Making Your Next Office Space Work For Your Business

Every business will reach a point where their current office space is no longer suitable for their needs. It might be in the wrong location for their clients or customers, or the business has grown to a size where staff can’t comfortably fit in the commercial property you currently have. The opposite can also be true – you might be looking to downsize and take advantage of remote working to help reduce costs.

To make an office feel like it really suits your business, you need to think about what to do with it. It’s not common to find a place that is perfect just the way it is, but with a little creativity and forward planning, you can make every space work for your business.

What Can Make An Office Space Unique To Your Business?

There are ways to make an office space unique to your business, but two of the most common methods focus on what you physically do with the space. From layouts and decor through to setting up the space and using it in different ways than you originally thought or planned.

Think About Layouts And Decor

The easiest way to make an office space work for your business is to think about how to physically use the space. Open plan offices are common, as they bring a sense of company cohesion between all staff, but row upon row of desks can be replaced by hubs for each team, making it easier to collaborate than shouting across people or dividers.

Booths can make impromptu meetings easy while blocking out excess noise, and quiet zones can help staff who need to get away from the noise to focus on the really important tasks.

Decor and branding can be used to stamp an identity on the office, making a striking first impression for customers and clients, while giving staff a sense of pride of where they work.

The possibilities are endless.

What Else Can Your Office Space Be Used For?

With the advent of remote and hybrid working, you might find less staff using the office at any one time. Some businesses use this as a reason to downsize and save on the costs large offices have, but it’s also an opportunity to look at new ideas and uses.

If you have meeting rooms or separate spaces in your office, for example, these can be used for industry events, and your businesses will benefit from the recognition these bring. These spaces can be used for community events, or rented out for private functions that can also offer a new revenue stream.

Think outside the box and find new ways that your office space can be used.

How To Find An Office

So, what do you need to do to find the right office space for the next stage of your business’ life? This isn’t as simple as a quick online search, finding an office that looks the part and signing a lease. There are a number of factors to consider, but one of the biggest is the cost. Central locations can be more expensive than business parks or office blocks, but being cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better option.

Footfall is important for some businesses, as is parking for others. Ease of access, size and other factors all play a part, and we examine some of these in more detail.

Start With Office Location

The first thing to think about is where you want your office space to be. In any town or city, there are different areas suited to different businesses. Know where your customers are, or how you’re going to make money and you can find the right place to be – even if you don’t need people to visit you in person.

Your staff also need to be able to get to and from the office easily, whether they drive or use public transport. Without this, you might find the pool of talent you can attract smaller than you’d like, unless you embrace remote working patterns. This means office location is less important, but can lead to a fractured team or workplace culture.

Find The Right Size Of Office Space

When choosing a new commercial property, the size does matter. It’s not enough to account for the size of business or number of employees you have at the moment, as this could change very quickly. If you expect staff numbers to increase, then you need to make sure you can accommodate those new hires for the duration of the time spent in your new location. Likewise, if you’re moving to hybrid or remote working, you may be able to look at smaller offices to save on costs.

City centre locations may be smaller but more convenient for customers and staff, while office blocks in retail parks or business districts offer a huge range of office sizes to choose from, and there are serviced offices available. too.

Consider What Nearby Amenities Will Benefit Staff

Your business is not an island. It is not going to have everything employees want or need every day, and no one expects it to, but you should consider what can make going into the office more appealing to staff compared to working from home full-time.

Food and drink shops and cafes are a good starting point, ensuring staff can buy what they want should they not bring, or forget, their supplies for the day. Shops also make impromptu purchases for unexpected situations easier to handle. If there’s a gym nearby, employees who are into their fitness can save time going between them. This is the kind of thinking business owners need to keep in mind.

Is A Serviced Office The Right Option?

When looking for an office, there is one final option to think about, and that’s whether a serviced office is a better solution for your needs. There are benefits to both choices, but it largely comes down to what you’re looking for and how much you want to pay – as well as what’s available where you’re looking to be based.

Serviced offices, while more expensive, can mean certain parts of the property are managed elsewhere, allowing you to focus purely on running and growing your business. Not having to source furniture for every new member of staff, or find and pay for cleaning services, is something many businesses take advantage of, and ensures that when customers, clients, potential employees and visitors see your workplace, they’re impressed at what they see.

What’s The Difference Between An Office And A Serviced Office?

When you buy or lease an office, you are getting the space to run your business from and nothing else. Everything else you need must be supplied by you, from furniture to equipment to decor. This also includes cleaning and maintenance, although some of the latter may be covered by the property owner but this is mainly things relating to Health and Safety.

A serviced office is leased from the building owner or a management company. The major advantage of this option is that the office space will often be fully furnished, allowing you to move in and on with running your business right away. Cleaning and maintenance is also included, and you might find more flexible contract terms, even if they prove to be more expensive.

This might be a shorter term solution while you look for a new location or finalise the future of your business, but it does remove some of the administrative tasks from your to-do list.

Want To Know More About How To Make Your Next Office Space Your Own?

Moving to a new office is a big decision, so you should take the time to find the right one. There’s a lot to consider, such as where it should be, how big a space you need, and what your plans are for the future. Without this, you might find the office space you choose won’t be suitable as time goes on – and the more frequently you move, the more disruptions your business will face.

While it can be a challenge, finding a new office space for your business is also an opportunity for your business to grow and succeed. Our team of experts at Williams Sillitoe not only know the local areas of South Manchester and Cheshire, but we’ve helped a lot of business owners identify what they’re looking for in a commercial property and choose the right one.

If you’d like to know more about what we can do to help, get in touch with our team today.