Posted by Office space is where employees spend 35-50% per day. If you look at it, the organization must recognize the office space important for both employee well-being and the growth of the organization. Probably, it might have been easier in the past, when desk requirements only had to be considered. At present, it is no more a traditional desk environment where the employees wish to sit. It is everything else but it. Sofas, cafeterias, collab environments, etc boost creativity & productivity. Managed offices and serviced offices are some of the services available for an organization to choose from. It is always a cause of concern for the organization to decide on the space required. The best practice is to find the balance between the present strength, future expansion, and the budget.
Before deciding on the space, the administration in charge must find out answers for the below.
- Number of employees (Part-time & full-time)
- Number of Regions & Number of employees working remote
- Budget
- Type of workstations (Open space or cube)
- Optimum space required for efficient functioning
- Any other specific requirements (Client seating area, Vendor seating area, Meeting rooms, etc)
- Expansions in the near future
A typical Office Space
A rule of thumb says an employee requires 100 sq. ft. of space. That space got to be divided into various facilities which could be provided.
Individual call rooms
These days Video Conferencing is quite common. For an employee to do calls from her desk disturbs others on the floor as well. Hence, small cabins for VC only are required.
Meeting rooms (2, 4, 8, 16 seaters)
Every meeting room must have a purpose. Some rooms could be only for external folks. Some could be only for internal folks. Some can have video conferencing systems. Some can have a landline. The purpose is the key requirement.
Conference room
This is for mass gatherings or some training. This is essential for new employee orientation. Or some guest lectures etc.
Cafeteria & Lunch seating area
Ideas brew at the coffee table. Organizations grow on casual chats and ideas coming out without inhibitions. The cafeteria is one of the places where employees mingle freely. This is essential now.
Kitchen
This is true for manufacturing units. A small kitchen place for cooking a limited menu is required here.
Creche
To build an inclusive organization, it is required to have creche facilities for women employees.
Board room
This could be a swanky place. Often investors come here. It is essential to build investor relations.
Prayer room
Another requirement of a truly inclusive organization is to be a place that respects all religions. Hence, this is one more key requirement.
a Play area (TT, Foosball, Snooker, gyms, etc)
Employees bond over casual interactions. What better than a sport?
Senior executives cabin
Many organizations these days are doing away with this requirement. It promotes all to be in the same area regardless of the position. But, some organizations do look for these requirements.
Server room
For tech companies, some bit of data is maintained on their server. A place for that storage.
Storeroom
Some essential items if required can be stored here.
Washrooms
An inclusive organization here as well builds washrooms suiting all employees. Physically handicapped, gender, etc. Organizations that think about these small things thrive.
Design
The design of the office space is the next consideration. The ceiling height, the room dimensions, the lighting, the kind of furniture, the brand image, etc. Each of them has to be carefully thought through. There are professional architects, who can help here.
Cost
The place/area decides the real estate cost. The first thing for an organization is to get quotations from various real estate players. The next thing is to compare the features offered. These days a few players offer a lot of features at a competitive cost. The organization can evaluate the cost based on various parameters.
- Services offered
- Location in the city
- Proximity to metro
- Time available for moving into the new location
- Expansion in the team size
- Any other attractive features (Car parking etc.)
So each of these features can be compared. Through this, it is easier to bring all players on the same page and compare the prices. Again, budget is the guide path here. The organization can consider some leeway. A proper evaluation of price with the features can help organizations make better decisions.
Future-proofing
One might argue, that all the staffs are on the field. Why is this office space required? Office space is not just for work. It is for casual interactions, bonding, etc. Hence, a small space to place the laptop and sit is essential for the employee.
Also, the organization must keep a tab of what the employee count would be in the next 2-3 years. Too many shifts can be taxing for the employees. Also, it is an extremely costly affair. Hence, the organizations need to plan for 2-3 years before finalizing the space. Also, the organization must check if there is enough space nearby for expanding further beyond 2-3 years. This can help immensely in the future.
It could often happen that organizations consider the “cost” seriously. But it should not be at an expense of employee happiness. Carefully examining the cost vis-a-vis the features could be beneficial for the organization. Every organization scouts for the best talent. Talents these days are looking for office space that is casual and trendy. The more features there are in the office space, the easier it is for attracting them. It is common among millennials to boast about these features available at their office with their friends. Some of them also join for these features only.
Organizations thrive because of talent. Talent deserves these features to both join and excel at the work. It is the call of the organization to kind of choose between Managed Office, Serviced Office, or Leased space after examining cost-benefit analysis. But, it is not just the cost that the organizations must focus on but the features as well.