Written by Finding the right office space for your business can be a make or break for your enterprise as it can determine the future of your business. Although aspects such as your product or service offering, employees, and other critical resources are crucial, the physical environment of the office and space that organisations provide to their staff are usually ignored or neglected. A little extra effort should be invested in strategizing location in order to gain a better competitive advantage. Here’s how.
This last strategic area is concerned with making Toyota products and services available and usable by its customers and employees.
When choosing the location of an office, factors like convenience and its closeness to the most popular and effective means of transport should be taken into consideration. This is because easy access to a means of commute to and from work means that employees are more likely to remain with their employers and work as expected. On the other hand, an office that makes it difficult for them to get through will prove to be costly to sales and service.
This study shows that central urban business districts with access to a highway, transit, airport and bike paths resulted to the highest overall accessibility. It is also important that traffic patterns are reviewed to avoid a situation whereby employees and customers are locked up in the office and business environment as in rush hour traffic. It is important that the commutes do not take over 45 minutes each way because otherwise a seemingly perfect location can turn sour.
Accessibility of establishments to pedestrians is considered advantageous because it creates easy access to local customers, particularly to food and other retail outlets. Industrial parks, on the other hand, have improved highway access but no total facilities around the site. Think about whether the visitors will require parking space or whether deliveries would necessitate broad streets or a loading zone.
Technology Infrastructure
Pay particular attention to the wired and wireless connections and routes to the internet, cellular connections, as well as high speed broadband networks in the area. The best employees will struggle to be effective if the fundamental structures hinder them from performing their duties.
The most common services offered together with co-working rental spaces are modern technology support which forms part of the lease. In the case of small office spaces that are not part of an apartment complex, ensure that from the service providers that the unit is capable of generating the required amount of power, speed and connectivity.
If the business of the organization is dependent on cloud computing, then determine possible drawbacks or unavailability of certain services with internet companies in the region. You may also wish for a secondary internet connection that has nothing to do with the primary internet connection in case it fails to work and this could be through ethernet or cellular.
Local Business Ecosystem
In addition to the above considerations regarding the physical layout, also consider the impact of zoning laws in the local community as well as the types of businesses within close proximity to the proposed store. Who else has invested in the area such as locating their facilities or offices or stores? Some establishments that may be located in the surrounding area could increase the flow of people traffic and the level of exposure. That is why its presence near related industries can become a stimulus for generating B2B. However, specific neighbors like bars or live music venues can negatively impact productivity due to noise pollution.
This involves studying economic growth forecasts of a region and aspirations of communities as a way of assessing the prospect of an area. It is more risky to establish offices in a stagnant or depressed area lacking incentive for revitalization than it is to place offices in an Opportunity Zone that provides financial benefits. In this case, the community’s welfare contributes to your business’s success, which is the main message of small business Saturday.
Hiring Possibilities
An office situated in areas of strong talent sourcing networks will mean that as your company expands it will be easier to hire talent. Technology-based companies need to be in close vicinity of universities and junior colleges that offer suitable engineering, software and design programs. Local law firms are advantageous to the firms since they get to harness talent from the law schools that are in the same locality.
Check for fresh research on employment rates referring to talented workforce. Be aware of the trends that shape people’s living choices depending on their age and family status. It is generally observed that young millennials are concentrated in urban areas. Employees with families prefer the suburban areas more than the other areas of the city for their middle age. Employing using logic, it is wiser to locate offices close to areas of high concentration of the desired skills than rely on people to relocate to what they deem as unattractive locations.
Workplace Amenities
The importance of services and access of basic needs associated with the office environment will predict the level of satisfaction with the employees once hired. A range of delis, pharmacies and food cooperative complete with day time population’s necessities. Nature, parks, trails and recreation give the much needed break nearby. Fitness centers encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle. It can be found that banks as well as ATMs facilitate easy management of one’s money. And, it is quite advantageous for parents to have childcare facilities as well.
Conduct a poll with employees to find out which facilities are important to them and which ones are necessary to have nearby. Over long periods of time off site, time is being wasted. The branding was done in a way that made the environment look appealing hence promoting pride in the brand which in turn boost perception that leads to morale boost and reduction in turnover rates.
Cost Factors
Another key operational consideration relates to how rental rates, lease terms, operating costs, parking and build out requirements affect payback and profitability given location choices. Executive offices located at the corner of the higher floors of some of the prominent business addresses such as the downtown business district are associated with status but at a high cost. A facility for bees built in the city with trendy furniture and a full service commercial cooking area could enthral employees and send company finances to the dogs.
When weighing the locations, the costs of occupancy against the projected productivity gains relative to occupancy expenses that can be garnered over the period of one decade must be run. The perception that new buildings with central AC or other upgraded systems are more expensive in the long run is a better option than constant repairs on old buildings. Total cost should consider the recruitment, retention and the future requirement expansion when calculating the benefits.
In some circumstances, acquiring temporary leasehold spaces, establishing virtual office or part time co-working environments may provide the most flexibility if business requirements are unpredictable or may quickly increase or decrease in terms of demand. However, there are tax credits for investing in certain urban renewal areas or rural operations to explore as well. As long as temporary spaces correspond to branding perceptions, then that is perfectly fine.
Quality of Life
How all of this fits into the corporate culture and the desired lifestyle should also inform decisions. Employees can appreciate the location in a downtown metropolis as there is much activity going on or they can develop anxiety from the environment. A sleepy small town may be uninteresting to restless millennials while providing calm for progressively senior individuals seeking work and life equilibrium. Probable decisions regarding the locations of facilities should consider the practical integration into the community and the climate within the building that fosters individual optimal working hours for all staff members.
The implication is that rented offices are not just places where business gets done or where people work – it is the geographical connection that links the internal and external environments. Choose some of the places which showcase beautiful landscapes that motivated great works. Ensure the infrastructure facilitates the communication flows and cross performance. Ensure that there is adequate capacity within the ecosystem to handle the growth in sales and human resource demands in the enterprise. When offices act as they help to accomplish their growth capabilities, firms evolve.
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