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.

http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/which-office-space-better-cubicles-or-open-plan

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.

Leading Tech Parks List in Bangalore-2018

Bangalore is among world’s top technology rich cities and also the IT Capital of India. Due to adopting the new technologies as per the time and requirements, Bangalore is growing with the new trends. The leading IT hubs of the Bangalore

Electronic City is one of the India’s largest electronic/IT industries Park. Surrounded from Konappanna Agrahara and doddathogur villages in Bangalore covers20lak sqft , It is Multi user integrated business park. Around 800 acres (3.2 km² )

Bagmane Tech Park is a software technological park in India. This park is situated at CV Raman 

Nagar in Bangalore, built up and maintained by Bagmane group. It’s near to HAL Airport

Manyata Tech Park is also a software technology park in Bangalore. Located in Nagawara (near hebbal) on Outer Ring Road and covered 9.8 million sqft.

International tech Park also known as ITPB, commonly called as ITPL, located in Whitefield. ITPB is the icon of India’s IT success story. It is covering 2 million sq. ft.  With 45 leading IT and ITES companies.

Ecospace Business Park located in Ecospace Bangalore built up in 20 acres approximately

Global Village Tech Park situated in Rajarajeshwari nagar of Mysore Road, behind R.V College of Engineering. The park is spread over 120 acres and known as software Technology Park in Bangalore.

Embassy GolfLinks Business Park is one of the largest IT specific and award winning campus Business Park in Bangalore, located in between Koramangala and Indiranagar in Bangalore  

Embassy Tech Village earlier known as Vrindavan Tech Village. Area served 1.9 million sqft , located in Devarabeesanahalli Bellandur

Prestige Tech Park

RMZ Infinity is a unique project on Old Madras Road located between CBD and Whitefield by providing good quality Office to corporates  

This above Tech parks list made Bangalore to stand in the world’s top 10 Global Startup hubs list. Not only the Tech park list but also the new startup list founding monthly 22-30 as per the survey.

Having the best Office Space with good environment is the sign of business growth and it will help to build brand awareness for business. Search Office space at Commercial Office Bangalore Company for quality office spaces in Bangalore with affordable prices and plenty of offers.

Subleasing You Office Space? Here’s What You Need to Know

http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/subleasing-your-office-space-here%E2%80%99s-what-you-need-know

Subleasing Your Office Space? Here’s What You Need to Know

Subleasing or subletting is nothing but leasing the part or whole of the property by you as a tenant to a sub-tenant!

But why would one want to sublease the office space?

Well, there are many reasons why a business owner thinks of subletting his/her office space to other businesses. Here are a few.

1. Outgrowth: When the number of employees outgrows the office space, they can’t just cut down the employees just because there’s no enough space to accommodate them. They can’t break the lease term either and move into a larger office space. So what can they do in such a case? Simple, sublease! They can simply sublet their space to any other business and move in to a large office space that can accommodate all their employees.

2. Relocation: The Company may want to relocate to a different place to avail the tax benefits or to be closer to the customers or business partners, and if the lease term is still in force, the company might think of subletting the space.

3. Downsize: Third and most common reason for businesses to think of subleasing is the downsized company. The company will have to lay off a few employees because of the poor economic conditions. This leaves a few empty places at the office which makes them think of subleasing.

So, if at all you’ve made your mind to sublease your office space, here’s what you need to know.

Determine if you’re allowed to sublet

First thing you need to make sure as and when you decide to sublease the office space is to determine if you’re allowed to do so. All the lease terms will have a separate clause for sublease if you are allowed to let your leased property to a sub tenant.

However, few specific lease clauses may restrict you for a particular space (up to certain sq. ft.) to be subleased, going beyond which the landlord will have complete rights to recapture the unused space (Right of recapture) and lease it out directly. So, you need to check with landlord about their intention to recapture before subleasing your space.

Decide on the rent to charge

You might have been thinking to charge the same rent as you’re paying to the space, but you need to understand the fact that you can’t expect the same rents as the subtenants bargain a lot. However, in some cases where the office space is at a premium and you’re in a position to charge more than what you are paying, you need to be aware that you may have to share the rent with your landlord.

Check the lease terms to see if there’s any clause that says you’ll have to split the rent if you exceed the amount of what you’re paying as rent to that space. You also have to see the percentage of rent you need to share with the landlord.

Finalize the arrangement of space

While subleasing your office space to some other business, you’ll have to make some changes accordingly to suit the space to accommodate a subtenant. This clearly depends on the amount of space you are planning to sublease.

For instance, if you are planning to rent out a part of your office space, you may have to put a barrier to give subtenants the access to hallway. And, if you want to sublet the whole office space, you need to think of altering the space according to the needs and necessities of the subtenants. But you’ll have to take permission from the landlord to make any changes on the space.

However, it’s always good to work with an experienced commercial real estate agent while subleasing instead of doing it all alone as they know all the sublease terms and clauses well.

Commercial Office Bangalore is one such property management firm that can help you with all your commercial real estate requirements. Just get in touch with us if you’re planning to sublease a part of your office space and let us know the area you want to rent out. We’ll take care of the rest and help you find a potential tenant for your office space.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When You Are in Search of Office Space

http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/5-mistakes-avoid-when-you-are-search-office-space

It is human tendency and we are all bound to make mistakes. But simple mistakes in a business can cost you a lot that sometimes you’ll not be able to recover from the loss. Finding the right office space is a crucial time where the business owner has to make the move carefully to avoid costly mistakes.

Here we’ve discussed 5 common mistakes business owners do while searching for office space, avoiding which can put them in an ideal office space that exactly suits their business.

1. Exploring less

One of the best ways to find a suitable office space for your business is to explore more. Most common mistake the entrepreneurs do is that they stick to a specific type of space and forget considering other spaces available in the vast market. This can often make you pay more than the amount the space is worth for.

More you explore more spaces you can find, and more will be the shortlists. You’ll have that leverage to negotiate well on the deal as you’ll have an idea about the market; so definitely you’ll be in a better position when it comes to negotiation (both on terms and price).

2. Miscalculation

Miscalculating the company growth is one of the main reasons that most of the companies these days are wasting their office space, or cramping their employees in a congested space.

How does it happen?

It’s quite obvious that when you are looking for a new office space, you’ll certainly have to consider your company growth as you may have to add few more employees to the company in future.

Calculating it without a proper base leads to such mishaps where you end up in a larger office space than you actually need. It’s simply waste of space, and you’ll have to think of subleasing it.

Always bear in mind that the ideal space for an employee at the workplace is 100 sq. ft. You have to correctly calculate the space needed for your employees considering the company growth.

3. Misunderstanding the cost

What you see is not what you pay!

Yes, office space excites business owners so much that they don’t bother to correctly understand the costs associated with the space. They just look at the rent and think that’s all they have to pay, but that’s not the case.

When you are moving into a new office space, you must also consider the extra costs like utilities, amenities, maintenance costs including which the total cost looks different. You have to be extra careful when you are renting the space in an old building, as these extra costs build up fast in older buildings.

4. Overestimating your capabilities

Leasing or renting an office space is lot more than just picking a space and setting up your business there. You’ll have to think about the designers, brokers, office planners who can help you with their prospects and settle you up in the best place.

You can’t do everything on your own. As you think, office space designing is not just picking the things that look cool; it’s something more that needs proper understanding. Also the real estate agents; they know the market better than you and they’ll help you find an ideal office space.

Decide your capabilities realistically, so that the chances of you getting into the right office space will be more.

5. Inflexibility

Instead of being stubborn with the location by just going with the impression of others, it’s always good to define the traits you want to have in your office space. Every business owner office space expects the office space to be close to transit, in a popular area, good for parking, and that’s common.

You can definitely make your decision by considering all these factors, but being stubborn with a single location makes you miss the chance of getting into a better office space in other locations.

How to Save Money while Leasing/Renting an Office Space?

How to Save Money while Leasing/Renting an Office Space? http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/how-save-money-while-leasingrenting-office-space How to Save Money while Leasing/Renting an Office Space? Budget is one of the major constraints for most of the business owners when they start looking for office spaces. If not the constraint, at least a thing they consider. Especially for the start-ups, when the business starts showing some growth, the owners think of expanding their business. But they do need to understand that it’s the phase where they have to be very careful, because they are now the start-ups and still have long way to go. As a business owner, you need to think of how and where can you save your money while getting into a new office space. You should never leave a single way that can help you save some money. Here are a few such ways through which you can save money while getting into an office space. 1. Explore furnished office to its fullest While you have lots of furnished and unfurnished offices spaces available in the market, unfurnished or bare shell office spaces may attract you because of its low cost, but the fact is that they cost you more than furnished office spaces if you consider the customizations to be made on the space. But in furnished office spaces, you’ll have everything like the infrastructure, work floor, furnishings, and other things set before getting into the space. You’ll just have to step in and start your operations. This saves you a significant amount of money. 2. Consider negotiating and renegotiating In the present era, where the vacancy level of office spaces is getting increased, you need to understand that it’s the apt time for you to negotiate on the lease or rent as much as possible, because you will be in the winning edge. Always keep in mind that you can always save a fraction of your money over a good negotiation; it’s just that the negotiation must be convincing rather than asking a space for an unfair price. However if you think you can’t negotiate on the rent or lease, you can always ask the landlord for the services that are not included (like the building maintenance and security) for which you’ll have to pay otherwise. This would at least reduce your financial burden to some extent. 3. Minimize the workforce There are companies that have more number of employees than they actually require. This is just waste of resources and capital; you’ll just have to pay for the resources even when they are not being utilized to the fullest. Before getting into a new office space, it’s advised to do a thorough analysis on the role and need of your staff, and this can be a great opportunity for you to reduce the cost to company significantly. Have a clear picture of the space needed for the number of employees you want to set up, or else you’ll have to pay rent for the space which is not being used. 4. Rent out your resources when they’re not used This can also be referred to as subletting or subleasing; may it be the extra space or the resources that are left unused. Consider your workstations and the work floor; if you are very sure that you’ll not be working in the weekends, consider renting it out to those who need it for short time. This is definitely a strategy that works out, as there are lots of people who need a temporary space for their operations. This helps you cover your renting cost to some extent; it’s at least better than nothing. Apart from all these things, yet another easy way to save significant amount of money is seeking the help of an experienced real estate agent who can help you find the best, affordable and fully furnished office spaces. Commercial Office Bangalore is one such firm that can help you find the best office spaces and lower your cost.

Buying Space vs. Leasing: Which is better for your Business?

http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/buying-space-vs-leasing-which-better-your-business

It’s a tough decision to make between buying and leasing an office space especially when you are new to business. When your business is growing, you won’t be able to take it forward with just a home office; all that you need is an ideal workspace to carry out your operations. Once you decide to get into an office space, the first question that arises is “whether to buy an office space or to lease?” It’s definitely a question to be thought of.

Your decision must be based on a few key considerations that are thought with respect to your business type. You can also consider taking professional advice in order to understand the legal and financial obligations. Along with these, you will have to consider the factors that would influence the cost to your business. Here are a few points that shed light on the things you need to consider while deciding between leasing and buying an office space.

1. First thing is that, seeing whether the space is in right location for your business. This lets you decide if you can stick on to the space permanently by buying it!
2. If it partially meets your requirements based on location, you can consider leasing it for some period of time, and change the location if it’s not working.
3. If yours is a retail business, check if your distributors and suppliers are nearby; this can save huge delivery costs to the company.
4. Some businesses do rely on the passing trade, if yours is one of them, you will have to consider choosing a vibrant retail hub.

- See more at: http://www.commercialofficebangalore.com/blog/buying-space-vs-leasing-which-better-your-business#sthash.xSz82SBE.dpuf