5 Things to Consider When Choosing Office Space

What should I be looking out for when choosing office space ?

If you’re in the market choosing office space, what you choose is incredibly important to your business. Not only does it affect your day to day operations and your staff morale, but also your brand image. There are many things that can impact your choice; however, you may consider these five factors to be absolutely crucial to the process.

1. Location

“Location, location, location.” The first thing you’ll need to think about is where your new office space is situated.

Here are two really important questions to ask:

1. Is it convenient for my client to find and get there?
2. Is it convenient for my staff to come to work?

If you find an office that meets the above checklist, then you’re heading your way to finding a good office location. When it comes to your employee retention to new recruitment, it’s best to choose an office space and location that employees can commute to easily. Also, take into consideration the security of the neighborhood and what’s close to the office, nearby f&b, gym, parking, perhaps afterwork bar? All of these things are important for keeping your staff and clients happy! Check out our available office for rent in KL and Selangor, Malaysia.

2. Price

Office rental rates are probably the most important factor to most businesses when choosing a new office space. This may seem obvious, but it’s important that you aren’t stretching yourself too thin on the lease, you’ll either end up with an office you’re not satisfied with and to find yourself moving out after a few months. And make sure the new price tag attached doesn’t actually slow your business’s growth.

Here are a few crucial question to ask yourself is whether or not the price is right for you and your business.:

1. Can I afford to maintain the rental payment during this contract term?
2. Can I afford the upfront rent deposits, other fees involved to secure this office space? Any other hidden cost?
3. Is this office priced in line with market price and current situation?

When choosing office space, always talk to your agent for a quick comparison on the market rates or plan it out using our office space calculator, get a good understanding of the cost involved to make sure you’re getting value for money.

3. Size

Obviously both of the factors mentioned previously—location and price will influence the size of the office space you choose, but it’s an important point to mention.

A general rule of thumb, it’s normally recommended to have 100 square feet per person. However, you know your business best. With current social distancing factors, or you may require big meeting rooms, a huge collaboration area, or you have it all in an open space layout then the figure may adjust appropriately.

Here are some simple questions you may ask in order work out the right office size:

1. What type of workspace, meeting and recreation space do I want in this new office?
2. Do I have enough room to grow in line with my growth projections?
3. Do I have to accommodate meeting rooms, spaces where clients can meet?

If you’re upgrading to a new and improved office, size will no doubt be one of your key concerns especially when it comes to giving your enterprise room to grow. There’s no doubt that a cramped office reduces productivity

4. Infrastructure

This feature is more important for some businesses when choosing office space than others, even though nowadays there aren’t many businesses that can function efficiently without a reliable internet connection. However, depending on the company’s internet bandwidth requirement, some companies require 100mbps or more.

Here’s a series of questions for making sure the infrastructure in your new office is going to be adequate:

1. Have the buildings been upgraded to fibre optic?
2. What are the service providers and the packages the building infrastructure can support?
3. Does the building have sufficient space if I bring in my own service provider?

If you are a MSC status company, you may even require to be in a MSC status building in order to enjoy tax exemption and financial incentives, you may find out from your agent which are the MSC status buildings available.

5. Culture

Quite often this is pushed to the back of people’s minds while they’re searching for new offices. Although it’s advisable to consider the “more important” factors like the four mentioned above first, there is still a lot to be said for office culture and style.

If you’re a business that emphasises “brand” or brand image is like the main course of the business, then you’ll need to take this seriously. An office can be a fantastic branding tool. Why do you think Google office has become a workplace everyone is talking about, and why should your office be any different?

Here are some questions you may ask:

1. Who are the other businesses in this area? Am I going to be at the right place?
2. Does this office boost or shape my company’s brand image?
3. Would I be proud posting and showing off my office interior space to outsiders?

If you’re answering no to any of these questions, you might want to reconsider. Appearances may not be everything but, in the world of business, they often count for something. Remember that your office should have the necessary space to accommodate breaks and any relevant team activities, while also creating a positive lasting impression with any clients who pay you a visit.