The Complete Office Guide 2024
Saturday January 27, 2024
Book a tour of 42workspace Join our community
The rise of remote work is increasing in popularity, and thus many people are becoming increasingly inclined to work from a home office. However, working from home is not always a feasible option for entrepreneurs with team members that require a collaborative, physical workspace for their company.
Office spaces are designated rooms, desks or areas in a building that provide their space to companies of different sizes. Finding the right office space requires thorough research which can be extremely tiresome and time-consuming.
DISCOVER MORE OF WHAT MATTERS TO YOU
Location is an important factor for a number of reasons. You must consider what area suits you and your team best. If you live too far, consider renting an office space that is close to public transport like trains, metros, or bus stations. Consider urban areas that offer a lot of benefits, including increased productivity. Nearby facilities such as restaurants, cafés, markets, etc. are also key components to an optimal office space location. A combination makes the perfect balance for a modern workspace location.
The design of the building where you choose to set up your office space says a lot about your company’s image. Aesthetics are important to your employer brand, because they offer a glimpse of what to expect from your company.
Current trends in office design are abandoning big private offices for larger, coworking spaces that optimize company collaboration and production at a reduced cost.
CIC, 42workspace, and other coworking spaces introduce green office spaces by having plants in the office. Plants have proven to increase productivity and concentration.
Always be mindful of functionality and accessibility when you look for an office space that appeases your aesthetic preferences. For example, your furniture may add to the aesthetic decor, but they might not be ergonomic for your and your team. Your office space must always accommodate the comfort and ease of access of your team members before anything else. You may consider designing your workspace yourself if you cannot find a good combination of functionality and aesthetics.
Office buildings tend to offer plenty of facilities. When you search for an office space, look for the kinds of facilities that the office buildings provide for you based on your priorities. From meeting rooms to staff kitchens, consider what facilities matter most to you and your team.
Facilities vary between the same types of office spaces, depending on the coworking space you choose. For instance, if you get a premium desk at 42workspace, part of your coworking space membership is access to facilities such as the gym. Meanwhile, a coworking space at CIC, offers yoga, meditation, and massage.
Facilities can be shared, but they can also be privately owned. For example, traditional offices have total control over their own equipment, while coworking spaces share printers and scanners with other companies. However, in case of damages, shared facilities are taken care of, while privately owned equipment is primarily one’s own responsibility.
Shared meeting spaces are a great option to consider if you want to reduce rental costs. They also are a good alternative when you don’t know how much office space you and your team require for your company. There are options to use a space without having to rent it.
42workspace provides different meeting areas like Magrathea, a colorful and geeky space inspired by Douglas Adams’ novels, most suitable for brainstorming sessions. Further, some providers offer extra food services such as Spaces.
Alternatively, consider your business expansion and look for a flexible office space that can accommodate your growth. You can sign a shorter lease or a contract that allows you to end it whenever you wish.
If you rent an office space for 12 months with a fixed contract, that provides little to no flexibility, as well as insurance against the current pandemic. Offices in coworking spaces are more flexible, and have rooms starting from one table up until as many as you’d like.
Rotterdam’s current tech ecosystem is growing with more and more thriving tech startups, largely thanks to flexible office space solutions.
When you are looking to rent an office space, reasonable pricing matters. Make sure that you know what you are paying for, and all the provided facilities are available to you. Additionally, look for contract flexibility that doesn’t bind you to a lease that you cannot stop at any given moment. Always read your contract and raise questions about anything that is not clear.
Some office space providers like 42workspace, Spaces and CIC offer flexibility in their contracts, while other providers don’t. Be certain about your contract’s flexibility before you sign.
When you work at a public office building, the people you surround yourself with have a direct impact on your work. Look for people living in the area and ask them about the community or the people who already work at the office building of your choosing. Before renting, you can consider building a community around your business by connecting with the people who work there.
Office space providers such as 42workspaces focus on building a tech community, and organises tech events and meetups to connect to other techies and talent . Hashtag Workmode is an all-women coworking community space. You can also learn more about the community from individual providers by looking at community events that they offer. CIC welcomes members to host corporate events, workshops, and more.
Every point of consideration is directly influenced by your own needs which extend beyond looking for an office space. Think about any networking opportunities that you are striving for.
A benefit of a co-working space is that you might find yourself surrounded by companies, the products & services of which you actually need. This way, companies in such a community can support each other with complimentary products & services. One company can help you develop a website, while another one can set up your terms & conditions.
Consider which companies you need in your community that can help you address your needs. A few of such companies include:
Traditional offices are corporate styled work spaces offering a single, private area for your business. Regus is a great traditional office space provider in Rotterdam. One of the membership packages at 42workspace includes a private office space, as well.
Traditional offices optimize team collaboration and concentration in the workplace. Other benefits to traditional office spaces include:
You and your team have a private, quiet space to work, with no disruptions or team conflicts between other offices and clashing schedules.
Without anyone else interrupting your work, you have all the control over your progress, your technological equipment, and all the other resources.
Without collaboration with other companies, your team practices working individually and independently.
Your independence reflects professionality between you, your team and your clients.
Coworking are modern spaces of a collaborative community. Good coworking office spaces in Rotterdam are found at office space providers such as 42workspace, CIC, Spaces, etc..
They typically offer high-demand facilities such as comfortable furniture and seats, 24/7 access, Wi-Fi, printers, scanners, and other technological gear, and free coffee.
As you build connections and collaborations with the people around you, you are prone to becoming innovative within a space where innovation and creativity is highly encouraged. This allows you to step out of your comfort zone.
There are no legally-binding, long-term contracts that confine you within an office space without the option to end the lease whenever you can. This is a key consideration for growing businesses. For example, if you sign a contract with 42workspace, you pay a fixed amount each month, and you can cancel at any time. There are also different kinds of memberships with various benefits from a flex desk to a premium desk.
They offer business services such as mailing and reception which help reduce costs. Further, at coworking hubs like 42workspace, there are services such as free coffee and other facilities.
In shared office spaces, multiple people from different companies come together to collaborate and exchange ideas to optimize their business objectives. Some of the pros to shared spaces are the following:
You and your team have guaranteed facilities that accommodate basic staff needs such as kitchenettes, meeting rooms, technological equipment. They also provide other services such as taking out the trash.
You get the chance to build good relationships with other companies. This helps a lot when you consider expanding to international markets.
You learn a lot from working with others from different industries. Your acquired knowledge allows for your company’s innovation.
Free coffee and/or tea Kitchen Bar Open space High speed secure Internet Gym
Membership type Office size Number of team members Rental period Building facilities and services Contract flexibility Location For traditional office spaces, you pay a price in m2 per year. Depending on how much space you and your team need, you usually pay per annum with normally fixed contracts.
With coworking or shared office spaces, you pay per desk. You get a fixed price for each desk, and you usually pay less for more. Each desk that you pay for has a number of facilities and services. You get large communal areas, meeting rooms, and event areas.
The contracts are fairly flexible, too. In the case of 42workspace, you get monthly contracts.
When you are looking to determine how much you want to pay rent for your office space, it’s easier to have a visual comparison between your different options. See the comparative table below to help you decide what works best for you and your business:
|
Facilities and Services |
Coworking Office Space |
Traditional Office Space |
|
Contract flexibility |
✓ |
✗ |
|
Private space |
✓ or ✗ |
✓ |
|
Basic Furniture |
✓ |
✗ |
|
Technological equipment |
✓ |
✗ |
|
Cleaning |
✓ |
✗ |
|
Kitchenette |
✓ |
✗ |
|
Meeting space room |
✓ |
✓ |
42workspace offers one of the best coworking office spaces in Rotterdam for tech and digital entrepreneurs, freelancers, digital nomads, startups and scale-ups. Work spaces and membership plans include the following:
For 20€ per day, you have access to to cowork space, get free coffee and tea, high speed WiFi, and access to community events. Suitable for urban freelancers, digital nomads, remote workers, and anyone who needs a workspace where they can concentrate.
For €245 per month, you get a premium hot desk, 24/7 access to the entire building, free meeting rooms and some upgraded facilities such as printers, and more.
For €325 per month, you get a monthly contract including all the above benefits and more. Suitable for all teams, starting from small 3-person units all the way to an entire floor, your private office is an exclusively secure and dedicated space to your company. It also includes cleaning.
At HNK you can rent temporary and flexible office spaces for as long as you need. You can pick from 4 different options:
With a flexible rental starting from 1 year, you get a fixed price for service costs such as HNK catering, spacious conference facilities, HNK team support, and more. You also have complete control over the structure, style and dimensions of your space.
Fully furnished including cleaning services HNK catering, HNK team support, and more. The cost is €4.50 per person per hour. If you rent for longer, you get more benefits.
You can rent a meeting room for 2-20 people for all kinds of events, meetings, and training. Each room is equipped with audiovisual equipment and food and beverage.
You can rent a flex desk from € 2.75 per hour, € 7.50 for half a day, or €15.00 per day. You get public WiFi, HNK team support, and free access to all network events if you are a HNK club member.
For corporate styled businesses, Regus offers traditional office spaces for rent in Rotterdam from 12 locations all over the city. There are three quote packages that you can pick for your private office space:
Starting from €119 per person per month, your private office is ready-to-use, with everything being taken care of. It comes with high-quality furniture, or can be customised to your liking, and includes utilities and services and a friendly, on-site support team.
Starting from €75 per person per month, you get access to the Regus offices’ lounge, wifi, printer and scanner.
Starting from €159 per person per month,, you get a private office either by the day, for 5, 10, or unlimited days per month. You get a fully furnished and serviced office space with access to thousands of locations, lounges, and breakout areas.
With the pandemic intervening with the flow of your work, office space providers can accommodate your safety in different ways.
Got any questions? Please add them in the comment sections below!
