Do you work in a shared office or considering moving into a collaborative working space? Here are our tips on how to influence change in such an environment.
It’s a great sign when your business is growing at a rate that you can jump ship from your living room to a new premises. For many entrepreneurs, the next stage in the evolution is to secure a place in a shared work place or co-operative environment.
The flexibility offered by a shared office space brings with it its own unique challenges, most of which can be navigated and negotiated with these helpful tips.
Have a Voice
The positives are plentiful in a shared workspace. The communications infrastructure is installed and ready to go, the management ensure the premises are cleaned regularly and most importantly the costs are lower than if you managed your own space. The dynamic nature of collaborative spaces can bring some problems with them, but if you form a committee with the other stakeholders that can interact with the management, you can easily tackle some of these problems that could occur.
ICT Infrastructure
Broadband is the new running water of business must-haves and thankfully, in a shared space it’s usually up and running from day one.
One of the issues that can pop up is that one of the businesses complains that the internet bandwidth and speed are inadequate for their operations.
The Solution:
If it’s your business that is being impacted by this issue, research alternative solutions and their costs and present them to the other stakeholders. If the cost is higher than what is in place currently and could lead to the other shared businesses paying more in rent, be sure to have some points on how it would benefit all the businesses together. If everyone agrees on the new solution, present it to the manager of the shared space and discuss timelines for the service to be upgraded.
This process can also be applied to adding client facing services to the office. This might include services like business TV for waiting clients, or for workers who need to keep an eye on financial news channels.
Working with Different Industry Types
The blend of different business types working together is one of the most exciting elements of working in a shared space and also, one of the most testing.
Representatives from web development start-ups, PR companies, non-profits and more all working in the same place can lead to noise pollution, especially if some jobs require a lot of ‘on the phone’ time.
The Solution:
Before you commit to one collaborative working space, shop around and see which ones are available to you. Depending on your budget, you might be able to source a spot that has workstations broken into separate offices. This means that you can still engage with your fellow inhabitants in the social areas without being distracted by cross talk when you’re trying to work.
Uplifting Roots
Imagine for a moment the dream scenario of a tech start-up. Your business gets coverage, discovered, then funded and suddenly you need to relocate your operations. This is one of those “good kinds of problems” but relocating can cause some trouble in the short term.
The Solution:
Go with an international provider such as Regus that has office space for hire in multiple jurisdictions, which will give you the flexibility to setup your operations in a new city and in a familiar working environment. It’s like staying with an international hotel chain, it’s about waking up in the same bed in a different country.
Is a Shared Space for Me?
You might be ready to take your business venture out of the garage but sometimes a shared office space is not the right the fit for your enterprise. It could be worth waiting until your company has grown to such a size that you can afford your own premises.
The Solution:
As a result of the competitive nature of the shared office space industry, many companies are diversifying their offerings and allowing customers to rent an office by the day, week or month. Give the space a trial for a week and see if it’s a good fit. If it’s not, no harm done. If the best option for you is to have your own office space you can investigate some of the best assistance schemes for start-ups and SMEs that could help you get started.
Entertaining Clients
As you might imagine, a shared office space isn’t always the ideal setting to meet clients. Certain shared spaces will have a conference room that you book on a timesheet, but it might be difficult to organise your cohabitants to have their ‘best client face’ on at all times. Different dress codes, cross chat and other aspects of the shared melting pot mightn’t always appeal to visiting clients, while others might find the experience energising.
The Solution:
If you need to host a client, while you’re still in small office or home office, consider renting a conference room in a hotel or conference centre. You will have the benefits of internet, a projector, tables and chairs, refreshments and the privacy you and your client require.
Staying Informed of Management Plans
If you’re not going through a shared office space agency, but have banded some like-minded individuals together to setup your own joint space, remember your responsibilities will increase.
The Solution:
Draw up a list of different responsibilities that you think could occur such as paying utilities, arranging insurance, organising for the office to be cleaned etc. Divvy up these tasks among your fellow workers so that no-one is left with a pile of duties that interfere with their personal workloads.
Hold regular meetings with the owners of the building, flagging any concerns regarding the building’s physical infrastructure or ICT services.
It’s important to know your legal rights and the details of your lease agreement inside out. Get a good understanding of how rent reviews work, know causes for eviction and the length of notice the building owner is required to give you in any event. There’s nothing worse than finding a dream space only for the building to be sold and your business interrupted in the process.
Visit the Virgin Media Business Blog to stay up the date on the latest industry trends affecting the Irish business landscape.