The typical office looks a lot different now than it did five years ago. Today, it’s still essential to many businesses—but with one significant change: it’s not just about where you work anymore, but how you work and how your place of work can be an asset to your organization.
This has supercharged the rise of serviced offices. They offer enterprise companies an alternative to the traditional coworking model by fusing the spirit of flexibility, community, service, and shared amenities with the sophistication and infrastructure of a traditional office space.
The phenomenon of large organizations leaning into the trend of shared workspaces isn’t new—back in 2018, The Harvard Business Review coined the term “corp working” to describe it—but the sheer number of organizations letting go of their traditional leases and opting for flexible office space has accelerated dramatically since then.
Here are seven reasons why many enterprise businesses are making the shift.
1. Operational efficiency
Uncertainty has been the only constant in the past few years. For enterprise organizations, it’s challenging to plan for a year from now—let alone five or more.
As a result, these organizations are prioritizing operational efficiency, and it’s extending to their demands of their workspaces.
Overarchingly, they’re seeking reduced liability, the ability to adapt and scale their workspace to meet their evolving teams, and opportunities for market expansion.
And, unlike traditional leases which lock organizations into long commitments with inflexible terms, serviced offices align with their desire to stay nimble.
2. Ease-of-use
With 900 million square feet of office leases set to expire by 2025, many enterprise organizations have the opportunity to contemplate their next workspace move.
And when seeking a new headquarters for their business, the leaders of these organizations are coming to terms with the staggering cost of making a misstep with their leases.
When faced with this dilemma, turnkey solutions are becoming an increasingly attractive option, and serviced offices fit the bill.
Unlike traditional offices, serviced offices eliminate the need for furnishing, fit-outs, and set-up of essential office infrastructure.
The leaders of these organizations can sign a serviced office license agreement and have their team working in their new office within a matter of days—not weeks or months.
3. Hospitality-driven support
In the same vein as the appeal of turnkey ease-of-use, the hospitality-focused nature of serviced offices adds another dimension of convenience for enterprise organizations.
Rather than hiring staff for administrative tasks like reception, office manager and IT, serviced offices have all of this essential support built-in—with the costs shared among multiple organizations.
4.Community and collaboration
Isolation is one of the most significant company culture challenges presented by remote work. Community and collaboration are essential for employees.
And, even in a traditional office environment, these benefits are limited to immediate teams since they provide private workspaces for organizations with little to no amenities outside the office.
Serviced offices provide the same degree of privacy for organizations while offering events and opportunities for interpersonal communication, networking, and potential business collaboration.
5. Elevated amenities
In a traditional office environment, organizations could have amenities like meeting and conference rooms and kitchens—but they would belong exclusively to those organizations and their rent would be priced accordingly.
With serviced offices, organizations have the option to choose spec suites that include these amenities—but it’s not mandated. But they can also take on a private suite with shared access to those core amenities without having to cover the full cost of these spaces when they aren’t in use.
Beyond those core amenities, though, serviced offices also often offer other shared amenities like fitness facilities and wellness centers, event spaces, and food and beverage offerings that can create a better experience for employees and clients.
6. Cost-savings
Modern enterprise organizations prioritize optimal use of capital and, compared to traditional office leases, serviced offices undoubtedly have the upper hand when it comes to capital expenditures.
This includes economies of scale on essential office services as well as reduced upfront costs for furnishing, build-outs, technology, deposits, and more.
But it also allows organizations to easily operate on a hybrid work model, taking on a workspace that accommodates a percentage of their staff at any given time without paying for a large-scale workspace with low occupancy levels—and reducing overhead costs accordingly.
7. Diverse workspace options
Throughout the pandemic when employees around the world were forced to work from home, they became accustomed to working when and how they were able to operate at their best.
This could include starting their day at their desks, heading outside for some fresh air at lunch time, then sitting on the couch while wrapping up administrative tasks.
Traditional offices often limit employees’ workspace options to their desks—and this isn’t conducive to optimal productivity or employee satisfaction.
On the other hand, serviced offices offer a diverse area of members-only workspaces options, meaning employees can choose to visit an outdoor patio, relax in the lounge, work at their desks, or take confidential calls in private spaces as they need to, all while being connected to their private network.
Ultimately, traditional offices still work for many organizations—but they’re no longer a universal solution.
For many enterprise companies, finding a workspace that works for their team and aligns with their business objectives is a high priority.
If you’re looking for a serviced office that’s designed for modern organizations and teams, book a tour of your local iQ Offices location today.
Kane Willmott is the co-founder and CEO of iQ Offices, the largest independent Canadian- owned co-working operator with offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. iQ Offices provides beautiful office spaces with safety, service, privacy and design at the forefront
