What spaces do you need in your office?

In your search for the right office for your company, you should consider in advance what spaces you need in the office. If your employees go mobile, you can choose to reduce the number of workstations. A comprehensive analysis will help you determine how many workstations of what type you need for the new way of working. 

Furnishing the spaces 

If you want to organise the office space optimally for mobile working, as an employer you will have to invest in the design of the spaces. The function of the office is changing into a meeting place. You should therefore pay more attention to furnishing, for example, a team room, meeting room, lounge area and brainstorming room.  

These costs are higher than the costs of furnishing a traditional office, but the investments pay off in the long run. Many modern offices look as if a lot of money has been invested in them. This is especially noticeable in cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Utrecht. In practice, these companies save costs on workstations, because there are fewer functional workstations (desks with equipment) and more meeting places. In this way, they are cheaper than traditional offices with the same number of employees. 

Save costs 

In general, you can reduce the number of workstations by 10-30% when you introduce mobile working. A workplace costs an average of €10,000-€11,000 per year, so if you're smart you can save a lot of money. However, you will need to invest in ICT, such as a wireless network, laptops, smartphones, digital archiving and video conferencing. 

Make a plan 

For companies with thirty or more employees, it is advisable to draw up a 'space plan'. By means of an extensive analysis, you determine which functionalities you need and what the occupancy rate of your office is. For each department, you look at how often your employees come in, what tasks are performed and what functionalities are required. Then you determine how many and which workstations you need. Then you look at how many square metres you need. Based on this information, you can start (re)designing your office. 

Smaller companies can suffice with a less extensive analysis. 

Corporate culture 

The (re)design also depends on the company culture. It is therefore important that the employees are involved in the decision-making process. Make an inventory of how they work and how they want to work. 

Which organisations are attractive? 

Designing the workspace to encourage mobile working is particularly interesting for organisations with more than ten employees. Knowledge organisations (business services), where relatively many employees work outside (e.g. advisers, consultants, accountants) benefit from mobile working and the design of the office environment with different rooms. 

Would you like advice on furnishing your office? Ask our office space specialists! 

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