.
Let's raise our cups and together we'll beat cancer!
According to a study by the University of Texas, colours in our surrounding environment can affect emotions and behaviour and therefore impact on employee productivity.
Selecting the right colours is not as simple as it may seem. Indeed, the colour that improves productivity depends on the type of work that each person undertakes:
Some great ways to achieve a backdrop of colours that suit your company are through our soft furnishings, breakout furniture or workstations screens.
At Krost, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We know that office furniture can leave a big footprint and we see it as our responsibility to minimise that footprint as much as possible.
Many of our products use recycled and recyclable materials such as steel or ABS plastic and are all packaged in recyclable cardboard or plastic. Our workstation panels are all upholstered with water-based glues that are environmentally safe, solvent free and with no emission concerns. Our melamine and veneer are manufactured with low formaldehyde emissions, and comply with Australia E1 standards. Wherever possible we use E0 board that emits only half the standard recommended E1 level.
We strive to expand the lifespan of our furniture by having highly adaptable systems that can be disassembled and reassembled. If you are relocating, your Krost furniture can be moved and refitted, following the same or a different configuration to suit your new space.
We offer 5 to 10 years warranty on all our workstations and desks because we believe that furniture should be made to last. Many of our products are externally tested by 3rd party organisation such as AFRDI and BIFMA to test their quality.
When the job is done and your new furniture beautifully installed, our teams ensure to remove all packaging and recycle as much of the waste as possible.
Our processes are in full compliance with ISO 14001, the international standard for Environmental Management Systems. With regular audits in place, ISO 14001 helps up identify areas of our operations that put the most strain on the environment and assists us in maximising our environment efficiencies. This means that we are constantly looking for ways to improve. Furthermore, some of our products hold additional qualification such as GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certification to assure customers of sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our delivery and installation real time tracking system.
Our advanced tracking software allows you to stay informed of the status of your order and will pinpoint on a map where our teams are, so that you know when your furniture is due to arrive.
We will also send you an email two days prior to your scheduled delivery with a direct link that will allow you to start tracking your order.
By allowing you to see when your goods are due to arrive, we hope to add some precious time back into your busy schedule.
We are proud to announce the arrival of our 2016 catalogue!
This marks the 27th edition of our annual catalogue and we believe our best version yet. It includes our comprehensive range plus some exciting new products including the Keywork workstation, Space chair, Gogo ottoman, Enzo side trolley, Mila chair, and Unity storage unit.
This year we have focused our range around creating a comfortable work space that encourages thinking, discussion and creativity. If you require a single desk and chair, or a complete office revamp, we can offer the right solution.
If you haven’t received a copy of the 2016 edition yet let us know and we’ll mail you a copy, in the meantime you can view it online.
The beginning of a new year is a motivational time to make resolutions for the year ahead so if being more organised is on your agenda here are a few tips to help you on your way:
We caught up this week with Aidan Green, owner of Inspire Cowork to talk about why he chose Krost to supply the furniture for the recent expansion of the largest shared office in Sydney’s south.
What made you purchase your chairs from Krost?
We have been expanding our space and wanted a set of quality chairs to compliment the professional fit out. Speaking to many other co-working space owners on what to consider in this key purchase, it was clear that durability was an essential factor.
Inexpensive chairs in a co-working space don’t last long. With staff using the chairs for long periods of time day in day out, it is only a matter of months before poorly designed chairs break.
Work Health and Safetyis also an important factor. We need to cater for multiple body types so ample adjustment options are necessary. Talking to WHS specialists, there is also a duty of care to provide a safe working environment which extends to suitable chairs.
It was speaking to multiple other workspace owners that led us to Krost Business Furniture. After a few recommendations, we were confident that Krost Business Furniture was a key supplier that met all of our needs. Being able to test the chairs for ourselves in the showroom closed the deal.
