Second Quarter 2012
More People, Less Space
Many companies looking to cut costs are focusing on one major expense: real estate. One particular trend is to pack more employees into less space. Rather than leasing more space, many firms are reconfiguring their offices to maximize efficiencies and in return, saving significant dollars.
The average company allots approximately 200 square feet per employee, which is 20% less than a decade ago. Even as the economy improves, companies are expected to continue shrinking their footprints. Many firms are replacing offices and tall cubicles with denser seating arrangements with low or no walls in between employees. Additionally, firms are implementing workplace strategies with more meeting areas and break-out rooms. These collaborative work environments tend to breed communication between teams or groups of people within a company who might be developing a new product or service.
An assumption may be that the real estate consolidation trend is more prevalent in industries such as software development or biotechnology. In actuality, the “space shrinking” movement is happening in more traditional business and professional service industries as well. Take law firms for example. For many years these firms would take sizable blocks of space to accommodate large filing cabinets, offices and libraries. Today, as technology reduces the need for support staff and paper storage, so goes the office space to house them.
With workstations shrinking, private offices disappearing, and more employees working remotely, companies will continue to do more with less. We would certainly enjoy an opportunity to discuss how we can provide a comprehensive real estate strategy for your company, focused on cost savings through a more efficient workplace.
CONTACT US
The Raleigh-Durham office market continues to rapidly evolve, and we make it our business to stay ahead of the curve. If you anticipate a change in your space requirement, have been contemplating a lease restructure, or simply desire an overview of current market conditions, please contact us.
We specialize in tenant advisory and are committed to delivering superior results for our clients.
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L. Heath Chapman, CCIM |
Don Shupe |
