How to Choose Office Space for Larger Companies
What to look for when seeking new, alternative or additional office space for your company is not just a matter of using your common sense – which is why there are specialists in the field who are well worth the service fees they charge for doing all the searching and trouble-shooting for you. And of course, the larger your company, the longer the check-list and the greater the challenges.
Large companies’ office needs are seldom straight-forward
Before you begin searching for office space there are various obvious questions you need to ask yourself such as whether or not you want a ready-furnished set-up, how particular you are about the location, how many and what type of work-stations and meeting rooms you’ll need, whether to rent or to buy and what your budget is. But there are also decisions to be made about matters you might not have thought of as potentially problematic or might not have thought of at all unless their importance was pointed out to you – such as whether or not you require server space solutions, or have any other computer needs that are best addressed before rather than after you take occupation.
Is the area well served by public transport, or is there sufficient parking space if many of your staff will be coming to the office in their own transport? To what extent will you need to provide parking for visitors, and will you be dealing with the public on a large scale? Is it critical that you be near a freeway or within easy travelling distance of the airport? And how disabled-friendly do your offices need to be?
Will you be providing a canteen or vending machines, or are there shops and food outlets nearby to cater for people’s hunger pangs, say? Are the toilet facilities adequate? What level of security and access control do you require?
How easy or difficult will it be to increase your office space, i.e. is there room for growth? Or put another way: is the business successful, and do you plan on being based at the offices for the short-, medium- or long-term? What level of importance do you attach to the appearance of the building – should it look impressive, possibly to the extent of being a landmark? And how user-friendly do the premises need to be – to what extent do you wish the staff to enjoy coming to work? Are good views a factor? Must it be a ‘green’ building?
Clearly what works for one company might well not be suitable for another. The ideal office environment is the one that best suits your type of business as well as your specific operational requirements.