Are you looking for a new office for your business? Do you want to make sure you have enough office space to keep all of your workers comfortable?
If you’re not sure how much office space per employee you need, keep reading. Explained below is everything you need to know to make the right decision for yourself and your colleagues.
The remote work trend is definitely on the rise across a variety of industries. The majority of workers (68 percent) still get the work done in a traditional office setting, though.
How Much Office Space Is Necessary?
Let’s start with the basics. How do you calculate how much office space you’ll need to run your business?
Square Footage Per Employee
As a general rule of thumb, when you’re looking for office space, it’s best to make sure your office has between 150 and 175 square feet for each person working in it. If you have an open office plan, you can get away with a bit less (between 125 and 175 square feet per person).
If you follow this rule, you’ll have enough space for everyone to move around with ease. But you won’t have to worry about paying for a lot of extra space that no one uses.
Meeting Room Size
Remember to think about the size of your conference room, too. You don’t necessarily need a conference room big enough to fit every employee (unless you have a very small start-up company with only a few employees).
In general, your conference room should have one seat for every 10-20 people you employee. The average conference room is about 300 square feet and can fit around 10 people. For most small businesses, this provides plenty of space.
What About Future Growth?
Be sure to think about the future growth of your business when you’re considering what size of office you need to rent or buy, too.
If you anticipate your team doubling in size by the end of the year, for example, you’ll need to account for that when considering the square footage of your desired office.
Be honest with yourself when answering this question. Don’t buy a huge office to accommodate a lot of growth if you’re not actually planning on adding more than a couple of people to your team.
Bonus Tips for Choosing the Right Office Space
Size is one of the most important factors to take into account when choosing an office space. There are plenty of other things to consider, though, including the following:
Location
Think about where your new office space will be located. Is it in an area that’s convenient and easy to access for the majority (if not all) of your employees?
You may not be able to accommodate everyone, but you can at least choose a somewhat central location that works for most of your team members.
Atmosphere
What kind of vibe does the office create? Is it the type of place that will impress your clients and get them interested in working with you? If you anticipate holding many client meetings in the space, try to find an area that won’t put people on edge before they walk in the door.
Price
Of course, you have to think about the price. How much can you afford to spend on office space each month? Look for a place that is in your budget and won’t eat up a huge percentage of your revenue.
Parking
In addition to a convenient location, your employees and clients are also going to want you to choose an office space that has adequate parking. Look for a place that can fit plenty of vehicles and doesn’t require folks to take a hike just to have a meeting with you.
ADA Compliance
Try to find an office that is ADA compliant. Not only are you legally required to do so, but your clients and employees will also appreciate your willingness to think of everyone when choosing a business location.
Hidden Costs
When considering office space, consider potential hidden costs that may come with it. For example, what do the past utility bills look like? Are you going to spend a fortune heating and cooling the place?
Office Space Alternatives to Consider
Maybe you don’t have the funds to buy or rent office space for your business yet. That doesn’t mean you have to huddle with your employees in your basement or commandeer a coffee shop for hours on end, though.
There are plenty of other alternatives you can look into, including the following:
Coworking Spaces
According to the experts at Spare Workspace, coworking spaces can be a great alternative to traditional office setups. This is especially true if you and your employees can work remotely for the most part and only need to come together every once in a while for a meeting.
When choosing a coworking space, make sure it offers a meeting room large enough to fit everyone on your team in with ease.
Virtual Meetings
If you only need to meet every once in a while with your team, or if you all are located far away from each other, consider doing virtual meetings instead. Use Skype or Zoom to chat via video and get caught up without having to arrange a specific place to conduct business.
Incubators
Small business incubators can be a good option, too. They’ll provide you and your team with a comfortable space to get work done at a much lower rate than a traditional office. Keep in mind that they work best for very small teams, though.
How Much Office Space Per Employee Do You Need?
As you can see, there’s a lot of information you need to take into account when figuring out how much office space per employee you need to run your business in the smoothest and most efficient way possible.
Keep this information in mind as you begin shopping around for office space. Whether you rent space in a traditional office building or are looking into alternative office spaces, these tips will help you find the perfect place to run your business.
Do you want to learn more about choosing an appropriate office space or keeping your office running smoothly? If so, check out the Office section of our site today for more tips and tricks.
