The Buyer's Guide to Work Booths

Maybe you're in the process of designing your new office, adapting your workspaces to meet social distancing regulations or simply upgrading your current facilities. Whatever your situation is, private, soundproof pods or booths are a great, efficient way to transform your office space!

The best part about these standalone modular booths is that they come in a wide variety of configurations, so the sky's the limit! Apart from being a work booth, you can have nap pods. What about a breastfeeding pod for you working mums out there? There are hundreds of possibilities, and the features available can vary a lot between manufacturers too.

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Considering that you're investing a fair amount of time and money into a new piece of equipment, it can get a little overwhelming trying to decide which is the best one out there, or at least the right option for you. Now, we might be a little biased because we think our QUBIC Smart Booth is the best there is, but ultimately, the decision is down to you!

Need some help selecting the right office booth? Here's our guide outlining everything you need to know.

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1. Where will the booth be located?

First things first. You need to consider the space the booth will be located - How big is the space? Will the booth be placed as an eye-catching statement piece in the middle of the room or discreetly in a corner? You have to consider the booth location before procurement so the booth design and entry/exit points blend in perfectly with your office. 

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2. What will the booth be used for?

There are a few things you can consider when deciding what the booth will be used for. Do you need a quiet space where employees can focus on work? Or more small meeting rooms your staff members can book in advance? Or maybe even dedicated recording booths for streaming and podcasting?‍

At the end of the day, a well-designed soundproof booth is an investment so it should be beneficial for your employees. A good way to do this would be to open up communications with your teams to find out what they're frustrated about in the workplace.

Once you have that information (like "not having enough meeting rooms" or "I can't concentrate at my desk"), figuring out what the booths would be used for will be a piece of cake!

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3. What features and add-on services should the booth have?

You can have the most beautiful-looking office phone booth ever made, but if it isn't furnished properly to reflect its intended use, then your staff won't have much use for it (or they'll use it in ways you wouldn't have expected!)

‍A meeting pod will have different features and furnishings than a work booth intended for quiet focused work or a phone booth for impromptu Zoom and phone calls.

Here are a few key things to think about:

• Shipping and packaging - How long will it take for the booth to be shipped to your location? And how will the parts be packed? (Flat packed is ideal so you won't have an issue fitting the package into cramped places)
• Ease of installation - Would the vendor be able to provide an installation service for you, and if so, how long would it take?
• Sound isolation levels - If you're decided on the use of the booth and its environment, you would need to find out the ideal level of sound isolation you'd want for your booth.
• Furnishings - Sofas, desks, and display mounts for monitors, plus cameras and speakers, could be some of the furnishings you'd like to add to your booth. Find out if booth vendors you're considering have furniture you can opt to include in your purchase. That would be better than figuring out what kind of furniture you can fit into the booth yourself.
• Access control - How should someone access the booth if they want to use it? Should it be always available to use or only at certain times? Can you automate this function?
• Booking system and Google/Outlook calendar integration - If you do prefer that your booth can only be used at certain times, look into whether the booths you're eyeing come with a booking system (via a web or mobile app), and can also sync up with your existing calendar tools for maximum efficiency.
• Power outlets, USB ports, and/or internet connection
• Ventilation and lighting
• Safety features such as ease of cleaning and exiting the booth
• Return policy and warranty services
• GDPR compliance to keep your company data safe

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4. What’s your budget?

Even if your company is a multi-billion business flush in liquid assets, it would be naïve to assume that price isn't a factor everyone has to take into consideration. Modular booths can go for at minimum 3,000 USD for an phone booth to 20,000 USD for a luxe bespoke meeting pod. (QUBIC Smart Booths are priced right in the middle. *wink*)

Of course, installing a booth is usually less expensive than a traditional fit-out (by as much as 70 percent) and there's little downtime inside your office as it gets set up, but it does vary a great deal depending on the booth size, features, and brand.

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5. Which provider should you go for?

There are already several pod and booth providers, each with its unique styles and selling points, but what makes QUBIC stand out? For one, QUBIC Smart Booths come with a whole myriad of smart features (obviously) that elevates our solution above other products currently available on the market.
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Secondly, as a tech company passionate about helping people enhance their space for maximum productivity, you'll find that our customer service is second to none! Our team of professionals is there to guide you from the initial consultation to installation, so your entire company can get the most out of the product.

Either way, it is important to take your time and do your research to find the right fit. And once you’ve found the right pod or phone booth for your office, you might even find that your team can’t work without one after a while! If you’d like to find out more about QUBIC smart booths, contact us for a chat today.