If you’ve never done this before, it can be daunting knowing where to start.
This guide will walk you through all the different things you should be thinking about and how the process of finding an office works.
But, remember, you can also reach out to Tally Workspace and we’ll take you through the whole process.
We've also turned the guide into a handy infographic, which you'll find at the bottom of this page.
Step 1: What are your deal breakers/non-negotiables?
Maybe send a survey around to get a better understanding of what everyone needs?
We’ve broken down a few of them here:
Disabled access
You may think you’ve found the perfect office for your team, but if it's on the 3rd floor of a building which has no lift access, then you need to think again.
This should be one of your non-negotiables when searching for a new office space.
Make sure your broker is aware of this so you can filter out any offices that aren’t suitable before you even get to the viewing stage.
Bike storage
Usually, alongside bike storage, there will also be showers (and if you’re really lucky a towel service too).
If there isn’t bike storage then it is always worth considering, do you have room for bike racks within your private space?
If not, then back to the drawing board to find a space that does!
Meeting rooms
It’s important to figure out how many meeting rooms you require, the size of them, as well as whether they need to be private or just available to book within the building.
Many of the providers will even include credits that you can use to book their meeting rooms.
However, with others, you’ll be required to pay every time.
If you think you’ll be heavily relying on booking communal meeting rooms, make sure you have either factored this into your monthly budget or selected a space that is generous with their meeting room credit allowance.
- Natural light
- Phone booths
- Manned reception
- Dog friendly
You can let your broker know so they only send you spaces that match these requirements exactly.
But it’s worth working out what these deal breakers are from the start so you don’t waste time considering offices that will never work for your team.
Step 2: Work out your budget
There are amazing office spaces out there with everything from free bars to access to Pelotons to climbing walls — but before you (or members of your team) start looking at offices (and getting over-excited) it's worth really thinking about how much you are willing to spend.
Whilst the average price in Manchester is £350 and in Glasgow is £300.
What if we can’t afford an office?
If you’re coming to us with a tight budget-to-desk ratio, we’ll suggest perhaps you look at different areas etc.
Feel free to contact a member of our team if this is the case, as whilst the office of your dreams might be unaffordable, the team at Tally Workspace can help you find a cheaper solution whether that be an office on a discounted deal or an alternative solution such as a part time office or access to coworking space.
A 60 desk office for £10k per month? Wow, sign us up!
But, please ask what this includes? For serviced office providers (the WeWorks and TOGs of the world), the price you see is all inclusive of just about everything you can think of.
Your rent, rates, service charge, utilities, WiFi, tea, coffee, mail handling etc is all factored into one monthly cost.
With other providers, this isn’t always the case.
You'll have to organise and pay all of these on top of the rent (which is usually the only cost advertised to you).
Step 3: How many desks and meeting rooms?
Desks
- Are you going to have fixed desks for everyone in the team? i.e team members who come in everyday
- How often do team members come in?
- Is your team growing and if so, at what rate?
Nine times out of ten requirements change as you go along, so just embrace this and keep an open dialogue with your broker.
If you’ve found a good one they’ll be ready and waiting to adapt the search for you as your requirements change.
Space for meetings and calls
People find it much harder to take calls in shared space having got accustomed to the silence of home working, so it’s worth bearing this in mind.
Phone booths
There are loads of amazing phone booh companies out there.
We like Room as they come Ikea-style, flat packed and easy to build.
Once you move again at the end of your tenancy, they can be easily taken down, brought with you and popped back up again in your new space.
Brand new, typically, you’ll be looking at ~£4k for a decent, soundproofed and well-ventilated booth.
Meeting rooms
Some providers will have vacant offices with internal meeting rooms already in place, which is more common for larger spaces.
However these typically don’t come soundproofed as standard (we’ll always do a test for this on viewings) and it can be costly to add this in.
So keep this in mind for confidential conversations, you might always want to have another room external to your office for this.
Here are a few things you can do:
Well, all of the providers can facilitate adding meeting rooms in for you.
Depending on what you want (glass or stud wall etc) will determine how much it costs.
We’ve seen quotes for £30k plus so just bear this in mind!
This cost will either be paid up front or spread out across your agreement and added on top of the monthly agreed price.
What you're allowed to do will depend on the provider.
Tally Workspace can advise you on the specifics for each provider and will also be there to make sure you’re getting a fair deal.
If you’re taking on two spaces at the same time, you’re also coming in strong from a negotiation standpoint!
Meeting room pods
These will probably cost you the same amount as having one built into the space but remember, they can be taken down and brought to all your future spaces as well.
What square footage does your office space need to be?
Or check out this full article on how to decide how much office space you need.
Step 4: Determine your location
Everyone is used to their commutes and you have your favourite local that you head to every Thursday.
Your team’s preference may be next to a convenient, central station but this could significantly impact your budget.
Send us a list of your team's postcode areas and we’ll send you a list of the best locations.
Step 5: Understand your team’s “vibe”
Do you want something super sleek and impressive for clients?
Are you after a more industrial feel (think lots of exposed brickwork and open ceilings)?
Or are you after somewhere super sociable and communal like a WeWork?
This is something we keep at the forefront of our minds when searching for suitable spaces for you!
An office in Shoreditch is going to have a very different vibe to one over in Mayfair.
Step 6: Decide who will be involved in the decision-making process
Having too many people involved makes the whole process messy and more time-consuming.
You can’t ever please everyone, so don’t try to!
For larger teams, we would recommend having only the senior leadership team involved with one person delegated to take charge of the project.
The final decision maker(s) should always be involved from the very start.
Step 7: Work out your timeline
Work out with your team if there is a hard deadline for when you want to move into the office as this could impact which offices are a suitable match for you.
However, we would recommend at least one month and no longer than three months to conduct the search.
This way you can be sure you have seen everything available to you.
Lead times for furniture can be anything up to 12 weeks just now and that only gets ordered once everything is signed and the deposit has been paid.
Getting to this point can often involve considerable back and forth and legal work so there needs to be a bit of leeway factored in.
Step 8: Produce a long list
Whilst you can search online and find millions of options, we typically find this can be a frustrating process with offices advertised no longer available, incorrectly priced or not responsive to enquiries (or the opposite and you’ll find yourself being hounded for weeks).
We have a huge database and long-established relationships with offices across the UK which we are constantly updating.
We’ll produce a long list with you and then walk you through the advantages and disadvantages of the different spaces and which we believe will be best suited to your team based on what you have told us as well as our knowledge of the different spaces.
Produce a shortlist
We recommend doing this with the key decision makers involved as we often find that in this process you start to see where the real priorities for the company lie and where there are disagreements.
Visit 2-5 offices
Again, if possible, it's worth getting decision-makers along at this stage so as not to waste anyone’s time.
We advise blocking out either a morning or afternoon to see all the spaces you have shortlisted.
Seeing more than 5 at once is a pretty bad idea, as they can all blend into one and you want to remain as objective as possible throughout this process.
We’ll make sure all the important questions are being asked and keep everything running on time.
Next steps
Now, we’ll negotiate on your behalf to secure you the best deal possible.
Typically, we will negotiate a 10-20% discount on all our deals or arrange for other things to be thrown in for you (anything from a month free, some phone booths or extra meeting room credits).
Until this is finalised, someone can technically come along and ‘steal’ the space you’re interested in.
We keep an eye out for these things for you and make sure you can secure the space you want.
Well, there you have it.
The complete step-by-step guide for how to find an office.
By now, you've probably realised that there's quite a lot involved, so if you're interested in finding out if the office experts at Tally Workspace can help, then you can enquire here.
Alternatively, find out more about our fee-free service here.
You can download the printable designed version of the guide for free here.
And finally, here is our handy infographic.
You can save this and refer back to it as you go through the process...