Maximise your Office Footprint and Make the Office a Smart Space
As companies in Cape town and across South Africa return to the office in their numbers to stay competitive in the age of extreme load shedding, a challenging economy combined with changing employee expectations is putting a premium on a flexible workspace.
If your business is gearing up to buck the trend in 2023 and enjoy a great expansion, one of the best investments you can make is in flexible commercial premises with reliable electricity, and the ability to be transformed over the months and years as your business evolves.
Here are some ways you can ensure flexibility in your workspace, whether you’re a building owner looking to attract future focused tenants or an entrepreneur in search of new commercial premises in Cape Town.
In a rapidly changing business environment, you need an office that moves and flows
The traditional office layout with small rooms and depressing cubicles in contrast to large lobby areas that projected wealth and power back in the 1980s simply isn’t attracting tenants today.
Maximizing floor space means creating an office environment without fixed boundaries and obstacles to movement.
- Ideally, both workspaces and meeting areas should have a basic square layout with smart partitions and movable furniture. This gives office users the ability to re-create the space according to the needs of the activity that’s going on.
- Offices with drywall partitions can easily be renovated to get rid of the claustrophobic small spaces that used to be typical of commercial premises decades ago and free up valuable floor space.
- Old office carpeting, which is an impediment to movable furniture, should be stripped and replaced with tile, wood laminate and other modern materials which look trendy and appealing, and allow chairs and tables on wheels to easily glide over the floor surface.
- Movable partitions fitted with wheels and brake mechanisms can be used to create spaces with varying degrees of privacy and capacity.
Creative uses of office space, like being able to close off part of the workspace for a private meeting and reopen it for a workshop training session, are suddenly not only possible but downright easy with a flexible office layout.
Connectivity is still key with the team back at work
Workers are returning to the office in the age of load shedding but that doesn’t mean that every client will want to have a meeting at the premises.
Even if an entire team is at the office every day of the week, chances are good they’ll still meet with some clients remotely using software like Zoom – especially those based in other cities.
Common areas used for brainstorming, training, and exchanging of ideas may benefit from openness and bright light, but the same conditions don’t always make for a very good Zoom studio.
- A dedicated teleconferencing facility with good lighting that looks good on camera and fast, reliable internet is a must for every Cape Town commercial building that hopes to attract modern tenants.
- When teleconferencing isn’t taking place, the space can serve as a quiet focus area for tasks that require a bit more isolation like accounting and financial analysis, computer programming, or intensive design and creative tasks.
Compact smart spaces: perfect for cost-conscious tenants
The “return to the office” trend is excellent news for building owners. At the same time, it’s important to remember that the economic conditions driving this trend in South Africa – our infrastructure challenges – are also taking a toll on the economy.
Business owners who are looking to secure desirable commercial premises in Cape Town this year will be conscious of the investment they are making and the impact that rental costs can have on the company’s bottom line.
As a result, building and business owners should opt for smaller, well equipped office spaces that provide affordable rental units.
Older office buildings often feature large lobbies, huge reception areas, photocopy rooms bigger than a startup’s entire office, and enormous closed-off boardrooms.
All of that ineffective use of space will need to be renovated to maximise the property’s rental potential. A single outdated office unit could provide modern business facilities to two or three small to medium size enterprises, boosting occupancy rates for a small investment in renovations from the landlord.
Space optimisation: reduce your office footprint to cut costs
So far, we’ve covered the requirements of company owners seeking premises, but as load shedding intensifies self-employed professionals and freelancers may start heading to shared office spaces again to secure a reliable power supply and internet connection.
Meeting room bookings and hot desking – providing workspaces for rent by the hour, half-day, or day – are two sources of cash flow for building owners that may be set to boom in the coming months.
Building owners who assign a generous percentage of their floor space to shared office facilities could find a new market for daily, monthly, and short-term tenants in search of reliable productivity space.
A combination of smart facilities and flexible design will reduce your office footprint, setting desirable commercial buildings in Cape Town apart from the competition this year – and property marketing is the key to matching desirable buildings and dynamic tenants.
Our team brings the best buildings and tenants together in the Cape Peninsula
Whether you’re a building owner looking to market your premises or a dynamic businessperson in search of the ideal office space to support your company’s expansion this year, the Commercial Space team is here to ensure the outcome you’re after.
Contact our area specialists today to chat about your specific requirements.
