Quality office space brings many benefits to a business and when it’s done well it can create a positive environment where teams can flourish. In a recent article on Fast Company, Kay Sargent, director of workplace strategies at infrastructure solutions provider Lend Lease said, “In the last four to five years, we’ve all been focusing on sustainability and the impact technology has in an office. During this time, we’ve forgotten that we’re designing for people. Now there’s a real focus on trying to maximise human potential, performance, and productivity.”

OFFICE SPACE WITH PEOPLE IN MIND

Designing office space with people in mind has taken a major leap forward since 2014. According to Miguel McKelvey, cofounder and chief creative officer of coworking office space WeWork, productivity is about enabling collaboration in the workplace.  He said, “With the popularity of open floor plans, it’s certainly important for people to have a sense of privacy. People need a space that they can go to make a conference or Skype call.”

One important reason to make sure your office space is well designed is the rise in work place stress. According to the Office of National Statistics one in five employees is suffering from work related stress. Leading US expert on workspace, Monica Parker from Morgan Lovell said, “Every decision in the workplace has a profound impact on workforce wellbeing, and an office is the living, breathing representation of a company. It should be the duty of any socially responsible employer to create a healthy, engaging environment for their staff. And, while the recession has tightened purse strings, showing people how they are valued in hard time’s results in less sickness, higher retention and ultimately better performance.”

The increased cost associated with better office locations can often be outweighed by the considerable benefits that employees will find from easier access to transport links, often reducing journey times to work and the added benefit of great local amenities like cafes and shops. Improvements to the work-life balance can reap huge rewards for businesses that place their employees at the heart of the decision making process when seeking new office space.

REMOTE WORKING IS THE NEW DESK SPACE

Many businesses are embracing remote working, but not everyone wants to work from home, preferring to travel to a place to avoid the usual distractions around the house. Peter Thomson from the Henley Business School said, “People still need to meet to exchange ideas, so the office has to change to be more like a place to have meetings, rather than just doing the work.”

He went on to say, “Not everyone can or wants to work from home. Many of us actually enjoy travelling to a separate workplace, which can offer an opportunity to socialise, to make friends and, in some cases, even partners. Yet business owners would be wise to learn how changing their office environment can make their offices more happy, productive and creative.”

One of the more diverse elements affecting productivity can be smell. In 2014 office provider Avanta commissioned a team led by Ruth Mastenbroek the former president of the British Society of Perfumers, to create Ascent, a bespoke scent designed to improve brain activity. “Smell is the most powerful of the senses, and is best able to influence brain activity,” says Mastenbroek. “Aromatherapy probably isn’t the first tool you’d think of to stimulate your business productivity, but perhaps it should be.”

So the real cost of badly designed and not well placed office space can be the huge impact on productivity and staff retention, two important issues that can have a significant impact of the sales of a business and ultimately customer satisfaction.

This year we have looked extensively at both office location and office space design, highlighting the importance of both to the success of businesses all over the UK.

FURTHER READING

You can read our articles on location and office space design by clicking below:

Office Location, Office Location, Office Location

Top Tips for Choosing the ideal Office Space

About the Author

Stephen Moore is a writer and marketing consultant supporting businesses in the commercial property sector. Find out more about Stephen at Google+.

The post What are the Real Costs of Poor Office Space? appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

With the constant march of tech dominating the modern workplace it’s important for space to provide inspiration to the people and companies that work there.

Here are six examples of how modern workspaces are setting new standards in design and fit-out that’s going a long way to inspire the people that work within them.

Open Plan is Not a New Concept

Open plan emerged in the 20^th century in the US as part of a radical new design process created by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, but quickly became segmented spaces with work cubicles. The original idea of large communal workspaces became a little lost until the advent of Co-working in the US which initially tore down the barriers and allowed unassociated people to work collaboratively together.

Exponents of the art of open plan in 2016 is the rapidly expanding WeWork group who are about to open two new locations here in London. Providing an relaxed open plan space along with private offices and meeting rooms, the WeWork phenomenon is rubbing off across the sector.

A Meeting Room with a View

Even with the best open plan environments there is still a need to be able to meet colleagues and clients in private. Gone are the days when a meeting room was the least important part of a serviced office centre. No longer merely a room, office clients can use, meeting rooms need to convey a smart and inspiring business space. As places that are often used to win new business they need to be comfortable and well equipped.

More recently, meeting rooms are now a great way for providers to attract new business. To do this many providers have started to theme their meeting rooms and offer an increasing level of comfort and design often using bespoke or unique pieces of furniture that create a beautiful space that can inspire the people who use it.

A Decent Cup of Coffee Stirs the Senses

A good cup of coffee can help attract new business. Look at the success of coffee shops as places to do business. As a result workspace providers have learnt that great coffee can help attract new business too. Whether that’s using a brand like Starbucks or Costa or an Artisan coffee brand like Taylor Street Baristas or Paddy and Scott’s who provide coffee solutions to large corporates, coffee has come a long way in offices all over the country.

Many serviced office providers and co-working hubs have baristas just like the coffee shops that are now on every street corner. Others have bean-to-cup machines similar to chains like Pret A Manger that dispense a great cup of coffee and allow costs to be kept down without compromising quality.

Community Minded Networking

Part of the success of WeWork is their collaboration proposition. Members can network with fellow members helping to generate new business. With potential new clients right on your doorstep lots of serviced office providers now offer networking opportunities that match the co-working approach to collaborative working.

A ready-made network in your building is usually the last place you would look for potential new business but as more providers host networking breakfasts and after-work business gatherings often with a guest speaker, it’s easy to see why this can prove popular in today’s connected business community.

Artwork that Inspires Creativity

The power of a piece of artwork to inspire people is evident from the impact it can have in a gallery. So it should be no surprise that many serviced office centres and co-working hubs have used art to inspire their clients for some time now.

Providers like Landmark and BE Offices have added unique pieces of art to public spaces and now clients can select something that’s individual for their own office space.

Taking the impact of unique artwork one step further is this example by BE Offices who instructed talented street artist Nathan Bowen to create a bespoke City inspired view in their new Cheapside space.

Drowning out the Chatter in the Room

Open plan offices can be a great way to develop teams to work together but they can be very noisy places too. There has been a lot said recently about the impacts on productivity because of excessive noise.

One solution is to use a white noise machine that helps dull the impact of sounds in the room. Another solution is to adapt parts of the office for private working spaces. Many companies like Rightmove, Google and Facebook do this very well and so do many co-working spaces who have acknowledged the need for quiet spaces that provide a degree of privacy.

These are just a small number of examples of the changes happening to workspaces everywhere. As technology adapts further we are sure we will be highlighting new developments very soon.

To find out more about the many more benefits of flexible workspace and serviced offices speak to a member of our team.

The post Why Workspaces Can Inspire Creativity and Collaboration appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

Well WeWork have hit this impressive number with the opening of their latest centres at Old Street and Chancery Lane. And if that wasn’t enough they have just announced their next opening will be a second Soho location at Sheraton House in April closely followed by a new centre in Paddington.

WeWork have set some impressive records since their arrival in London. From opening the world’s largest co-working space in Moorgate, opening a 100% full location to growing their membership in London to over 5,000 businesses.

This fast growing $15bn business is now in the following London locations:

• WeWork Chancery Lane: 14 Gray’s Inn Road
• WeWork Old Street: 18-21 Corsham Street
• WeWork Aldgate Tower: Aldgate Tower, 2 Leman Street
• WeWork Soho: 2 Sheraton Street
• WeWork South Bank: 22 Upper Ground
• WeWork Devonshire Square: 9 Devonshire Square
• WeWork Spitalfields: 1 Primrose Street
• WeWork Moorgate: 1 Fore Street

And the two latest locations to be announced are as follows:

• WeWork Paddington: 2 Eastbourne Terrace (Opening Soon)
• WeWork Soho Sheraton House: 16 Great Chapel Street (opening in April)

Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, the company boasts some impressive growth figures:

• They have a network of 78 locations
• 5 million square feet of space in the US
• Operating in 24 cities
• WeWork are now in 7 countries
• They have 40,000 members
• They have the world’s largest Co-working centre in Moorgate
• They employ an impressive 1,200 people globally

With a basic membership starting at £30 per month, WeWork offer a number of different package options, from a shared desk to a private office. All their packages allow members to tap in to the benefits of over 40,000 members. This ready established network of fellow business professionals has seen over 40% of members do business with other members.

Call us to find out more about WeWork on 020 3031 8563.

The post The Rise and Continuing Rise of WeWork across London appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.