UK Enterprise Awards 2021

UK Enterprise Awards 2021 | 35 FRISKA Desk There’s no doubt that FRISKA is seeing a huge uptick in business, but are there any recent factors which have added to this? Mike believes there are two trends that are contributing to the success of FRISKA right now. One is certainly the fallout from Covid-19 which has seen workers instructed to work from home wherever possible. “As the pandemic has reached what we can hope are its latter stages, the landscape has changed. We know that some companies (for example, Goldman Sachs) have been encouraging workers to return to the office, but others – perhaps most noticeably Google – fully expect 20% of their staff to work from home permanently in the near future, and KPMG expects its UK workforce to spend an average of only a couple of days in the office each week! “Until now, we know many people have been ‘putting up’ with a workday at the kitchen table or on the sofa, or even at a desk that was perhaps designed for occasional rather than regular use. They’ve been doing that on the assumption that soon enough they would be back in the office. Increasingly, however, we’re seeing companies adopt a hybrid model. Workers are more likely to spend at least some of their working week at home and that means the ‘make do’ attitudes of the past few months can’t continue. The simple fact is lots of workers now realise they need a desk they feel happy to sit or stand at every day.” The other trend that Mike has noticed has been much more of a slow burner, revolving around health and the need for less sedentary lifestyles in general. For many workers of course, it hasn’t traditionally been easy to stay active when their job has demanded that they work at a desk. So the sit- stand desk really is a fantastic way for employers to make a real, practical difference to the health of their workers.” Mike explains that there is a wealth of research available online that shows standing desks help to combat obesity, can contribute to lower blood sugar levels and can also reduce back pain and heart disease. “The ground was shifting very much in favour of standing desks long before Covid arrived,” he continues. “But the changes forced by the pandemic have meant that many more people are now thinking that, if they need a new desk, they’d best make it a standing one.” When it comes to internal company culture, FRISKA looks to employ good, positive, enthusiastic people who don’t need the firm to impose high standards upon them, because they already set their own extremely high standards. In fact, the feedback that FRISKA hears most frequently from its customers is the appreciation of the support they have received, in terms of selecting the right desk and talking through the options, to finalising their designs. “That epitomises what we’re about really and it’s a quality we want to see in everyone who works with us. “We are not salespeople. We believe the FRISKA desk does a perfectly good job of selling itself! So that leaves our role as being an enabler – we help customers find their perfect FRISKA.” And this attitude and commitment to customer perfection is definitely something that is set to continue into the future. “We are committed to lagom and that should apply to the way we portray ourselves too. So, we’re taking a slightly different and probably more understated approach, by talking to the interior designers who will frequently be asked to include standing desks as part of their office designs. They are design experts, but they’re not standing desk experts, so by building partnerships like that we extend our reach in a FRISKA-appropriate way. “We are also committed to maintaining our high standards,” Mike continues. “We received a three-star review once and we still haven’t quite recovered! “Of course, that sets a very high bar. That’s why we’ve built our team with people who start every day ready and able to meet the challenge.” Contact: Mike Boyt Company: FRISKA Desk Web Address: www.friskadesk.com