A temporary office can sometimes be the best place for your business. You might have a temporary office because you’re not yet ready for a permanent one or can’t find the right space. Or you might be in a period of transition, waiting to move into a new office or waiting for renovations on your main office to be completed.
Whatever your reasons for opening a temporary office, you should be able to plan and execute what you want to do to set up the right space for your business. There are numerous steps that you might need to take to prepare your new office and ensure it’s adequate for your staff and business activities.
Why Open a Temporary Office?
First of all, consider your reasons for opening a temporary office. Why choose to move into a temporary office rather than look for a more permanent space? It could be that you’ve already found a permanent office but it’s just not ready yet. Maybe you want to find a more permanent space but you haven’t yet found somewhere suitable, and you still need somewhere to run your business. Or maybe you’re still growing your startup and you’re not yet ready to commit to a lease somewhere permanent.
Choose the Right Location
The first thing you need for a temporary office is the right location. If you already own office space and have some spare land, one solution might be to use a temporary space such as a shipping container office. This is a useful option if you’re waiting for a permanent office to be built or you have renovations underway and can’t use your regular office space. If you don’t have somewhere to place this type of office, you might look at options such as co-working spaces or short-term office lets.
If you have to find an office space or a number of desks to rent, you need to consider the location. You need somewhere that’s convenient for any staff who may be working from your office. You might also need to consider whether anyone else needs to reach you, such as clients who may be coming for meetings. How are your staff going to get to work? Is there enough parking for them if they need it? You also need a location that’s affordable for your business.
Define How Much Space You Need
Location is one of the important aspects of choosing your temporary office space, but you also need to think about how much space you need. Start by thinking about how many people are going to be working there and how much space they need for their workstations. Some businesses might choose to hire a couple of desk spaces in a coworking space. Others might need a larger office space to accommodate all of their employees. In addition to considering who will be working there, you should consider any furniture equipment that you might need space for. This could include office equipment like printers or video conferencing tools.
Rent the Equipment You Need
Getting the right equipment for your temporary office is an essential part of setting it up. However, you might not already have what you need, and you might not want to buy it all. It could be a huge investment and you might only need the office for a short-term project, so buying what you need might not make sense at all. Renting what you need is another option that could save you money and ensure you have all of your essential tools. You can choose laptop rentals to set up your employees’ workstations, plus rent any other hardware that you might need. Furniture can also be rented if your temporary office space comes unfurnished. Renting what you need gives you flexibility and can help you to save money.
Check Available Facilities
Having access to certain facilities and amenities can be key to finding the right place for your temporary office. There might be several types of facilities that you need to consider, depending on who will need access to your office. You will need to think about basic things such as bathroom facilities, parking, disabled access, and IT. There are also possible extra facilities that you might be looking for that, although not essential, can help you run your business and improve your working environment. Maybe you’re looking for somewhere to print things out, a mail collection service, or even somewhere to get a coffee or relax with colleagues.
Budget for Your Temporary Office
Keeping your budget in mind is a must if you’re planning on setting up a temporary office. You’ll need to come up with a budget that makes sense for the length of time you plan to be in the office. You might be saving up for a more temporary space or perhaps you’re still growing your business, so you can’t afford to spend too much. Defining your budget should be one of the first steps that you take. You’ll need to take into account the various costs of opening your temporary office to budget properly.
Speak to Your Staff
If you’re setting up a temporary office for your staff, it makes sense to talk to them about their needs. They can contribute when you’re planning and help you to make the best decisions. You can ask for their opinions on the best location, what facilities you need, how space is necessary, and anything else that they might be able to help you with. Doing this helps to ensure that you set up a workspace that they’re happy with. They can provide you with advice on what they need to get their work done day-to-day.
Find a Flexible Lease
One of the benefits of using a temporary office space is the flexibility it can give you. So if you’re looking for a temporary office to rent, make sure you get a flexible lease. If you decide that you want to move onto a different or more permanent office space, you don’t want to be trapped in a lease that you can’t get out of. Look for flexible lease terms such as month-to-month rolling contracts or even the option to scale up or down to a larger or smaller office space. It will allow you to make the right choices about your temporary office space.
Consider Security
You might want to think about security as a factor if you’re setting up a temporary office space. Many places where you might rent out an office space short-term will provide plenty of security for you so you don’t have to worry about unauthorised people gaining access to your office. On the other hand, you could be sharing a building or even an office with other businesses. This might raise some security concerns, particularly if you want to maintain confidentiality. Sharing office space with people outside of your company could present a risk that you need to consider when choosing and setting up an office space.
Configure IT Needs
Your business needs technology to help it run, and for that, you need IT infrastructure. One of the benefits of many temporary workspaces is that there is already existing IT infrastructure, and you can ensure it provides for your needs. You hopefully won’t have to have anything new installed or configure anything complicated. However, this may be a concern if you’re choosing a temporary office space such as a shipping container office. You can get an office that’s already set up with the lighting and electricity that you need, but you might need to carry out a bit more work to provide for your IT needs.
Help Your Employees Settle In
It can feel a bit disruptive for employees who are moving to a temporary office space. They might be moving out of an office they’re used to and might not have an idea of how long they’ll be in the new space. Helping them to move in will make the process easier for them and allow them to get to work as soon as possible. If you want to make them comfortable, start by communicating well so they know what to expect. Help them to get comfortable by providing the right furniture and tools, and creating a welcoming work environment that helps them to be productive.
Enjoy the Benefits of Temporary Office Space
Once you’ve settled into your new temporary office space, you can start to enjoy the benefits of being in a temporary space. It might create a slight feeling of uncertainty or instability, but it can also provide a number of advantages that more than make up for it. You’ll be able to save money and enjoy the flexibility of the space. Many temporary offices will connect you with a wider business community so that you can network. You can also benefit from a range of amenities that you might not have access to if you rent a permanent office space.
Setting up a temporary office space can be the right thing to do for your business. Even if it’s temporary, it can still be a good fit.
