Too much space?
A space planning exercise can help determine if you are using your office square footage efficiently. Do employees that spend most of the time on the road have their own workstations? If they only spend a few days a month in the office, you may want to consider having them share a workstation. You may have to invest in a more flexible furniture solution.
Shared workstations can also help your traveling staff stay organized, since they will need to be able to access their data regardless of their location. Many companies have removed cubicles and installed long, open tables. The tables have a smaller footprint, provide a cleaner design, and can increase employee communication.
What to do?
You have a few additional options when you have more area than necessary. Your commercial real estate broker can help you determine if your neighbors need additional space. Carefully read your lease to ensure that you are not restricted in subleasing the space.
Know any entrepreneurs that could use an office? Consider renting out excess rooms to ambitious individuals. That is to say, provide them with an office environment to grow their company. You can help the entrepreneur have an office, and the entrepreneur can provide you with rent for your unused space.
An additional option is to discuss meet with your tenant advisor to review a new lease. If you are happy with your current building, work with your broker to decrease your space. This can be done by simultaneously increasing the time left on your lease. Even though your square footage will shrink, the landlord may prefer the increased stability of a long-term lease. This provides a win-win situation for everyone involved.
A third option is to look for new space. A tenant advisor can help show you the savings of moving to a new location with a smaller footprint. We recently helped a company move from 9,297 SF to 5,087 SF. In this example, the company was able to save around $390,000 by right-sizing their space. For a complimentary right sizing evaluation please complete the form and we would be happy to schedule a time to meet with you.
Take a proactive approach and be sure you are not wasting money with unused space. The savings from right-sizing your space can be used to grow other areas of your business. If you believe you have too much space or need any assistance at all please contact our team.