Thinking to view an office space? Our five-step guide will help you to assess the right options for your business.
Choosing an office space for rent is quite daunting. You need to explore a lot of options, including capacity, location, facilities, services and much more. While viewing, you should ask right questions, evaluate your options and decide on the right office space that suits your business.
Here are five-step checklist that may help you to select the perfect space for your company:
When you arrive at a business centre to start your viewing, make sure you look around and picture your company being here. You might be viewing at a blank canvas, but it will surely look different with your team in the situation.
Make sure you view the business centre from your customers’ perspective too. The reception and breakout areas will give a clear picture about your company to your clients. So, make sure that they set the right tone for your business. See if they represent your business the best possible way.
When viewing a business centre, you can even ask about the options for customizing your space as per your future business needs.
If there is an expansion on the cards within next few months, then ask to view the larger office area too along with the smaller space you’re thinking right now. Then discuss about the possibilities to expand your office within the centre and how would it work? What all facilities and configurations can they provide you? All this will surely help you to understand whether the business centre will be suitable for your future business growth or not.
It’s always important to ask about the IT provisions with the business centre and get a copy of the specifications that you can show to your IT manager. This can actually save you a follow-up call or visit to find out whether the centre can accommodate your IT needs or not.
Don’t forget to ask about the reliability of IT within the centre. Make a note of some key questions to ask such as:
• Do you provide an onsite IT support?
• Do you have back up lines?
• What is the exact timeframe to get back up for your IT system?
Business centres provide a range of services and support to assist you in smooth functioning of your company. So, it’s always worth finding out in details what exactly they offer for your business. At the time of viewing, you can even look at how the reception team handles the calls, takes messages and provide admin support.
You can even ask about the centre’s client retention rate. If it’s high then it’s an indicator of excellent service and support.
Once you are finished with the viewing, make sure you talk about the price. Take your time and understand how the business centre breaks down the price. Get a detailed note of the business support packages, as they can vary centre to centre.
Don’t be afraid to ask what’s included within the office space cost, including how much the extras would cost. In addition, ask these questions to the business centre:
• What packages do you offer?
• What’s the cost of meeting rooms?
• Is there an additional charge of admin support, IT and photocopying?
So, if you follow these five steps, you can easily evaluate your options and decide on the perfect office space for your business.
