How to Choose the Best Office Rental Spot?

When you open the listings for office rentals, the options can be blinding. Every listing claims to have the best offering, and it can be hard to distinguish the better ones from ads that simply want to sell you something. And this isn't so difficult if you learn the right tricks.

If you and your company are looking for a new spot, there are several things that you should keep in mind. We will cover some of the major ones in this article. And when the time comes to list your office, you will know exactly what it is that people are looking for when they start their own search.

Size and overall space

One of the most obvious considerations in thinking about the kind of rental space you want for your company is how big of a staff you have. If your staff is small, you might not need a full-fledged office space at all. You might instead consider simply taking several workstations within a coworking space.

There are also office buildings that offer individual rooms or smaller spaces to companies with small staff. In these cases, you might have to share bathrooms with other companies on your floor and might not have your own kitchen facilities, but these arrangements can be suitable for those with modest needs.

If you have a big company with a lot of employees, you might look into a modern office building that offers multiple amenities. Modern buildings will offer large rooms, individual conference rooms, and kitchenettes where employees can make coffee, etc.

Location

Just as important of a factor in your decision making is where your office will be located. If you live in a big city, your employees might live far from one another, so you will probably want to choose a centralized location that everyone can reach with relative ease. Even among centralized neighborhoods, though, there are factors that you should take into consideration.

First of all, you need to carefully consider your company budget. The absolute nicest neighborhoods will likely be expensive. So you will need to consider whether or not you can afford your top choice. Less expensive neighborhoods might not be as nice. Worse yet, they might be crime-ridden, and choosing a cheap option could potentially put your employees in danger if they have to walk around the neighborhood at night.

Also, you’ll want to consider the kinds of things you consider essential to have around your office. There will almost certainly be some kinds of convenience stores, but you’ll need to think about the standards that your employees will have for what they consider acceptable. Is 7-11 enough? Or do you want to have nicer options? Also, if you’re running a company that you want to impress people with, maybe you should look at a neighborhood that has gyms, nice restaurants for potential client meetings, etc. It all depends on your budget and your priorities.

Building quality

Along with size and space, you should consider the actual quality of the building that you might move into. While you will certainly have some freedom to decorate the inside of your individual unit, you should also think about what your employees will have to go through to get there.

When you look at your potential space in advance of making a decision, think about what floor you are doing to be on. Does the building have an elevator? If not, how many flights of stairs will your employees have to go up to get to the office? Also, if your potential office space is in a poorly-managed building, you might be subjecting yourself to insects and other problems that could come from neighboring units. Potential leaks, heating problems, and related issues are also a consideration.

In addition, you should think about who your neighbors will be and whether or not they are people you want to be near. While you likely won’t be socializing with people outside your office on a regular basis, who you are next to will play a role as theft and other problems can occur if you’re not careful.

Transportation

A related consideration to the neighborhood you will be in is transportation options. Obviously, proximity to public transportation is the main consideration. But beyond this, you should think about the hours that your employees will be working, whether or not the subway (buses, etc) will run in the evening, and whether it will make sense for everyone that works for you.

If your office is in a really progressive area, you might have bicycle options. Or parking inside your building or nearby. You should take all of these things into consideration when deciding on your unit.

Weigh your options carefully

Deciding on a new office space is usually a complicated and multi-faceted task. While you want to find the nicest, most appealing place possible in the best possible neighborhood, you might not have the budget for this. And you also don’t want to make such a cheap decision that you potentially put your staff in danger in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

For every company, there is a golden mean that will give you the right balance between these factors. And who knows: As your company grows, perhaps you can worry less about the costs involved and shift into the nicer part of town. It’s all up to you!

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes