The right office lease rate doen’t mean it’s the right location
I just read a E-mail newsletter that was talking about business blind spots and ran across this one: “4. location.
Yesterday’s right location is tomorrow’s wrong one. Has the future arrived and left you behind in a weird part of town? Or did you fall into the happy trap of cheap rent only to find yourself invisible?” (Read more at www.wizardofads.com)
Location pertains more to retail space than office space but location does matter a lot. It drives me nuts when a manager from out of town makes decisions about what is the ‘right’ location for their Austin team based on price. They end up leasing in a location where EVERYONE has to commute and NOBODY likes it…except for the smart manager of course.
Things to consider about the location/price/quality decision with your next office space.
- Commute Times: More often than not, the office ends up closest to the decision makers home. While being the boss should have it’s perks, it should not be the biggest criteria in determining your location. Keep in mind where your employees live and where they want to be. Long commutes to and undesirable part of town will reduce the number of hours worked, efficiency and moral– all of which have a direct effect on your bottom line.
- Image: The quality and location of your office may be more important to your customers and employees than you think. Last thing you want is to save $5,000 a year in rent and lose a $60,000 a year client.
- Employee Retention: If you move your company too far away from your current location you will probably loose a certain percentage of your workforce. This is more likely in lower income workers but hiring and retraining is very expensive.
- Recruiting: In Austin’s competitive market place, many skilled workers have many choices of who to work for. We have many clients (especially high tech and gaming companies) who see their office space as a recruiting tool. When all things are relatively equal, they want the recruit to feel that they are going to work for the best company. Class A office space is not cheap but might just make the difference in staffing up for important projects and meeting deadlines.
chadjewell @ March 3, 2008