Is it better to have an office in the city centre or the outskirts?

WorkWell on February 2, 2015

With countless amenities on your doorstep, convenient transportation and a buoyant hustle and bustle that gets you ‘in the mood’ for work, the benefits of city centre working have long been established and exploited. But did you know more and more firms and working professionals are now seeking office space on the outskirts of a city?

According to a report in Property Wire, office take-up across the six biggest regional office markets in the UK, including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Bristol, increased by at least 30% in 2014.

As demand for office markets outside London looks set to continue, where is more beneficial for modern firms and professional workers to conduct their working day – is it better to have an office in the city centre or the outskirts?

Transportation

With bus routes, train stations, and tram stops around every corner, city centres are easy to get to and manoeuvre about in, hence their appeal to a broader workforce. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the vast majority of people in England and Wales still use their cars to get to work.

An RAC report released in 2013 found that seven out of 10 people in rural areas get to work by car rather than the train or bus.

We’ve all been there, anxiously ‘clock watching’ as we’re ground to a sickening halt in a queue in city centre traffic as an important impending meeting draws worryingly closer.

In short, offices located on the edge of town eliminate the problem of being stuck in city centre traffic.

With the majority of workers in Britain still using their cars to get to and from work and to meetings, an office that is close to major road networks but avoids congested city centres is an ultra-convenient and desirable option.

Of course we also cannot ignore the fact that many do choose public transport to get to work. As we wrote in an earlier blog about choosing the location of your office space, an office that is close to major roads and is also not far from public transport, such as bus stops and rail links, will mean workers traveling on public transport are able to reach the office with ease.

Good for clients

Not only are these convenient ‘out of the city centre’ offices great for workers but they also mean clients will be able to reach the venue without having the stress of wrestling with city centres – a valuable business asset.

Take Carrwood Park as an example. Here at Carrwood Park we are just two minutes from the M1 and 15 minutes from Leeds city centre, clients and potential clients will be able to locate the office with ease and feel fresh and optimistic when arriving to a business meeting.

On-site parking

Which brings us on to the issue of parking.

As most of us have experienced, parking in a city centre is not only painfully expensive, it can be nigh impossible.

City centre offices that do have on-site parking are a rarity and it is likely that these valuable spaces are snapped up by company directors or by long-standing workers.

By contrast, offices located on the outskirts of cities usually have room for everyone.

Talking about some of the benefits of renting office space on the outskirts of town, the popular entrepreneur website Evan Carmichael speaks of how “poor parking situations” can result in a “financial and personal concern for employees.”

“As long as your office space is still in a location served well by public transport, the major road networks will provide a relatively clear and simple route to the office, not forgetting, still keeping you as a business within easy reach of the central region,” writes Evan Carmichael.

Lower costs

And then there is the cost to consider. Statistics show that you can enjoy offices on the outskirts of town of exactly the same quality as their city centre rivals for cheaper.  When working on tight budgets, renting office space just minutes from a city centre can make a significant difference to monthly overheads and ultimately company profit. 

An asset to your branding

When the convenience, cost-effectiveness and ease of an out-of-town office is considered, opting for an office location on the outskirts of a city is likely to positively affect your branding.

As Carrwood Park wrote in a blog titled ‘How the look and location of your office can affect your branding’, without the headache of wresting city centre traffic, without having to pay elevated parking costs and with the convenience of being able to swing off the motorway into large, purpose-built grounds, employees, colleagues, clients and contractors are likely to show up to the office feeling relaxed, refreshed and ready to do business – a definite brand-enhancer!

For more information about WorkWell’s convenient, quality and friendly offices and meeting rooms on the outskirts of Leeds or Harrogate, download our guide to serviced offices. 

9 New Years Resolutions for your Small Business

WorkWell on February 1, 2015

 New Years resolutions are often made without much thought and are then forgotten about come February. Don’t fall into this trap in 2025.

The new year is a great time for a fresh start, to look back over what did and didn’t work in the previous year, what mistakes were made, and what successes you had. Running a business requires constant review and goal setting, so be inspired by reading our guide on creating a New Year’s Resolution for Small Businesses to help you have a prosperous 2015 with a successful small business.

1. Delegate your workload

Just because it is your business doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. There are only so many hours in the day, so delegate some of your smaller jobs to another member of staff or consider getting a virtual office so your phone calls can be answered and a message passed on to you.

2. Promote your business regularly and consistently

You can’t expect new customers to hear about your business if you don’t promote your services consistently. What’s more, it doesn’t have to cost the earth. Writing a weekly blog advising your customers is a great and free way (apart from time) to get your voice heard by potential customers.

3. Join a Networking Group

Networking is a great way to find new customers, get great advice from fellow business owners and also a way to get out of the office. We regularly hold networking events in Leeds here at Carrwood Park.

4. Set realistic goals

Goals are an extremely important way to keep your business on track, but don’t be too ambitious or your goals will feel out of reach and easily get cast away. Start small, and once you have reached your goals, you can be more ambitious with the next.

5. Review and improve goals regularly

Making your initial goals is one thing, but you don’t know if they are working unless you review them regularly. If they are not going as you expected, don’t be afraid to make adjustments.

6. Outsource jobs that are taking up your valuable time

As mentioned above, you don’t have to do all the work yourself. But if you don’t have any staff that you can delegate jobs to, then outsourcing may be more feasible for you. If you have an office in your home, you could consider moving into a co-working space where all the maintenance of your desk area is done for you, allowing you to get on with your work.

7. Set up a content Marketing Plan

Consumers are getting savvy about regular marketing techniques. Instead of telling a customer why your product is great, try creating content that makes them realise this on their own. Become an expert in your field and let them learn to trust your brand. They will come to you for your services when they are ready. Take a look at http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/blog/ for some great advice on how content marketing can help your business.

8. Show customer appreciation

We all like to feel appreciated, your customers are no different. Don’t become like one of the many corporations that refers to their customers as a number on a spreadsheet. Get to know your customers, talk to them and get their feedback. This way you can avoid complaints and improve your services, you will gain fans rather than unloyal customers.

9. Continue to improve and learn new Business skills

You can always be better at something. Whether you learn more about accounting so your year-end makes more sense, or you improve your marketing skills so you can discuss your advertising more effectively. Just because you learn a new skill doesn’t mean you have to do the work yourself. Having an understanding of something will help you discuss better with your employees and will give you a deeper understanding of what they are saying to you.

Whatever you decide to have as your New Year’s Resolution for your Small Business. Ensure to keep reviewing it and working on it throughout the year. Set a reminder on your phone or email to review your progress at least once a month to ensure you are on track.

From everyone at WorkWell, we would like to wish you a successful 2025!

How your office can help you hire the best talent

WorkWell on July 4, 2014

How your office can help you hire the best talent. 

For the ‘good’ days to be significantly more prevalent than the ‘bad’, hiring talented staff needs to be a priority. Starting up and running your own business doesn’t always run smoothly. There will be ups and there will also be downs. From not getting paid invoices on time to suppliers letting you down, business owners and managers are often subjected to a rocky ride.

Advertising a job and spending hours sifting through CVs to find candidates whose skill sets are most closely matched to the role is the most tried and tested way to dig out talented and experienced potential employees. The CV stage is typically followed by an interview. After the interviews, it will be up to your discretion to make a decision on who fits the role most competently and which candidate will bring the most to your business.

Nobody said hiring people was an easy job. On the contrary, employing the right staff can be one of the most challenging components of running a business.

The attributes of an office are one lesser-known method to help business owners and managers hunt down the most talented individuals in their trade. An office? You may cry in disbelief. Yes, an office, and here’s why.

Remote offices

Much has been written about how remote working and virtual offices can save both employers and employees time and make a working day more productive. One lesser acknowledged advantage of remote working is that it gives employers a shot at getting the best talent, not just locally or even nationally, but in the world.

The power of a remote workspace can be a huge advantage to employers. Having the whole world at your fingertips in your quest to find the best talent can give you the edge on competitors who don’t employ anyone working from virtual offices and are therefore confined to local, or at the very best, national candidates.

A global workforce

Determined to get others to believe, or to even get themselves to believe, they are a “global business” without geographical constraints, some companies talk about having a “global workforce.” In reality, this “global workforce” many companies talk about stems from the fact that they have offices in multiple cities. This isn’t global, it’s just utilising the talent from a handful of local markets around the world.

To showcase your company as having a “global workforce”, recruit talent globally, and embrace virtual office working.

Stylish and state-of-the-art office space

Just because you’re making the shrewd move of jumping on the remote working bandwagon should not give you a green light to neglect your actual office space. After all, the most talented of workers in your trade might be living down the road with no intention whatsoever of working remotely.

Unless you are a 100% virtual office organisation, one of the best positions to be in is to have a stylish office space that’s tailored for your business’s requirements and specifications and embrace a virtual, cloud-based working set-up.

Interviews are a two-way process. Once you have invited a candidate to come and visit your workplace for a formal chat about the role, it allows them to get a feel for your company, its people and environment. Of course, it also allows you to gauge an understanding of the candidate. A quality, well-furnished office will irrefutably create a good impression. Put simply, nobody would be impressed if they turned up at a hotel where the paint was flaking off the walls, the toilets weren’t working properly, and the chairs were uncomfortable and rickety. The same can be said about an office.

Whatever trade you are in, there are likely to be times when talking face-to-face with potential employees is unavoidable. This is when having a stylish, welcoming office space, which is conveniently located from multiple locations, will give you the upper hand in recruiting the best talent.

If you are starting or running a business and are keen to hire the best talent, Carrwood Business Park can provide you with both virtual and real office spaces to collaborate, communicate and grow.

What are your thoughts on hiring the best talent? Does a virtual office put you in a better position? Or a stylish ‘bricks and mortar’ office space that clients, colleagues and candidates will be equally as impressed with? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

Does co-working and flexibility increase productivity

WorkWell on February 5, 2014

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“Would you like a coffee?” “What’s your opinion on the Ukraine crisis?” “Would you collate this information as an infographic or on a traditional pie chart?” “Do you fancy coming for a drink this evening?”

I love interacting with people on a daily basis. I love the community of the office. In fact, I know that working alone and having a professional environment would be really difficult for me.

Would you miss the repartee, co-worker ‘loyalty’ and general companionship if you no longer worked in an office?

Or, perhaps more importantly, the big question in flexi working. Does co-working increase productivity? Is the banter and working in a flexible space a distraction?!

New work practices

Advancements in technology and telecommunications and the globalisation of the world economy, have seen working practices undergo a significant transformation. Companies in a myriad of industries are adapting more flexible, smart and agile ways of working, which are transforming workplaces everywhere. Without the constraints of a specific place, time and paper, businesses and employees are faced with a newfound freedom to work more flexibly.

Aided by cloud computing, Wi-Fi, mobile technology and Skype, telecommuting is escalating at prolific levels. And companies seem keen to jump on the flexible, remote working bandwagon. According to an annual survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource management, businesses are planning to offer employees a telecommuting option over any other new benefit in 2014.

Within the new flexible working spectre, the need for traditional fixed workstations is diminishing. As a consequence, many companies are currently reviewing their office space. Testament of the contemporary decline for ‘conventional’ working environments are statistics pulled together by Spectrum. Private offices are now unoccupied 77% of the time and traditional workstations are empty for 60% of the time, states Spectrum.

The workspace trend.

Co-working centres give professionals a desk to work on close to others who may have similar or complementary skill sets. Instead of being cooped up alone in home offices or battling for a seat with consumers at Starbucks, strangers can sit next to each other and, if they wish, bond as colleagues. Without having to pay out money for an entire office.

The data and evidence involving changing working practices speaks for itself, but a fundamental question remains comparatively unanswered: Does co-working and flexibility increase productivity?

I have seen flexible workspace pop up on the tv a couple of times this year. I saw this in House of Cards.

flexible working space in the media

co-working space in the media

The contrast in work ethic within each company shown was enhanced by the space. The traditional office came across as stale, whereas the second was young and inspirational. As the viewer, I was totally on board with the exciting new prospect of flexible work space and the freedom that comes with it.

What are the real benefits of co-working?

  • Worker output

In 1985, approximately 30% of a worker’s output depended on working with others. By 2010, this figure had risen to a phenomenal 80%, recent research testifies. It is widely acknowledged that good teamwork produces productive ideas.

  • Increased self-confidence

Being surrounded by a supportive community, with whom, unlike colleagues, workers voluntarily form a relationship, a large segment of workers working in the community report an increase in self-confidence. This ‘healthy’ working environment is a long way from the bullying and intense office politics that often go on in traditional places of work.

  • A self-directed way of working

Deskmag carried out a survey and found that 70% said they feel ‘healthier’ than working in a traditional office. A more self-directed and self-managed way of work, including choosing your own hours and people you collaborate with, has been cited as being responsible for such improvements.

  • And then there’s the commute

Common sense prevails that if you are driving for a significant amount of time each day, you are not optimising the productivity of your working day. Not only is spending time travelling to work essentially ‘dead time’, but it can also cause stress, particularly in rush hour traffic. The Deskmag survey found that co-workers deliberately choose working centres located not too far from home. With an average commute of about 20 minutes, precious time is not lost through hefty commutes, stress levels are reduced and again, working morale and self-confidence improve.

  • Case study: Google unleashes creativity with flexible working patterns

Far from being a trend of freelancers, work-from-home mums and SMEs, many large multinational corporations are executing more flexible working practices. When it comes to multinational corporations, they don’t come much larger than Google. The American corporation recently set up a 20 percent program in which Google developers get to spend 20 percent of their working day on ‘side projects’. These side projects don’t even have to be productive, and can include playing pool, jogging, etc.. Ironically, Google’s ’20 percent time’ has proved, according to ABC News, to be some of the most productive time spent at the company.

“Just about all the good ideas here at Google have bubbled up from 20 percent time, or something like 20 percent time, where people have their own idea and run with it,” Alec Proudfoot, an engineer at Google who founded the 20 percent time concept, told ABC News.

The success of the Google 20 percent factor is evidence of how rethinking company time and giving workers greater freedom and flexibility pays off.

  • Motivation through rewards

What motivates productivity? In the golden age of digital technology we are now firmly entrenched in, fostering creativity and encouraging employees to ‘think outside the box’ is essential to a company’s success. Workers need to be motivated through rewards. Being given the freedom, power and ‘trust’ to work flexibly, in their preferred chosen setting and to their own time-scales, is likely to see employees more willing to give something back in return – namely working more productively, creatively and harder. Such is the power of flexible working patterns.

Conclusion

There are more and more studies into the benefits of flexible space, which is primarily rooted in the attitude of employers. Showing more often that ownership is a bigger motivator than money can obviously be translated into any work environment. It is the attitude of the company. An employee deciding the way they use their time is a completely logical way to work (if you have the right staff). If I need a sofa to read for a day, it might be more productive for me than trying to force out some work that would come naturally after some inspiration.

It would be impractical for a lot of companies now to switch fully, but it is a great option for a lot of businesses. The relationship between employees and employers, and the way we work, will have to change. You may come into a flexible working environment and continue the 9-5 at a desk, that is the beauty of a flexible space, however, you may not. I am excited about the development of work culture, where productivity or creativity may be the new currency instead of time spent in the office. Workspaces should be platforms built to enhance productivity, to give empowerment to employees and to give the practicality and support of a community.

If you want to know the difference between co-working and hot desking, check out our blog on it here.

 If you want to know more about co-working in Leeds or Harrogate, give us a call on  0113 385 4755

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on flexibility and productivity? Do you have any positive/negative experiences? We’d love to know your thoughts.