Even with the most careful growth planning, companies sometimes end up in a jam where their space needs temporarily exceed their projections.
“Even customers with a strong vision of the future of their business sometimes alter course. The world changes. And moving to a larger workplace or expanding the current space can’t always happen quickly enough,” says Tom Greubel, Vice President of Leasing for Irvine Company Office. “So working within existing space constraints to house a growing workforce is sometimes a necessity to bridge the gap between a current and future workplace.”
Faced with this challenge, companies have three primary options:
Convert collaboration and conferencing space into workstations
If a company has planned for this contingency, then the office likely has collaboration or lounge spaces that can be converted into workstations. In a pinch, conference rooms can be converted into workstations as well. While the broader impact of removing collaboration and conferencing space may seem undesirable, companies within an amenitized campus can offset the impact with greater utilization of indoor communal areas, Wi-Fi enabled outdoor workspace and conference centers.
Streamline workstation size
In an ideal world, each employee has roughly 225 usable square feet of space allocated to them. However, companies can reasonably bring this number down as low as 125 square feet in an open office by making adjustments to furnishings. While not a permanent solution – studies show densification can hurt productivity and morale – reducing workstation size can be a quick fix until additional workspace becomes ready.
Add interim space
Leasing short-term space to house overflow is an excellent solution for temporary needs, whether that’s bridging the gap between two workplaces or accommodating temporary contractors on a special project. Irvine Company’s ReadyNow spaces can be prepared in as little as 30 days on flexible lease terms, often in the same building where the company is already located. Although the space may not be contiguous with the current office, the entire workforce can stay within a single building without sacrificing workstation size or collaboration space.