It goes without saying that the business landscape in the UK has experienced a dramatic shift over the years. The rise of dynamic and competitive markets pushed the question of how companies should operate and how their workplace can affect future success in an evolving marketplace. 

Hayley Calland, Business Operations & Strategy Manager from FigFlex Offices, shares her thoughts on the rise of flexible workplaces and what businesses need from their office space in order to succeed.

“The coworking era was born as a solution for freelancers, entrepreneurs and small businesses to rid them of the daunting concept of a permanent and contractual traditional office model. In recent years this demographic has shifted as many businesses of all shapes and sizes seek to create cost efficiencies, streamline operations and base themselves from prime locations.

“Of course for many businesses, traditional offices remain important but what we are seeing is a big shift in dynamic. Businesses either don’t want long-term leases or they want to supplement their long-term leases with flexible satellite offices. Either way, the concept of flexible working continues to evolve and the market needs to respond to keep up with demand.”

A change for the better

“For young and expanding businesses, the ability to move quickly and engage in a dynamic manner is crucial to its success. In traditional office environments this kind of agility just isn’t possible.

“Real estate expenses remain high which puts increasing strain on a business’ outgoing costs and forecasting is therefore trickier to do. As a result, team growth can be stunted causing issues for those firms seeking rapid expansion.

“Flexible workplaces allow companies to reduce their real estate expenses and provide flexibility for ever-changing workforces. With flexible workspaces , space can grow and shrink with team size and provide businesses with the perfect space solution at every step of the journey.

Businesses need contingency

Businesses all have their own individual priorities when it comes to choosing their offices but often accessibility and cost are high up on the list. No matter the considerations a business makes when choosing office space, when it comes to traditional offices, those businesses are making a commitment. Choosing a ten-year lease on an office space can be a hard decision even with the very best future forecasting. The business landscape changes so fast that a long-term lease may not be fit for purpose within just a couple of years.

“By making a more flexible, short-term arrangement available to businesses, flexible office providers are essentially removing obstacles. By doing so, businesses are given more options should they need to quickly move locations, close, expand, shrink or even temporarily pause their lease. Flexible office space does exactly what it says - it removes the rigidity of traditional office space and that can be the difference between a business closing or succeeding.

In 2022, serviced offices are much more than coffee and wifi 

Businesses need much more than just wifi and coffee machines in their coworking spaces. For many individuals, embarking on a new business venture (often on their own) can be daunting and quite isolating. They miss out on the camaraderie and strategic support of having a team around them. In 2022, serviced offices should be plugging this gap for businesses to give them the best chance of success.

For more information and to enquire about FigFlex Offices availability across the UK, please enquire here https://www.figflex.com/enquire-here/