There are plenty of serviced offices in London that can give your business it’s best chance to grow and succeed. But finding the right space is no small task, and since massive growth is predicted for the serviced offices market, it looks like the amount of offices you have to choose from is set to increase even further. So how can you choose the right serviced office in such a heavily saturated market?
Choose office space that will benefit your employees, not hinder them
A study recently carried out by Public Health England showed that the design of an office has an extremely important role to play in promoting employee wellbeing and productivity.
The same study also recommended that work environments should “go beyond the basic materials needed to do a job” if they are going to be successful in doing so. Therefore it’s also good idea to check what amenities are on offer before you commit to a serviced office space.
Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois recently proved that natural lighting is vital in a work environment, as it “ improves sleep, physical activity and quality of life ”.
In contrast, spending a lot of time in “inadequate levels of daylight is associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder”, so you should always make sure that any office space you rent has access to plenty of natural light.
You might also consider looking for serviced office space that includes a place for your staff to spend their breaks together, owing to the fact that “89 percent of employees say that work relationships are important to their overall quality of life .” For instance, something as simple as a sofa area or dining table can be enough to foster healthy interpersonal relationships amongst your staff.
Adaptable offices won’t stop your business from growing
When your business grows, it’s naturally a cause for celebration. However, with growth there usually comes a need for certain changes to be made within your business, and this often includes moving offices.
Unfortunately, a small business stands to lose 2.5% of their annual turnover on average purely through moving and upgrading offices. So while it may not be practical to pick up and move every time your business grows, often said growth will leave a business with no choice. Therefore you should choose an office space which leaves your business room enough to grow.
For example, serviced offices like those at Dephna are adaptable in size, which means that you can grow your office without moving, and therefore leave your annual turnover intact.
Quirky extras can help establish your brand
There’s a trend towards office ‘quirk’ which has been going strong for a while now. Businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to serviced offices and coworking spaces are using addons in the physical space to promote their desired work culture.
For example, WeWork coworking spaces come equipped with free alcohol, and Facebook famously added sleep pods and a wine bar to some of their offices. Amenities like these don’t just make employees happier (and therefore more productive), but they also convey a cool, more laidback brand image to the world at large.
While not every serviced office has the budget (or even the desire) to add free booze and a place to nap to its list of amenities, it’s important to remember that “the ability to humanise your company’s real estate now appears to represent your businesses’ own inherent humanity”.
This goes for both your employees and your clients. So when choosing your first serviced office, you need to think about what you want the space to say about your culture and your brand.