Business workspace trends have changed dramatically in recent years. Now days it is crucial to determine the type of workspace that allows you to stay agile, meet budgets and adapt to the continuously changing landscape.
Business office rentals have always been focused on renting a prime office space in a key area with a prestigious address. However, most commercial property rentals have required long-term leases (3, 5, or even 10-year leases) and come with many additional overheads, which can be daunting in the current economy or as you start to grow.
Because of this many businesses are choosing more cost-effective and flexible workplace solutions, in favour of long standard leases thus allowing them to reduce their real estate costs. With Hybrid working being much more commonplace than before, it no longer makes sense to have all of your employees in the office all of the time. Flexible workspaces are designed to complement this hybrid working model, allowing employees to divide their time between working in the office and working from home without all the wasted overheads of a commercial lease.
Flexible office space, like the packages available at MAX Serviced Offices often include multiple services and amenities that appeal to both customers and employees, offering a happy, vibrant environment to do their best work and hold meetings. Research shows that hybrid office arrangements don’t just save money, they also enhance employee productivity and improve overall job satisfaction.
Traditional Office Space vs Co-working Space
Pros of a Traditional Office
- Customised Space: A traditional office is a company’s own private space used to shape its unique culture and can be fully designed to reflect the company’s corporate image.
- Branding and Corporate Image: Brand visibility enhances a client’s confidence when visiting your workspace.
- Privacy: A traditional office offers a higher privacy level, fewer distractions and greater confidentiality and safety when using your own IT Infrastructure.
- Control: A corporate office has a reception area with staff who manage the people walking in and out of your office so there is less chance of being interrupted.
Cons of a Traditional Office Space
- Expensive: Renting today is a high-priced endeavour. Competition for prime locations has pushed up prices to exorbitant levels.
- Long-term Lease: Rental leases can easily span from 2 – 10 years. As your company grows and changes the area and building may no longer suit your future business requirements.
- Office Management: The cost of employing office managers, division managers and reception service and all the other operational costs would include Wi-Fi, furniture, a cleaning service, security service, office equipment, supplies and other utility services are all extras.
Coworking Space offers a variety of options
Coworking spaces such as MAX Offices enjoy immense acclaim today. They are an outstanding option for start-ups, small businesses, remote employees or even travellers needing to get some work done.
Pros of a Coworking Space
- Flexibility: By renting a coworking space you have access to all the amenities of an office, without having to pay for them. You can rent for an hour, a few days, weeks, months, or even years.
- Cost Reduction: Most coworking spaces are serviced, which means that all costs for maintenance, bills, cleaning, and office management are included in the rental price. No overheads that are traditionally associated with having your own office.
- Networking: A coworking space is a global community. There is organic collaboration and the opportunity to network with other companies and find new business partners and customers.
- Prestige address: Most coworking spaces are located in key urban areas giving you access to a prestigious address at a fraction of the normal cost, crafting the ideal business presence without having to buy property in the area.
Cons of Coworking Space
While it might seem that there are many con’s to flexible rentals and coworking spaces, like lack of privacy or noise and distractions, nothing can be further from the truth. Coworking spaces offer a variety of options to cater for every type of user, so when you need more privacy you can simply book a short term private Day Office for the hour or day, or you can pop into one of the sound proof phone booths for that confidential business call.
Determine the type of workspace that best meets your organisational need
There are several components to review when finding a workspace for your company: Location, type of office space, rental, neighbourhood, amenities and services.
Coworking spaces and flexible office rentals frequently hold more prestigious address these days, such as MAX Offices which is situated at 2 Sandton Drive. Normally such an esteemed address could be very costly to small businesses, but thanks to MAX offices’ flexible private office rentals and memberships it is more affordable than ever.
Besides offering fully serviced office space, MAX offers:
Private offices: Furnished offices to accommodate teams of all sizes from single desk offices to suites.
Day offices: Furnished offices to rent by the hour, or day.
Business lounge: Hot Desk access with lockers for secure storage and unlimited Wi-Fi.
Meeting Rooms & Boardrooms: high-tech boardrooms accommodate up to 8 or 14 people, available for only as long as you need it, either per hour or per day.
Rooftop Function Venue: An open-air venue with breath-taking views of the city for networking events, product launches, business parties & other social events.
Virtual Membership: The perfect package for a business looking to expand its footprint and presence – It offers Business address, dedicated telephone number, answering & message taking service without needing a physical office.
MAX memberships include access benefits and amenities such as phone booths, an exam hall, storage rooms and lockers, a full reception service, free fast Wi-Fi, office services, MAX Café, breakaway areas and optional company branding on the building or signage.
Get in touch with a MAX expert today to find out how we can reduce your business operating costs by finding the right workspace for your company.