Office Space Options: Managed Office Space
The following is the fourth in our series focusing on providing information on the various types of office space available, from business parks to hot desking and project space, business incubators, conventional office accommodation to shared co-working options.
For a personalized office without purchasing an office building or committing to a long term lease, consider a Managed Office Space.
Perhaps you’ve seen those signs in the business district Leasing: will build to suit. Those signs are symbolic of the benefits of a managed office space. Managed offices are not cookie-cutter offices. A managed office space can be built to suit, can be designed to meet the specific needs of your business.
Aren’t Managed Offices the same as Serviced Offices?
Like serviced offices, managed offices are typically rented fully furnished and equipped for immediate occupation. Also like a serviced office, a managed office space is rented on pay as you go type flexible terms. Unlike a serviced office, managed offices are usually not located in the uptown glass tower high rise office structure. They are generally located in smaller buildings and in buildings with more personality.
There are two key differences between a serviced office and a managed office: location and branding and clerical services.
Branding
Managed offices are not attached to the brand of the office building they are open to your own branding. A managed office is tailored to your specifications, with your branding and your workspace requirements. Frequently managed office providers will handling the entire office set-up for you. Some of the processes handled by the provider are decorating and design requirements; tailoring the space to your needs; procuring of furniture, IT, communications systems; managing the IT and communications maintenance; and, if needed, locating the ideal building and negotiating the lease for the space. Ideally, the managed office provider finds and creates for you the exact vision you have for your business.
While the office space providers will strive to give you exactly the work space your business needs, they may not be able to offer pay-as-you-go meeting space rentals, as found in serviced offices. If you anticipate needing a meeting space on a regular basis, you should include it in your space requirements.
Using a managed office provider frees you from these tasks, allowing you to devote your energies to your business.
Clerical services
Serviced offices usually provide an onsite receptionist service. This generally means that there is a single reception area in the building, or on a floor of a building, where the receptionist answers calls and directs visitors for all of the businesses located there.
Managed office providers, since they are dedicated to representing your business, and not their own, usually do not offer such a receptionist service. They also typically do not offer clerical support, such as copying and faxing. These support services are the responsibility of your business. You can have your own receptionist, dedicated entirely to your business, in your own workspace, with your own branding.
Why managed offices work
The success of managed offices stems directly from the personalization of the service they provide. Managed offices allow you, as the business owner, to pay one fee for multiple included services. This allows you to maintain the integrity of your brand and, more importantly, devote your time and energy to the actual work of your business.
