When you’re looking for a new workspace for your team, it can get a bit overwhelming, especially with all of the different types of offices for rent in London. All of a sudden, you’re seeing all these terms like managed offices, private serviced offices, serviced offices… (Even more confusingly, those three terms all mean more or less the same thing.)
Essentially, a serviced office is an office space that comes fully equipped with everything you need and is managed by a company that will take care of things like cleaning, energy and internet. But a serviced office can mean so much more than that.
While the definition of serviced office pretty much starts and ends with stuff like bills and maintenance, many entrepreneurs find that a serviced office can mean much more to their business.
From being a space that inspires your team and attracts the right staff and clients to the added simplicity of rolling all your operational overheads into one manageable payment, more and more businesses are turning to serviced office spaces in London as their new HQs.
So to make things easier for you, we’ve put together a rundown of all the things that a serviced office means to different businesses across the capital.
Serviced offices meaning – an office space your team love
Gone are the days when an office meant working eight hours in a grey cubicle and waiting for five o’clock to roll around.
That’s why a lot of serviced offices are stunning spaces that are deliberately designed to inspire. By going beyond just desks and chairs and offering soft furnishings like sofas and armchairs, art, plants and lashings of natural light, these offices are places that you want to work in and inspire you to smash whatever you’re working on.
Some serviced offices also let you put your own stamp on the office. It’s worth checking with your serviced office provider whether you’re allowed to personalise the space first, but a lot will be more than accommodating to your needs.
Being able to decorate and personalise the space with your logo, art, and even a foosball table or a beer fridge can help you create a space that aligns with your brand culture. Plus, having an office space that your team love has been linked to employee happiness and productivity.
Serviced offices meaning – a workspace that encourages collaboration
The old ideas of sectioned off cubicles for employees and rigid structures are slowly disappearing. Rather than chaining people to desks, modern companies give their staff the space to do what they do best by offering meeting rooms, communal facilities and breakout areas.
The best serviced offices have all of these facilities and they’re available at no extra cost. Meeting rooms are perfect for getting people together without disturbing the rest of the office, whether for internal or client meetings (the rooms are designed to wow clients).
Some offices offer communal facilities like fully-equipped kitchens and shower facilities, so whether your team wants to pull longer hours to get that project over the line or hit the gym on their lunch break, they’ll have somewhere to prepare a decent meal and freshen up.