Flexible office space has been available in the UK since the 1960s and while demand for it grew over the years, the pandemic sparked a dramatic gear change. With workers hankering for a more hybrid way of working, divided between the office and home, permanent office space and all the relevant costs were no longer viewed as essential for many companies.
There are two main types of flexible office space available, namely serviced offices and coworking spaces.
What is a serviced office?
A serviced office is office space that you rent from an organisation and is set up according to your requirements. Everything will be in place by the time your company moves in. It works like a subscription, in that you pay monthly. Terms vary, but you are generally committed to a time period of at least 12 months.
Depending on the provider, a serviced office agreement will include a range of facilities including:
- Utilities and wi-fi
- Receptionists, admin support, and maintenance
- Office equipment and furniture
- Cleaning
- Postal services
At One Avenue, across our concierge offices, some of the things we offer include:
- A gym
- Meeting rooms
- Breakout spaces
- Event space
- Cycle racks
- Games rooms
- Showers
- Outdoors social space
- Privacy booths for phone calls
- Members’ app
Benefits of a serviced office space
With a serviced office space, you enjoy the following benefits –
Serviced offices are usually less expensive in the long term
- There is flexibility to grow your office space should the business require it
- You can create the ideal office space for your business, creating an environment that staff will enjoy inhabiting, which in turn, can reduce staff turnover
- Shorter leases mean there is more flexibility, which can prove vital in an uncertain economic climate
- Desirable locations which your organisation might not otherwise be able to afford
What is a co-working space?
Co-working space is a serviced office space where individuals or small teams purchase membership. For this reason, it’s not suitable for all businesses.
Advantages of co-working space
The benefits of co-working space include:
- Members enjoy a sense of community without the office politics
- It can facilitate networking as you’ll find people with a variety of jobs, all working under the same roof
- Members can work according to their own schedules as co-working spaces often work on a 24-hour basis
While both co-working spaces and serviced offices offer a high level of flexibility that you don’t get with standard office rental, along with the ability to save costs, the former is best suited to individuals and smaller teams. Even then, the lack of privacy and control could prove problematic.
For organisations, serviced offices are a wise choice and while looking for the right provider, you need to consider the location, size of office space, length of the contract, and desired amenities. If you want to know what One Avenue Group can provide with our central London concierge office space, get in touch.
Frank has worked in the serviced office industry for 25 years with a role in
operations were service is key. Workplace service is important and can make
a great difference to your employees.
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