office – Business Plus Baby

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016

7 of the best offices in the world

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Willis Building and Lloyds Building, photo credit

f you’re sitting at work, staring at plain white walls and row and rows of half-asleep employees, you might be thinking, ‘is there more than this?’ Well the answer is, yes! There are many offices across the world that are oozing charisma and fun, so while you wait (and wait and wait) for your boss to whip out a pool table, buy a HD TV and go wild with colourful paints, here’s where you could be working. Sorry if you’re reading this on a Monday morning and now feel even more glum, but it could be the inspiration you need to get back on that job search.

Lloyds of London headquarters

Want to work somewhere visually stunning? Then look no further than Lloyds of London’s super swanky, super modern headquarters. Nestled in the heart of the Square Mile it was named by job website Adzuna as the most eye-catching corporate building in the UK thanks to its unique architecture, which includes internal escalators that criss-cross up the middle of each floor.

Corus Entertainment, Toronto, Canada

At over 500,000 square feet and housing over 1,000 members of staff, Corus Entertainment’s unique workspace is not only spacious but also boasts an array of impressive features including a five-story atrium with a three-story slide, boardroom tables shaped like ice hockey rinks, TV studios and a comfortable lounge for employees to enjoy throughout the day.

Google offices worldwide

As one of the most fresh and trendy companies in the world, it’s perhaps no surprise that Google has some pretty wacky offices across the globe. While your average employee is thankful if there’s a canteen or drinks machine, Google employees are messing around on scooters, shooting down slides, playing on a putting green or simply chilling in space-age egg chairs.

While the Google office in Zurich boasts a fireman’s pole, videogames and a hammock-filled zone, the Google offices in Amsterdam have caravan meeting rooms.

Innocent Drinks, Fruit Towers, London

The offices of Innocent Drinks are every inch as quirky as the brand itself with park benches, synthetic grass and ping-pong tables making Fruit Towers a great place to work. As well as resembling more of a picnic area than a workplace, Innocent Drinks also provide staff with free breakfast every day and an endless supply of smoothies – now that’s a reason to get up in the morning.

Selgas Cano, Madrid, Spain

What better way to advertise your architectural practice than by building your very own incredible office? Designed by Spanish architects Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano, this innovative office space is located in the woods near Madrid and features curved windows made of transparent acrylic which create a unique tunnel-like environment.

Red Bull, London UK

It’s becoming more and more common these days for brands to have offices which reflect what they do and this can certainly be said of Red Bull, whose Soho headquarters are as edgy as their products. As well as a three-story video wall, a fun slide, bar café and a roof offering spectacular views over the West End, the office space also has a quirky reception desk which displays the patterns left behind by skaters, skateboarders, planes, race cars and bikes.

DTAC HQ, Bangkok, Thailand

It’s not every day you find a circular library amphitheatre, indoor running track, indoor football pitch, and concert/performance spaces at work, but that’s exactly what the DTAC headquarters offer. To top it off, the views of Bangkok’s epic skyline are nothing short of spectacular from the roof terrace, making this a much sought after place to make a living.

As you can see, there are many wonderful offices across the globe, so if you’re looking for a change of career, why not aim high? After all, you could end up having a desk in one of these wonderful locations.

December 15, 2015

The benefits of renting private offices

There are a lot of things that business owners need to think hard about. Many business decisions are simple and obvious. But a lot of them aren’t, and they take time and dedication to make. One of the tougher decisions you’re going to face is your business headquarters. You might get away with working from home for a while. But, eventually, you’re going to need to get an office.

Now, a lot of people think that they just need to rent some space, and they’re sorted. But, in reality, you need to take the time to pick a perfect office. And this can sometimes be more difficult than you might imagine. To get the best outcome for the business, you need to choose to rent private, ready furnished offices. Here are a few reasons why they’re such a good idea.

You Don’t Need to Furnish

One of the most annoying things about getting a new business office is the furnishing aspect. This might sound fun to begin with, but it can soon become a nightmare. It’s time-consuming and stressful, not to mention expensive. You need to measure up to make sure you get furniture and equipment that fits and you’re bound to forget something important as well. Level Office offer furnished private offices that come ready to use, and this makes things much easier for everyone.

Affordable Rates

As a business owner, you’re going to be more conscious of money than you have been in the past. Everything is a cost these days, and you will need to work with a budget. That means you have to consider the cost of an office. Renting a private and ready-furnished office is going to work out much cheaper than having to turn an empty room into an office. The rates are very affordable, and will fit in well with your projected budget. That’s why this is such a good option for business owners.

Saves You Hassle

When you’re getting your company up and running, you need to make sure it’s hassle free. There’s enough stress already involved in the running of a startup. And trying to get your office sorted can add extra hassle and stress to proceedings. That’s why it’s so useful to be able to rent a place that’s ready to go. This makes things a lot less traumatic and arduous at the beginning. It means you can get in there and start using functional and organised offices right away

Can Use Them for Anything

Another benefit of these types of offices is that you can use them for anything. Of course, your office is generally used for work. But, what if you need to have a team meeting? What about a conference with important clients? Some offices are not nice enough to be able to do this. Others are just simply too small, or not laid out well enough. But these rental offices are designed so you can use them for meetings as well as day to day running of the business.

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When it comes to trying to pick the right office for your company you need to consider rental options. An office plays a huge role in the development and evolution of your brand. So you need to make sure you give plenty of credence to how important this is. Make sure you pick private rental offices and you’ll reap the benefits.

September 25, 2015

How to add the personal touch to your office

The Free Dictionary definition of an office is: ‘A room or set of rooms in which business, professional duties, clerical work, etc, are carried out.’ It’s a clinical and functional sounding world, and anyone with personality – which is all of us, right – will want to sprinkle a dash of individuality into the workspace.

Here are several ways to make the office your own. Continue reading “How to add the personal touch to your office”

September 2, 2015

Alternative options for businesses low on space

As your business goes from a start up to a success, you will probably find your space that was once half empty, is now bursting at the seams with staff, products and equipment.

But, just because your business is starting to succeed, doesn’t necessarily mean that moving to bigger offices or a space with a warehouse is an option.

This may be for financial reasons or because the space simply isn’t available – or both! Central London office space availability, for example, has fallen to its lowest rate in 14 years according to CBRE.

The first quarter of this year saw a 3% drop in office availability to 10.8million square foot, alongside the take-up of 3.1 million square foot. This high take-up and low availability is of course now causing a spike in rent as a result!

So, when you find yourself in this situation, how do you find the space?

Storage

If your business is selling a product, a rise in sales has probably resulted in a lack of space that has come from the rising stock, you originally kept in a storeroom out the back.

You now have so much that a warehouse to store it all in seems to be your only option. But after purchasing a warehouse, you would then require extra staff to work in it, as well as other costs and inconveniences. Have you thought about using self-storage instead?

Somewhere such as Kelly’s Mobile Self Storage will keep your items secure and allow 24/7 access, so you could see it as your temporary warehouse space. If at a later date a warehouse is the right thing for your business, your storage pod can be delivered directly to the door!

Think outside the box for meetings

Do you have a lack of meeting space? Or could the meeting rooms you do have be put to better use, as they are only used about 10% of the time? Then you need to think outside the box when it comes to meetings. You could, for example, hire a meeting room, or hold a conference Skype call if attendees of the meeting are a distance away.

Share/temporary office space

Maybe your lack of space is from a growing workforce. Your original small team has grown significantly and with that comes desks, IT equipment and the rest! So where do you put everyone? A temporary office would provide you with the space that you need, without getting tied into a long-term contract you can’t afford. Another option is to share office space. Team up with another company that require more room themselves or haven’t filled their office, and take advantage of that unused space.

Hot desking

An option, that keeps all your staff in one building, is hot desking. So rather than all members of staff having there own desk, they find an empty desk, set it up for the day and clear away in the evening. Hot desking can cut the running costs of an office by up to 30% and will of course provide you with much needed space, by cutting down on the number of desks that you require.