How much space do you really need ?

Working out how much space you actually need in your new office

• How many employees will be in an open plan office?

Searches are generally driven by the amount of people, rather than a specific amount of space. Office providers offer different amounts of sq ft per desk/person, and offer various amenities outside of the office that you wont need to have within your demise. 

•  How many employees will require private offices?

A private office in a serviced office could take up the same amount of space as 3-4 people, so a few of these can dramatically increase your costs

•  Does every employee need a dedicated desk?

Does each individual require their own dedicated desk, or can some share a workbench, hot desk style. This is a style of working growing in popularity as companies embrace flexible working arrangements

• Do you need a break-out area?

Depending on the amount of employees you have, you may wish to factor this into your search, or simply use the communal breakout facilities provided and save on your costs. 

• Phone booths?

If your employees need a private area to speak on the telephone away from others then this may be important.

• Filing cabinets?

Haven’t gone paperless yet? A filing cabinet(or two) can take up the same space as people so will need to be factored into your search. 

• How often do you use meeting rooms?

Paying for your own dedicated meeting room will increase your monthly costs, so unless you use a room multiple times a day then providers can generally offer easy regular access to communal meeting rooms at a reasonable cost. 

• Do you need step free access, or to provide bike storage, shower facilities & lockers?

Not all providers can offer this, so make it clear from the beginning what the specific needs of your business are.