While flexible office spaces were once touted as a solution built strictly for solopreneurs and small business owners, this is no longer the case.
Today, flexible office space operators think beyond hot desks. Commercial building owners have begun seeing the viability of flexibility as an opportunity to future-proof their assets. And, as a result, shared workspace has grown to encompass everything from co-working to fully-serviced private offices.
Today, flexible office space is emerging as a front-runner option for large organizations when seeking their next headquarters.
Here’s why.
Less wasted C-Suite time with turnkey ease of use
The process of finding an office used to be extensive and arduous.
You’d need to:
- Task a staff member or team with shopping around for options
- Source a broker to pair you with a workspace
- Negotiate lengthy and complicated leases with the help and costs of legal counsel
- Plan, fund, and oversee any tenant improvements and upgrades
- Fit out your space with furnishings, hardware, and technology infrastructure
Not only did this require a massive investment of capital, but it also demanded significant amounts of time and attention from your C-Suite.
In addition to the monetary cost, there was also an opportunity cost associated with diverting your executives’ attention away from their core focus within your business.
When you choose a flexible office as your company’s headquarters, you’re stepping into a turnkey workspace.
No TIs or build-outs. No need for upgrades.
You get a fully appointed space with furnishings and ready-to-use infrastructure, meaning your team can be moved in and working in a matter of days—not weeks or months.
Reduced ongoing workspace expenses by sharing costs
When it comes to shared office space, you can expect significantly decreased capital expenditures compared to traditional workspace options.
Why?
Because with shared workspaces, the operative word is shared.
This is not to say you lose your privacy. You still maintain your own self-contained suite. But what is shared are your operating costs.
With flexible office spaces, you get access to top-tier amenities like cafes, lounges, break-out areas, wellness rooms, outdoor spaces, fitness centers, and more. These amenities are typically far superior to those offered by traditional offices because the costs are shared among multiple companies.
The same applies to your maintenance fees, repairs, utilities, cleaning, hardware, and technology. Since these costs are shared among many organizations, you benefit from economies of scale.
Enhanced EVP by meeting the needs of modern employees
In the past few years, employees have become accustomed to working from home.
So, if you want people to be excited about working together in person, your office needs to be somewhere they want to be rather than somewhere they have to be.
To the same tune, people have more choices than ever before about the companies they choose to work for. They can be selective in choosing employers based on how organizations align with their personal and professional values.
These two things go hand-in-hand.
Flexible offices help enhance your company’s employee value proposition (EVP) by helping to:
- Support a strong company culture
- Providing your team with a diverse array of workspaces they can choose from throughout the day
- Offering the conveniences and comforts of home paired with the professional support of an office
This is a big deal for your business because a strong EVP is a powerful tool for helping you attract and retain outstanding talent.
The optimal mix of privacy and community
In a traditional office environment, you lease a space that’s entirely self-contained—but the sense of community ends when you walk out the door of your suite.
Typically, traditional office buildings are made up of a number of companies confined to their own offices with little to no communal space or interaction.
With a flexible private office, you maintain your company’s self-contained workspace but you also get access to communal spaces and a community of like-minded professionals.
This presents opportunities for networking and new business opportunities as well as social interactions to help elevate your team’s workdays.
Operational agility and scalability
Uncertainty has been the only certainty in the past few years. For enterprise organizations, it’s challenging to plan for a year from now—let alone five or more.
Signing a long, multi-year traditional office lease is not conducive to your company’s ability to remain nimble and adapt to changing market conditions.
Consider your company’s forecasted growth. What are your options if you plan to double your operations and the size of your team in the next two years?
In most cases, you’ll either need to sign a lease for a space that’s too big for your current needs or find a new place for your team members to work as your company grows.
On the other hand, flexible office spaces allow you to grow your workspace along with the needs of your business.
Rather than signing on for a fixed, multi-year traditional lease, you can negotiate flexible office agreement terms such as duration, lease length, office size, and termination stipulations.
So, if your company’s needs change, it’ll be easier—and much less costly—to adapt your workspace accordingly.
These factors make flexible offices the optimal option for growing organizations that value the freedom to stay nimble.
Unprecedented hospitality and service
The hospitality-focused nature of serviced offices adds a rarely-experienced dimension of convenience for enterprise organizations, making them an optimal option for your company’s headquarters.
Rather than hiring staff for administrative tasks like reception and IT, serviced offices have all of this essential support built-in—with the costs shared among multiple organizations.
The business world is different today. The needs of modern organizations have evolved. So, when it comes to your company’s headquarters, you don’t necessarily need to abide by traditional norms.
Whether you’re a growth-phase business or an established enterprise organization, it’s time to look at your office space priorities and imagine the potential you can unlock with a more flexible option.
Are you in search of a new and more flexible headquarters for your company? If so, 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.
