Finding an office space just the right size for your business is essential for optimal efficiency and profitability.
To run an effective business out of your new office, you must plan how much space you’ll need when you buy or lease. When renting an office space, signing the contract is only the beginning. Plan for the number of people working there and their individual needs for cubicles or offices, a break room, and a reception area. Finding a suitable office space will be much simpler if you see a sample of how many square feet you need per employee. For example, a standard office area should provide each worker with 120 square feet.
You must do your homework when deciding how much office space you need. Costs might skyrocket with either an abundance or a lack of room. Too large or too little space might cause disruptions in your organization, but there are ways to optimize it.
Assessing The Amount Of Space Required
An important question to ask yourself before starting a new workplace is how much room you need. There isn’t a single, definite answer to this topic, but there is some data that can help you as you plan the layout of your workplace.
It’s crucial to provide ample floor space in workplaces so employees can easily navigate to and from their assigned regions. Having enough headroom, square footage, and empty space in each office is crucial for all employees’ health, safety, and well-being.
Each worker needs a space that is at least 120 square feet. This implies that each worker should have a roughly 50 square feet workspace, with the remaining square footage used for filing cabinets, conference rooms, kitchens, hallways, and office machinery.
A square footage range of 80–120 square feet per worker is optimal for productivity and comfort.
Choosing the Right Amount of Office Space
As a first step, you should take stock of where you are now and establish your goals for the company’s development over the following few years. There are a few things you should ask yourself when looking for an office to help you decide how big or little of a place you require. Remember to plan for the company’s eventual expansion.
Consider the length of the lease, the projected growth of your company, the number of employees, and the communal versus personal space needs. If the room is partitioned off for a reception desk, pantry, and management offices, you will need to plan for individual workspaces; nevertheless, you should still plan for future personnel.
You should also pause to consider the following:
- How many employees do I presently have?
- Do workers require their workspaces, or can they share?
- Do I intend to hire new employees soon?
- How long will it take to hire new employees?
- When I expand my team, will they be executives, managers, or salespeople?
If you know the current headcount of your company, you can calculate the square footage required for day-to-day operations, and if you plan for future office fit-out, you can avoid having to move into a larger location too soon.
The quantity of office space required is often calculated based on the expected employee headcount and the type of business being run. Typically, an office needs between 150 and 350 square feet per worker. That range gets more specific when considering the space required to house your company.
How Business Type Factors In
The open space concept, which has no private offices, is at the bottom end of the scale. Work stations or office desks are arranged in rows and clustered together, as is common in call centers and sales offices. At the top end of the scale is the classic hard wall or private office configuration.
For instance, a law firm could have a combination of private offices, huge conference rooms, and auxiliary spaces like pantries, archives, and file rooms. You must decide if an open floor plan, private offices, or a hybrid is ideal for your company. You’ll be able to make a more precise prediction of the space requirements for the duration of your lease.
For a general estimate of your office space requirements during the planning phase, you might use 250 square feet per employee. As you eliminate unnecessary options and arrange your room, you’ll be able to fine-tune your plan. How much square footage you’ll need depends on more than just the sort of space you rent; things like the building’s floor area, loss factor, and the presence or absence of amenities also play a role.
After deciding on a shortlist of potential locations, a space planner or interior architect may be invaluable in creating the ideal setting for your company. However, if this is your first time looking for office space, a rule of thumb of 250 square feet per employee is a decent place to start.
Don’t Forget About Your Clients
Do you have a high volume of visitors or anticipate a high volume of guests for your business? Then you must factor in their needs for office space as well.
For instance, you could want additional desk space or guest chairs. Visitors might include clients and business partners, so be sure you factor them in when planning conference rooms and common spaces.