How to fit 12 people into 80 meters without a squeeze?
Most companies in Wrocław think that when headcount grows, the only way out is to lease a larger premises. In June 2024, we proved to a local IT company that the problem is not a lack of meters, but their terrible management due to old furniture and unnecessary communication corridors.
Stuffy atmosphere on Oławska Street
The company SoftWro occupied 82.4 m² in an old tenement house on Oławska Street. The team consisted of 8 people, but after winning a contract to handle logistics in Germany, they had to quickly hire 4 additional people. The business owner was convinced he had to look for a new office, and prices around the Market Square start at 85 PLN per meter net. In the current layout, desks were placed so unfortunately that going to the kitchen required apologizing to two people. Cables stretched across the floor, and three huge filing cabinets that no one had opened since 2022 took up almost 5 square meters of precious space.
We started the analysis with a simple measurement: how much time employees spend at their desks. It turned out that thanks to hybrid work, there are rarely more than 10 people in the office at once, but everyone wants to have their own permanent spot. The biggest problem was the 160 cm wide desks. This is a standard in corporations, but in a small office on Oławska, these 160 cm generated dead zones where only old invoices and coffee cups lay. At Wrocław Advisory Hub, we count every meter, so we immediately proposed switching to a bench system, which was the first step to saving this location.
Lease prices in central Wrocław grow every quarter, so the fight for every 50 cm of walkway is pure profit.
Operation: get rid of cabinets and change desks
We started with a paper audit. It turned out that 87% of the documents stored in the office were archival invoices which, by law, can lie in an external archive or be digitized. Renting a self-storage box in Bielany Wrocławskie cost the company 180 PLN per month and freed up space for two additional workstations. This was the easiest decision in the whole process. Getting rid of the heavy oak cabinets from the 90s optically enlarged the room by about 20%, which immediately improved the working comfort of the remaining people.
The next step was replacing the furniture. Instead of free-standing desks measuring 160x80 cm, we introduced 120 cm wide bench systems. For a programmer working on two monitors on mounts, this is completely sufficient. Thanks to this, we gained 40 cm at each station. In a row of four desks, that's already 1.6 meters of savings. These centimeters allowed us to create space for a 'focus room' – a small phone booth where you can talk to a client without disturbing the rest of the crew. Assembly took us exactly 6 hours on one Saturday in July.
Math doesn't lie: 3,400 PLN in the pocket
The owner of SoftWro was considering leasing a 130 m² premises in a new office building at Plac Grunwaldzki. Rent with service charges there would be about 14,500 PLN per month. Additionally, he would have to pay a deposit equal to three months' rent and cover the moving costs, which we estimated at 4,200 PLN. By staying in the old place and investing in new furniture and our project, the company spent a one-time fee of 11,800 PLN. This amount paid for itself after less than four months from the difference in rent alone.
Currently, the company pays 6,800 PLN gross for the office on Oławska. If they moved, their fixed costs would increase by over 3,400 PLN every month. On an annual scale, that's a saving of 40,800 PLN. For that money, the owner could finance an integration trip for the whole team to the Czech Republic and still have money left for new ergonomic chairs for each of the 12 employees. This is exactly the concrete result we aim for at Wrocław Advisory Hub – instead of fluff about 'creative space', we show real numbers on the account.
Moving is a last resort. Usually, it's enough to throw out old cabinets and buy narrower desks.
Air conditioning and acoustics with higher density
More people on the same area is always a challenge for ventilation. In old tenement houses in Wrocław, windows are high but air circulation can be poor. With 12 people on 82 meters, CO2 levels could quickly exceed standards, causing headaches for employees. We installed two additional wall-mounted air conditioners with a power of 3.5 kW each and an air purification system. This cost 7,400 PLN but ensured that after 2 PM, no one falls asleep at the keyboard. This is an investment in efficiency that cannot be overestimated.
The last piece of the puzzle was acoustics. 12 people talking at once in one room generates unbearable noise. Instead of putting up drywall partitions that take up space, we used felt panels mounted to the ceiling and dividers between desks. The panels are only 2 cm thick, but their effectiveness in absorbing echo is surprising. In August 2024, we performed a sound intensity measurement and despite more people, it is 4 decibels quieter in the office than before the changes. Straight to the point: it simply paid off.
How to start changes at your place?
If you feel it's getting tight in your office, don't call a real estate agent right away. Start by taking a photo of every cabinet and ask employees when they last took something out of it. You will see that half the furniture is a warehouse for unnecessary things. Then take a tape measure and check if the walkways between desks have the required 120 cm, or if you are wasting 2 meters for no reason. We at Wrocław Advisory Hub do such audits in 3-4 working days, providing a ready-made furniture layout plan.
Remember that in Wrocław, every change of address is not only higher rent but also the risk that employees will lose their favorite tram commute or proximity to a favorite cafe. Optimizing the current space is the least invasive way for a company to grow. If you want to check if your 80, 100, or 150 meters can be used better, let us know. We will come to Świdnicka, Oławska, or Fabryczna and calculate it for you without unnecessary jargon.
