It’s hard enough to find a great location and a building with all the parking and amenities you need that meets your budget, but how do you know if it’s a perfect fit?
There are industry standards based on your business type that help to allocate a certain number of square feet per employee. Establishing a calculation of your needs is a great start. Adjustments can be made to accommodate unique requirements of your business that just don’t align with industry or national standards.
Explore alternative workplace arrangements
With recent game-changing advancements in technology and a general shift toward a more mobile workforce, alternative workplace arrangements and mobile team opportunities offer companies the potential benefits of reduced office real estate needs and improved operations. Businesses must find ways to remain competitive, while keeping up with rapid technological advances and modern developments in office environments and culture. Using the workplace as a tool to meet these objectives is a great strategy. How can your business benefit from flexible mobile workstations; desk sharing or hoteling? An architect or space planner can help you find creative ways to integrate spatial, behavioral and technical needs of your business into an effective workspace, while keeping the office footprint to a minimum.
A guide for your calculations
Many businesses allocate workspace size depending on an employee’s position in the organization. Here’s some standard guidelines that may help you get started:
- Executive Office: 250 SF
- Manager Offices: 120 – 200 SF
- Technical Staff: 80 -100 SF
- Support Staff: 64 SF
Conference and other meeting rooms vary in size based on the typical number of people to be accommodated. And don’t forget about the basic support areas that are necessary as well including restrooms, storage, electrical/server closet, and custodial closets. There are code requirements that may affect the size and layout of these support spaces. Ask your architect to prepare a code report to help you navigate these requirements.
Other options
HOTELING is reservation-based seating or office resources. Employees reserve a desk or office on a daily basis depending on their schedule, instead of having an assigned office or workspace. Also known as hot desking.
