Having an office is a big step in establishing a serious business. Not only because it can be good to have a fixed place to go to, but also because it gives potential customers a physical place to visit. Finding the perfect office is an exciting but sometimes extensive process.
Many questions must be asked, assessed, and answered as well as possible, while you naturally want to spend as little time as possible looking for the right office and as much time as possible on what matters to you – namely building your company!
A comfortable environment for your employees and customers is essential for smooth business operations. A poorly designed office causes an unimaginable number of disadvantages. Everything from higher stress levels, nothing is more stressful than poor wifi in the workplace. Or physical and psychological challenges such as light and noise pollution and poor indoor climate – some say headaches... In comparison, the ideal office promotes calm, productivity, and seamless workflow.
But first, let's introduce:
3 signs that you are ready for a new office space
1. You choose a home office and away meetings as often as you can.
2. You daydream about a new office. As today's no longer meets the company's needs.
3. You avoid the gaze of the office staff and look with difficulty and a guilty conscience at renewing your current lease.
Whatever your circumstances are today – we've gathered our best tips to make it easier for you to find the perfect office.
7 tips for how to find the perfect office
1. Define your office needs
At this stage, it can be tempting to elegantly switch over to autopilot. But good answers here will be able to streamline the rest of the process. You avoid, for example, falling in love with options that are not right for your company, and therefore must be rejected anyway.
Some questions you can ask yourself on the way to defining your office needs:
- Do you want to invite customers to meetings? Do you hold courses, conferences, or events? If so, focus on office providers that have facilities for this.
- Do you work best in the morning or the evening? Does it frustrate you if the office closes at 8 pm...? If so, look for 24-hour offices.
- Is there a lot of privacy-sensitive work? Many offices have lockable cabinets and soundproof rooms.
- Which part of the city do you feel comfortable in, and which do your customers feel comfortable in?
- Do you need proximity to public transport, bicycle or car parking?
- How large meeting rooms are you likely to need?
- Do you travel a lot to different destinations?
Yes, there can be a lot to decide on. Some periods require more of the office than others. Are you still in doubt about what your ideal office needs are? Remember that with a flexible office supplier, you can easily scale up and down the office space depending on the company's needs.
Read more: What does serviced offices mean.
2. Create a budget.
You do not get very far in this process without first creating an approximate budget. To find an office in your price range, you need to determine roughly what that price range is. Remember here to compare included costs. If option A is cheaper than option B, but option B includes expenses such as electricity, internet, cleaning, maintenance, caretaker, gym, and coffee, this is something that must be included in the overall assessment.
3. Location
No matter how nice your office space may look, being in the middle of nowhere can make it harder for both you and your clients to use the office. It might be a good idea if the new office is close to your target group and all businesses you work with or consider as part of your daily operations. Which criteria must the office's location meet? Proximity to an industry center? An international audience?
The neighborhood
The area around your office is important to your employees and clients who visit for meetings. When visiting an office building, it is beneficial if the neighborhood suits your business as much as the office space itself. In addition to making the working day more pleasant with walk-and-talk meetings, a stroll to the nearby cafe, or local restaurant visits with customers.
Ask office suppliers for their best local tips! Most are happy to share their favorite spots and local knowledge with you.
Easy access
Again, office building accessibility is a valuable consideration for your employees and your customers.
A visit to the local area will probably be the best way to assess footpaths, pavements, parks, or other conditions that will help you assess accessibility.
Prioritize the office location.
Office location is important for several reasons. Patience for long journeys to work is diminishing, while more meetings are being held digitally. Proximity creates networks, and a good address can impress the right customer.
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4. Office comfort and spaciousness
By now you may have had time to think about how you want to rent an office, and what is important to you in the office. So to the thousand kroner question, which office facilities does it correspond to?
These are our 6 "must haves" facilities:
- Personal rooms
- Large meeting rooms
- Small co-working spaces
- Place to relax
- Quiet areas
- Environmentally friendly alternatives
And as an extra little tip you can pay attention to when you are on the viewing, is there good lighting in the rooms and is the furniture comfortable? A stylish lounge sofa is worth little if it hurts so much that you can't relax!
5. Ask your employees what matters to them in an office.
Also, we favor dialogue over monologue. You probably have many wise thoughts, but if you evaluate the needs of employees and customers alone, you will probably miss some important points.
6. Flexibility
Are you a growing company and unsure of the need for space in the future? The landlord's professionals can provide qualified advice and contribute with flexible solutions. Read carefully the various terms in a lease agreement and how certain factors can affect you as a tenant. You should never sign anything without fully understanding the terms.
Read our: Top 5 benefits of choosing flexible offices.
7. Accessible staff and service
Here we sit and work through dark times, snowy winters, and bright summers. A digital service and customer service that sits far away will never beat the availability of employees who are physically present. Someone who meets you and personally follows your company's journey. We believe that an ongoing close dialogue with the landlord's contact person will contribute to simpler and problem-free tenancies.
Read also: What are flexible offices spaces? The Complete guide
8. Inspection time!
Once you have a short list of potential office locations, you can travel to inspect each location. See how you feel in the local area and the offices. Don't forget to ask what is included and what isn't. Ask about coffee, visitors, and digital meeting rooms. It is these things that make a difference.
Now that you have a sense of what you are looking for, you can now begin the process of searching for offices, visiting areas, and narrowing down your search.
And one more thing, remember that nothing is as expensive as something that doesn't suit you.
