Recent years have seen a culture shift in which more and more businesses embrace the notion of remote working. Developments in technology such as email, laptops, secure virtual private networks, PDA’s, wireless broadband and smart phones have enabled this change - and organisations have been quick to recognise the benefits. Reductions in commute times, expenses and carbon footprint, the restoration of a work/life balance and increased staff retention have all contributed to their motivation to move forward. But despite such new-found benefits, businesses appear to be less progressive when it comes to managing and improving office space efficiencies.
A recent Management Consultancies Association study suggests that desks are empty for 65 percent of the time. In light of this, when you consider that property consumes 20 percent of business cost, second only to wages, can firms afford to continue to finance empty office space?
One option would be to side step the expense of an office altogether. However, the office still provides a critical function for most businesses. The need to hold meetings, entertain clients and facilitate team-based or collaborative working remain vital tasks which directly counter the virtues of remote working. Positive working environments also have a huge impact on staff morale and productivity, which may be diluted by fragmenting the workforce. Technology hasn’t made the office redundant just yet.
The commercial property market has recognised the evolving needs of businesses, and there is now a raft of solutions available to SME’s outside of the traditional lease which allow companies to find the right balance. There is no one size fits all solution - the important thing is to find the right fit for your organisation. Here are some options to consider:
- Virtual offices - provide mail and call handling facilities, allowing organisations to have an office address and reception, as well as desk time and use of facilities, while not having to pay for permanent space.
- Hot desking - office desk-share systems can allocate space as and when required.
- Shared space – provides permanent desk space alongside other companies, so that a number of organisations can co-habit within the same space.
- Serviced accommodation – as an SME it can be difficult to predict how the business will grow Serviced accommodation can provide the flexibility to expand as and when needed without having to pay to relocate or extricate yourself from a contract.
It is sometimes easier to carry on as is, taking an ‘if it ain’t broke’ attitude. But to keep pace in an aggressive and changing market place, astute businesses constantly seek to secure a competitive edge. Whether that means ditching your existing office space in favour of a new approach will depend on your business and how you want to run it. But remember: in today’s business world, people no longer need to be at the office to be at work.
More info - Employees working from home
More info - Get the most from your network (including virtual private networks)
More info - Wireless technology
0 Responses to “Office space”