Tuesday 10 April 2018

Which Office Space Is Better: Cubicles or Open Plan?

If chosen correctly, your office space can boost creativity and productivity.  It can be detrimental to the office morale if not chosen wisely. One of the most important questions while choosing an office space is old fashioned Cubicles or new open Office Plan? Which is better?
Open office spaces are getting popular for few years and cubicles are slowly disappearing from the workplaces. The reason given for this switch is the ability of open offices to have better collaboration between employees.  But every office types have their advantages and disadvantages. 
Let us compare the Cubicles with Open Plan office spaces to find out which works best for a business:

Open Office Spaces

Open plan for offices is quite popular these days. Open offices need less space per employee, so it’s quite cost effective. Practically every employee in the same room brings everyone together to collaborate easily
Open office spaces are often seen as modern layout and claimed to have favored modern businesses but it’s not true in every situation. If your office needs more creative works then open plan might be a boon. It’s best in encouraging communication. Employees can discuss creative ideas with each other very easily.  
But Open offices are a failure if more of your employees are introvert. Every employee might not like the idea of working on long open desks. It simply lacks privacy, which in turn could decrease productivity. If your business needs more private discussions and meeting then open office might work as a disaster for you.  
Noise can be an issue too in open plan office spaces. You have to be very careful in implementing policies like uses of headphones etc. Few employees might not be able to talk to clients comfortably in open offices.
It’s super easy to communicate via e-mails, chats, and phones these days but an open office plan promotes a lot of face to face communication. But it can be a reason to inter-office tensions too on very trivial issues like AC, curtains up or down etc.

Cubicles

Cubicles exist in offices for decades. It’s an office setup where people are assigned a small but cramped space of their own to work. This system gives an illusion of having your private office at the workplace. It works best for employee’s privacy. Cubicles are known to make employees feel better about them and their workplaces. It gives a personal space, computer, phone desk etc to employees.
Employees just feel good working in silence and it enhances their productivity too. Office spaces are really important for your employees because they have to spend at least one-third of their day in offices. So it’s better to have their own space where they can work peacefully.
With cubicles, there are few shortcomings too. Some employees might feel they are stuck with cramped spaces in cubicles. It can be hard for an extrovert person to sit in a cubicle and work. Many types of research and studies concluded that people working in cubicles are less creative than open office employees.
Cubicles are a bit costly too. You can accommodate more employees in the same area of open office plan than cubicles setup. Office collaboration is also an issue with cubicle setups.

Which is better - Cubicles or Open Office Plan?

Different office setup works for different people. It’s quite obvious from the above points that both kinds of offices have their pros and cons.  So this debate about open office plan vs cubicles, which is better, seems to have no simple answer.
Both are right and wrong in their own ways. It all depends on the business types and employees. As a business owner or facility manager, you have to analyze every aspect of your business and employees before deciding on one.
There can be a hybrid office setup too. In this kind of workplace you can have few cubicles and rest of the open office setup. Employees who need creative workplaces can sit in open planned spaces and privacy-seeking and peace loving employees can take cubicles. It can be a win-win situation for all.
If finding an office space on rent is your concern, Commercial Office Bangalore can help you. We provide commercial real estate services and helps business owners and facility managers to get great office spaces for rent in Bangalore. Contact us today and let us know your requirements.

Wednesday 4 April 2018

How Do You Choose the Right Commercial Real Estate Agent?



What are things you would consider when you are planning to lease or rent a commercial property?
Location, size, design, cost, infrastructure and a great environment!
Is that all?
Didn’t you miss the most important thing that can help you achieve all these?
Wondering what?
It’s nothing but the right commercial real estate agent who can help you find an ideal property that suits your business requirements. Don’t you think so? Choosing the right real estate agent can almost eliminate your need to worry about other things mentioned above, as they make it their sole responsibility and put you up in an ideal commercial place. But how do you choose the right one for you?
Here are a few things you can consider.
1. Experience does matter
Whichever might be the field, one would give the best when he/she knows the field well. Same is the case of real estate agents; just see for how long they’ve been in the field of real estate.
Of course, there are a few firms who have been in the part-time real estate business. You must be able to find the difference between a part-time and a full time real estate agent, as the part-time agents might not be able to provide you the service that a full time real estate agent can render you.
2. Which geographical areas can they handle?
What’s the use of choosing an agent who operates in Delhi, when you are looking out for an office space in Bangalore?
Is there any use?
Just because they are popular in one particular area, it doesn’t mean they can give you best anywhere in the world. You need to know their boundaries out of which they can’t perform well. You need to make sure that the agent is knowledgeable about the area in which you are planning to lease or rent a commercial space.
3. Word of mouth
This is one of the easiest ways to find the right agent as no other sources can be trusted as much as we can trust the word of mouth. People mention something only when it’s worth mentioning. It’s not really easy to reach that state of people talking about an agency, but if they are doing, it’s probably because of their service.
In today’s digital world, the branding is something we can trust upon as it’s similar to word of mouth. You need to check if the agent has good web presence and brand value.
4. Whom do they represent?
It’s really important for you to know whom does the agent normally represent. It’s quite obvious that the agents always try to be in favour of whom they are representing.
If you are the buyer, make sure that the agent represents you in the transaction being in favour of you. It’s not really acceptable that a real estate agent can be unbiased in a transaction while representing both the parties.
5. Talk to their previous clients
Along with the interviewing of potential real estate agents, you can also talk to their previous clients for reference. They in fact can give you a clear picture of how useful or useless the agent can be for you. By doing this, you can also have an idea of how much they would charge you as commission to find a commercial space in your preferred location.
Testimonials on their website can also help you understand the credibility of a service provider. However, the testimonials might not be genuine always, so you need to check the authenticity in your own ways.
These are a few tips for you to choose the right commercial real estate agent to find an ideal office space for you. Commercial Office Bangalore is one such property management firm with several years of experience in real estate. Our professionals understand your business requirements clearly and help you find the best office space that suits your business type.