This is a great time for business owners. Businesses are growing at a rate of 7.8% a year, which is a lot faster than they were growing for several years after the recession.
A growing number of businesses are seeking to expand their physical office space as their companies grow. One study from CRG Global found that companies that were relocating saw increases in their growth as well.
Prudent companies appreciate the benefits of relocating to a new facility. However, they have to take a variety of factors into consideration. Some of the key variables are outlined below.
Serviced Office Spaces Deliver Plenty of Benefits to Growing Companies
It’s easy to get excited about the prospect of moving into a serviced office. A very modern invention born in the world of lightning-fast internet and readily accessible cloud technology, the serviced office is so-called as it provides you with a wide range of amenities for a single monthly charge.
However, this isn’t quite to say that a serviced office would suit every single type of business. Here are several questions to ask yourself before you decide whether it would be right for your firm.
Would you like to avoid the “heavy lifting” of setting up an office?
With a serviced office, your business gets its own physical space for your employees to share, but you wouldn’t have to worry about looking for the right telecoms or energy deal or configuring the workplace computers, as all of these are responsibilities of the company that owns the office.
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That company won’t be yours. The way it works is that you will “rent” the space from this office provider, leaving them to take care of routine maintenance responsibilities such as cleaning.
Do you want to stamp your branding on this office?
There’s no question that how your workplace looks can play a big part in how the company itself is perceived – especially by clients who may pay occasional visits for meetings with you. However, as a serviced office isn’t entirely “yours”, there can be limits to how much you can visually customize it.
The Telegraph warns that the decor of a serviced office “is often quite bland and the space can feel quite impersonal”. Therefore, before taking up a particular office, you might want to ask the provider if simple decorating methods like hanging pictures are permitted.
What style would your office be expected to have?
Even if a particular serviced office you are eyeing wouldn’t allow you to tweak it entirely to your liking, you could find that its appearance is already in line with what would be expected in the workplace of a company in your sector. This would obviously enable you to rest easier.
In a Bplans article, one question you are recommended to ask yourself before choosing an office is: “Would I be proud posting interior pictures of this office space to our website?” Besides, a serviced office’s layout is specially designed to foster productivity, Business Partner Magazine notes.
Exactly what office amenities do you and your workforce need?
Standard inclusions of a serviced office include desks and chairs – but, before choosing a particular office of this type, you should look it up on the provider’s website to see exactly what you will get with this space. That way, you can be confident that your specific needs will be met.
A serviced office from BE Offices, for example, will come with high-speed roaming Wi-Fi, personalized call answering, CCTV, recycling points and access to pro-working lounges… to list just a few of the things provided. If your chosen provider offers spaces right across the country, that’s especially good news.
Appreciating the Benefits of Moving to Serviced Office Spaces
There are a number of benefits for companies trying to relocate. They will find that there are a lot of reasons to consider serviced office spaces.