A workplace that is specifically designed to support your office’s mission and that is integrated with your organization’s strategic plan
A workplace that serves the needs and work practices of the employees
A workplace that can be quickly and inexpensively adjusted by the user to maximize his or her productivity and satisfaction
A workplace that is comfortable, efficient, and technologically advanced and allows people to accomplish their work in the most efficient way
A workplace that meets your office’s needs and justifies its cost through the benefits gained
A study conducted by Boma, the Building Owners and Managers Association, concludes that 54% of people who co-ordinate an office relocation either quit, transfer or take some sort of leave upon completion of the move.
The key to getting the best deal at the right location is to define and understand your needs and wants at the outset. Discussing these details with key employees, a real estate professional and your space planner will ensure that your needs get met.
There are a variety of issues that should be considered prior to commencing the office location and workplace planning process. Included are a general overview of your business; what that business is and how it is changing; what image or qualities you wish to convey to your customers and employees and what your main hopes and aspirations for the new working environment will be.
In order to have relevant information for workplace planning an overview of the various departments and their functions is crucial. An organizational chart depicting reporting lines and staff grades / numbers can be a great tool at this stage. Be sure to take into account future contraction or growth by department. Also consider departments or individuals who spend a large amount of time away from the office – they may benefit from new design techniques
Consider the need for physical proximity between departments, and from departments to key facilities such as customer-facing meeting rooms. Also take into consideration the need for privacy. for some individuals or departments and the degree thereof. Consider specifically who MUST have enclosed private space.
Specialized equipment considerations include central IT/Comms room, type and size of equipment, power requirements, heat gain, UPS, fire suppression, floor loading, etc. Also consider your requirements for cabling; the number of power / data / comms outlets per person and within key areas.
Working with a good space planner or architect can make the planning process much easier and more successful. The employee responsible for all the moving details and your planner should meet with company managers to determine ideal layouts and work to resolve issues such as location of files, faxes printers and other equipment needed in the office.
Retail, warehouse and other non-office spaces should also be planned prior to any move. Buy-in from your employees for their new space is another key to keeping employees satisfied during the inevitable disruptions. Constant communication is the key.
Once layouts are confirmed, decisions on furniture and cabling are needed several months prior to the relocation. If new furniture and equipment are to be purchased for all or part of the new site, lead times for these items often dictate later schedules. Your cabling for telephones, data and equipment must be designed, ordered and installed to align with furniture installation, if new; or prior to your move, if you are bringing everything from the current site.
Moves, like any other change, are difficult for employees. If the new space is farther than just down the road, your employees need lots of information on the new area. Consider several issues of a newsletter – a formatted publication listing amenities, access, parking and other information specific to the new space. Use upbeat language and graphics to excite them about their new work home.
Just before the move, or the first phase of the move, provide a meeting with graphic presentations of the new layout so that everyone will know where they belong before they arrive. Be prepared to answer many questions.
“Sell” the benefits of the move, the new site, and possible upgrades or improvements that will occur during this transition. After all, if your business has made the financial and legal commitment to move, there are numerous benefits.
These meetings also provide the opportunity to train employees on packing and labeling for their move. A move letter or brief reminders in your move newsletter, detailing this information should follow the meeting, at least a week prior to the move.
A well-planned, successful move is predictable if good communication and employee buy-in are part of your planning and ongoing move strategy. Remember that the success of your move will be determined by all employees, not just the CEO.
| Identify Corporate Culture |
| Open Plan vs. Private Offices / Hoteling / Teaming |
| Inventory of Assets |
Current Furniture and Filing
Viability of re-use (Will existing withstand move / Is it suitable) |
Review Business Plans and Strategic Goals
Research Future Needs |
| 3 / 5 / 10 year growth projections |
Budget and Costs
Identify Wants and Needs (Wish List) |
Best 3 features of current space
Worst 3 features of current space
Most important features
Windows
Special Needs
|
Industry Specific
Company Specific
Employee Specific |
| General Feel |
Spacious or Efficient
Lighting
Quality |
| Reception Area |
Image
# of receptionists
Guest seating (quantity)
Upgrades |
| Work Areas |
Open Plan vs. Private Offices (Qty and Size of each)
Equipment
Special Electrical Needs |
| Filing and Storage |
Consider policy – opportunities for rationalization and archiving
Storage for supplies |
| General Facilities |
Mailroom
Copying and Printing
Goods in / out
Disabled Access |
| Conference and Meeting Rooms |
Sizes / Seating Capacity
Number and locations
Frequency of use
Image
Public / Private
AV aids and teleconferencing |
| Amenities |
Lunch Room
Coffee Bars
Lounge
Rest Rooms / Showers
Recreational facilities (Gym) |
| Parking |
Number on Site
Total Required
Cost |
| Mechanical Systems |
Elevators
HVAC
Off Hours Access / Operation |
| Identity |
Signage
Visibility |
| Image |
Type of Building
Location in Building
Location on Floor
View
Building and Floor Size
Quality of Improvements |
| Security – Building and Neighborhood |
| |
| Set parameters for Location Search |
|
Geographic Location
| Access |
Freeway
Public Transportation
Loading Areas | |
| Lease Options |
Expansion
Extension
Termination
Contraction
First right of refusal on adjacent space |
| Establish Project Schedule |
Occupancy Date
Time Line for Processe |
Before planning of individual workspaces can begin a comprehensive analysis of the existing workspaces should be executed. This analysis will help determine the amount of worksurface, storage and privacy required for each individual or department. The attached individual workstation and departmental questionnaires provide some guidance as to the type of questions to ask to make these space and storage decisions. This information will be invaluable when determining locations and configurations of furniture at the new premises. At the same time, it’s also important to have a clear idea of what the workers who use the space do on a daily basis. Not just that they “process mortgages”, or “write computer programs”, but really understand the work process and how work flows through a company or department. Many projects go awry because companies don’t understand their own organization or don’t devote the necessary time or managers to plan the project before hiring the space planner.
While careful planning and analysis will result in an accurate estimate of the required floor space for the new location, some general rules of thumb have been developed by the industry that will assist somewhat in determining typical requirements for various functions within the workplace. The general rule of thumb is to allow 175 to 250 usable square feet per person depending on the type and style of business. This figure can vary based upon special needs such as extra large conference rooms or storage requirements, but will include normal amenities within a general use office. For an accurate determination of space requirements an office space planner should be consulted. The following standards can be used to help estimate the amount of usable space required for your business.
Typical President' s office or Chairman of the Board
250 to 400 sq. ft. (4 to 5 windows in length)
Typical Vice-President' s Office
150 to 250 sq. ft. (3 to 4 windows in length)
Typical Executive' s Office
100 to 150 sq. ft. (2 widows in length)
Partitioned Open Space
Clerical Supervisor or Manager 80 to 110 sq. ft.
Open Space
Clerical or Secretary 60 to 110 sq. ft.
Conference Rooms
15 sq. ft. per person: theater style
25 to 30 sq. ft. per person: conference seating
Mail Room
8 to 9 ft. wide with 30" counters on either side. Length depends upon amount of usage
Reception Area
125 to 200 sq. ft. Receptionist and 2 - 4 people
200 to 300 sq. ft. Receptionist and 6 - 8 people
File Room
7 sq. ft. per file with a 3' to 4' aisle width
Library
Allow 12" for bookshelf width
175 to 450 sq. ft. with seating for 4 - 6
Lunch Rooms
15 sq. ft. per person, not including kitchen. Kitchen should be 1/3 to 1/2 of seating area
Clerical Pool Areas
80 to 100 sq. ft. per person
Corridors
20% to 30% of the total usable area
Coat Closets
1 lineal ft. for 4 coats 3 per person
Water Coolers/Drinking Fountains
1 unit per 75 employees
Suggested Column Spacing
28' to 30' per bay
Suggested Window Mullion Spacing
4'6" to 5'. This determines office width
Boma, the Building Owners and Managers Association, has created some guidelines for the measurement of floor area in office buildings. The purpose of the Standard Method For Measuring Floor Area in Office Buildings is to permit communication and computation on a clear and understandable basis. The BOMA Standard has been the generally accepted method for measuring office space for many years. It should be noted that this standard can and should be used in measuring office space in old as well as new buildings. It is applicable to any architectural design or type of construction.
| Usable Area |
|
This method measures the actual occupiable area of a floor or an office suite and is of prime interest to a tenant in evaluating the space offered by a landlord and in allocating the space required to house personnel and furniture. The amount of Usable Area on a multi-tenant floor can vary over the life of a building as corridors expand and contract and as floors are remodeled. Usable Area can be converted to Rentable Area by the use of a conversion factor. The Usable Area of an office shall be computed by measuring to the finished surface side of the office side of corridor and other permanent walls, to the center of the partitions that separate the office from adjoining Usable Areas, and to the inside finished surface of the dominant portions of the permanent outer building walls. No deduction shall be made for columns and projections necessary to the building.
The Usable Area of a floor shall be equal to the sum of all Usable Areas on that floor. |
|
Rentable Area |
|
This method measures the tenant's pro-rata portion of the entire office floor, excluding elements of the building that penetrate through the floor to areas below. The Rentable Area of a building is fixed for the life of a building and is not affected by changes in corridor sizes and configuration. This method is therefore recommended for measuring the total income producing area of a building and for use in computing the tenant's pro-rata share of a building for purposes of rent escalation. The Rentable Area of floor area shall be computed by measuring to the inside finished surface of the dominant portions of the permanent outer building walls, excluding any major vertical penetrations of the floor.
No deduction shall be made for columns and projections necessary to the building. The Rentable Area of an office on the floor shall be computed by multiplying the Usable Area of that office by the quotient of the division of the Rentable Area of the floor by the Usable Area of the floor resulting in the R/U Ratio. |
| Load Factor |
The Load Factor is the percentage of space on a floor that is not usable, expressed as percent of Usable Area. It is also known as the Common Area Factor or the Loss Factor. |
| Rentable Area ÷ Usable Area = R/U Ratio |
|
| Load Factor (Load) |
R/U Ratio - 1 |
| Usable Area x R/U Ratio |
Rentable Area |
| Rentable Area ÷ R/U Ratio |
Usable Area |
| Usable Area x (1 + Load) |
Rentable Area |
Finished
Surface:
|
A wall, ceiling, or floor surface, including glass, as prepared for tenant use, excluding the thickness of any special surfacing materials such as paneling, furring strips and carpet. |
Dominant
Portion: |
That portion of the inside finished surface of the permanent outer building wall which is 50% or more of the vertical floor to ceiling dimension measured at the dominant portions. If there is no dominant portion, or if the dominant portion is not vertical, the measurement for area shall be to the inside finished surface of the permanent outer building wall where it intersects the finished floor. |
Major Vertical
Penetrations: |
Stairs, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts, vertical ducts, and the like, and their enclosing walls, which serve more than one floor of the building, but shall not include stairs, dumb-waiters, lifts, and the like, exclusively serving a tenant occupying offices on more than one floor. |
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