An office space is more than just a place for you and your employees to work. It’s far more than simply a room for desks and computers – it’s the space where your team will spend the majority of their time and for that reason it needs to be both functional and comfortable.
Much like buying a house, finding the right office space to rent out is no mean feat and many things need to be considered. Aside from the most obvious issue of budget, here are several more factors you need to bear in mind before singing a contract for your next commercial property lease.
Parking
Parking is an issue many people don’t consider when renting an office space, only to realize either there isn’t enough for everyone in the office, or permits/payments will need to made per employee to grant parking. Understandably, most people won’t want to pay to park at work, nor will they want to spend 20 minutes circling every morning looking for a space, only to end up parking a considerable distance away and having to walk to the office.
Before you commit to a commercial space, make sure you ask about parking and relay the feedback to your team to get their opinion on the situation.
Location
Naturally, your new office space will need to be in a prime location that’s easily accessible to everyone – including those who are commuting via public transport. You might have employees who use public transport, or you might have clients who will commute for meetings to your office via train. Whilst it’s not feasible for every business to have a location in the centre of a town or city, ensuring you’re within commuting distance if your company is client-facing is definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind.
In addition to this, you’ll want to consider what type of area the office is in. If there are high levels of crime, you may want to avoid it and find somewhere that is safer.
Amenities
Looking inside the office, you need to think about amenities. Is there adequate space for a kitchenette? If you can’t comfortably fit in a microwave, kettle, sink and fridge, it might not be the most viable option. On top of this, are the toilet facilities up to scratch? Is there an outdoor space for people to take five minutes and breathe in some fresh air? Whilst these may seem like small issues, they have a big impact on the wellbeing of your staff and will make all the difference to how
Customization
When you’re spending 40+ hours in one space every week, you need to make sure it feels like your own. For this reason you need to consider asking the landlord of the office how much you can do in the way of renovation. For example, are you allowed to paint the walls, hang blinds and change the flooring, or are you restricted on what you can do?
If the terms of the lease permit you to make aesthetic changes, it’s worth hiring professional contractors to do the job for you. This is because they’re experts and will carry out the job in a health and safety compliant way whilst causing minimal damage through bodge jobs. If you’re looking to paint the walls and hang blinds, you can probably do this yourself, but if you’re looking at major changes like new flooring, employing a company like Selby Contract Flooring will ensure that everything is done properly.
Summary
Hopefully by asking these questions you will be able to narrow down your search and find an office that works for everyone on your team, as well as your clients.
