Financial benefits of scaling down to a serviced office

Gone are the days when serviced offices were an option available solely to the start-up business. The arrival of a global pandemic has seen to that. But it turns out, this may very well be the change the business world was looking for. We’ve now seen that the concept of an established office space, rented per business, could be one entirely antiquated. As lockdowns around the globe made working from home the new directive, society witnessed in real-time a fundamental shift in how we all do business, make money – generally, do our jobs. We could all simply shift our day-to-days to our home offices. We could all plug into the myriad remote working tools that seemed to suddenly spring into existence (never mind the fact that most of these tools have been available for a while – the need for them was simply less), and we could do it all seamlessly and without interruption. That was phase one – because what we failed to anticipate were some inevitable teething issues, and the fact that remote working, although possible and probably a big feature of future business, may not be able to be a fully sustainable way of functioning. This because of the simple need to collaborate in business. The all too important function of culture in an organisation that can only be fed through human interaction. Not to mention the basic need, experienced by many, for human interaction. Thus, phase two has already become part of the ‘new normal’ – the serviced, or shared office space. And while this may address the aforementioned need for some form of human interaction in a business’s operational structure, the financial benefits also remain.

What is a serviced office?

A serviced office is a shared workspace, where businesses from any sector and ilk, may occupy the same working area.  These are offices that have established infrastructure – Wi-Fi connectivity, telephonic hardware, desks, chairs, kitchens, shared areas, boardrooms, and, of course, a staffed reception. It’s an ecosystem where the bustle of an office prevails, only shared by multiple businesses. More importantly, though, with a serviced office the sometimes crippling overheads of office rentals and the need to establish connectivity capabilities and infrastructure are removed.

The advantages of a serviced office

Coupling the financial relief of the absence of overheads, there are two very attractive benefits to a serviced office:

Pay for what you use

No matter the size of your business or staff contingent, you only pay for what you use.  For example, if you only need one telephone, you will pay for no more than that. Your connectivity will be billed to the number of users you establish, and the real estate your business occupies – office space, desks, chairs, boardrooms – will be charged to you according to your specifications and need. This means that, should you grow, you can scale your office space requirements accordingly and with no unspecified expenses.

Flexibility

One of the major drawbacks of solely owned or rented space, is the question of lease length – basically, the time you’ll be required to commit to, should you want to occupy a given office space. Serviced offices do not require such a commitment. If you need the office space for a month, one year or five, you need not commit to anything different. You have full flexibility when it comes to how long you’ll need the space. And should your business change, or grow, you can change that timeframe or grow your office space requirement, accordingly.   These features not only reinforce the flexibility of what it means to do business in these unprecedented times but looks set to be the natural choice in what is sure to soon be a post brick and mortar professional world. It’s the savvy choice – organisations can now continue to embrace remote operations, but in the same space, offer their clients, staff and suppliers an almost hybrid option. Hybrid in the seamless blending of remoteness and structure – where interaction can occur, collaboration can still be part of strategic progression and the traditional professional office space can still be a factor in doing business. And all in a way that promotes the re-establishment of culture for a business’s people as they maintain fundamental connections with colleagues and clients, and at a fraction of the financial requirements that would usually go along with renting an office space. The future of the modern office is likely to be found in the serviced office revolution. At FutureSpace, we provide serviced office options to suit all business requirements.  Click here for more on our suite of serviced office benefits and solutions.