Is Your Workspace Working for You?
Although a challenging time for businesses, one advantage of a recession is that it teaches entrepreneurs how to analyse their commodities and ensure they are working effectively for their business.
Workspace is traditionally one of the most expensive parts of a company’s budget, and can also prove to be restricting and inflexible – often costing businesses hundreds and even thousands of pounds in unused space as the result of stringent contracts.
For some, a conventional office lease is generally too long and expensive, but a serviced office – which operates on flexible, short-term contracts – can provide the ideal solution.
Serviced office specialist officebroker.com explains the benefits of serviced offices for businesses both large and small.
What is a serviced office?
The idea is that it provides an ‘all-in’ solution, without tying businesses into restrictive contracts.
Serviced offices are generally short-term, flexible solutions. They offer rental agreements starting from just a couple of weeks, and allotted space from just one desk up to an entire floor.
Rent, rates and extras such as meeting room hire and car parking are often rolled into one manageable monthly bill, which helps to break down the cost of workspace. Many offices will be furnished, and offer facilities such as lounge areas, reception, kitchen facilities and conference equipment.
This is especially useful during a difficult economy, and means that if businesses are forced to make redundancies, they won’t lose out on unused space. Instead, they can simply hand it back to the provider. Similarly, if a business needs to take on more staff, this can be arranged by the provider.
Who can benefit?
Small and start-up businesses naturally benefit from a serviced office, as the costs are manageable and are not tied in to lengthy or expensive contracts. It’s also beneficial for firms that are looking to ‘test the water’ in a new location, or perhaps those that need to set up a satellite office during the lifetime of a project.
Many office providers will also operate a hot-desk system, allowing tenants to share desk space with others on a rotational basis. This again helps to keep costs down and naturally appeals to the self-employed, or those with part-time staff.
Aside from the natural benefits for smaller businesses, serviced offices are becoming increasingly popular for larger companies too – and those that are considering breaking into new markets or locations. As serviced office contracts can usually be renewed on a rolling monthly basis, they provide a base which can be utilised for as long as necessary, until the success of the venture has been tried and tested.
Interim solution
The nature of serviced offices means that they are also widely utilised as an interim solution. This may be for companies that are in the process of moving staff to new premises, or those that are undergoing renovation or refurbishment works.
One particular case study relating to this is the devastation brought about by major flooding that swept through parts of the UK a couple of years ago. The sudden deluge had a huge impact on businesses, with many having to find short term or emergency accommodation in order to continue trading.
During this time, officebroker.com saw a surge in enquiries from businesses seeking emergency office space. One business which officebroker.com assisted was Andrew McCarthy Associates, an independent ecological consultancy:
“When it became apparent that we would have to move the business out of our permanent premises very quickly we were able, with the help of officebroker.com, to secure new short-term premises almost immediately,” says Andrew McCarthy. “It has more or less been business as usual as officebroker.com were able to find us a space which met all our business needs very quickly.”
How officebroker.com can help
This case study highlights the benefits of using a broker as opposed to going direct to an office provider. By working with over 95% of all serviced office providers in the UK, officebroker.com has a huge range of locations at their disposal, which means they can find the most suitable space and report back to the client quickly and efficiently.
As a completely independent and impartial company, this also means that officebroker.com has no affiliation or preference with one provider over another. Therefore the office search process is carried out with the client’s best interests at heart – allowing the criteria to be matched as closely as possible.
The team of consultants at officebroker.com are experts in the serviced office industry, and can provide regional advice on suitable offices, help arrange viewings, and even help negotiate the right price. Plus, the service is completely free.
So to find out more about the benefits of a serviced office, and for help finding an office in your preferred location, go online at officebroker.com or speak to our team direct.
