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Are you in the market for new call center furniture? Studies have shown that improving the call center environment can have a positive impact on agent performance – so there’s no question that you’re making the right move, especially if your current call center environment is drab and dreary. Improved functionality and ergonomics are also benefits of buying new call center furniture that can improve agent performance as well as offering protection from workplace injuries and workman’s comp claims.

 

But how does one go about selecting a call center furniture manufacturer? While price, durability, product support and reputation are certainly important factors, you should also look for a manufacturer that is able to customize the dimensions of the workstations and tables, so that the furniture can be designed to properly fit the spaces where you will be using it. This becomes particularly important if your call center is located in a facility with a “funky” floor plan – such as an old building that was originally designed for some other use. You might, for example, have odd-shaped rooms, with odd dimensions or intrusive built-ins, or perhaps support columns running from floor to ceiling. If this is the case then you need to go with a manufacturer that is able to work around these obstacles, so as to make efficient use of every square foot of floor space.

 

Interior Concepts is one of the only office furniture manufacturers with a special focus on the call center. The company manufacturers all of its furniture in it’s own factory in Spring Lake, Michigan, which it ships direct to customers. Because of this, Interior Concepts is able to customize the dimensions of the furniture it makes to meet clients’ special needs.

 

“That’s the great thing about our cubicle workstations – our product is ‘built to fit,’” explained Jennifer Way, marketing manager for Interior Concepts, during a recent interview. “We talk to our customers and look at their sites to gather information from them to define their requirements. Then we discuss what size stations are needed and design them for their space. We work in one-inch increments so we can build a station in any dimensions.”

 

This is in contrast to other office furniture manufacturers and distributors that only offer tables and workstations in set dimensions.

 

“The design part is what I find interesting because call centers have very specific needs vs. a typical office environment,” Way added. “Given our knowledge of call center needs and our ability to custom design, we can really make a space more functional: Recently a customer in Manhattan, where space is at a premium, told us that previously they had been working with a furniture distributor for a major furniture manufacturer – and the rep told them ‘if only your building was six inches longer, we could fit a lot more stations in here.’ But they didn’t have that problem with us because we were able to design the furniture to fit the space – we can take one or two inches out of every station, and build around columns and other obstacles to get the workstations to fit the room.”

 

In addition to its ability to customize call center furniture dimensions, Interior Concepts also uses a customizable one-inch panel system that also helps create more usable space in any given area. This is in contrast to other manufacturers’ workstation panels, which measure 2 to 3 inches thick and only come in set dimensions. In addition, Interior Concepts’ Chase Wire Management System provides greater cable capacity and allows for easier reconfiguration.

 

Recently Interior Concepts implemented new space planning and design software that allows it to give customers 3-D “virtual tours” of the spaces that have been custom-designed for their facilities. This way, customers can accurately see how the call center furniture will look in their space before it is manufactured. In addition visitors to Interior Concepts’ Web site can now take 3-D virtual tours to get a sampling of some of the call centers and related support areas -- such as training rooms and break rooms -- it has designed for clients.

 

Impressively, Interior Concepts is able to provide this level of design flexibility while keeping prices competitive. The company also offers on-site installation, flexible lead times, and 99.5 percent on-time delivery. To learn more about Interior Concepts’ customizable call center furniture solutions, click here.