Office Space

You need to think outside the box!

November 20, 2008 - 6:39 pm

“You need to think outside the box”, “Let’s touch base”, “Once we’ve got all our ducks in a row”.

Business jargon - We’ve all heard it. We’ve probably all used it. But just how common is it and is it causing a problem for businesses today? If it is, then what should a small business do about it.

According to recent research carried out by MWB Business Exchange, 41% of Britons admit to using business jargon every day, whilst over 55% of us use it at least two or three times a week. In offices all across the UK people are using phrases such as the ones above to communicate with their fellow-workers, their clients and even potential customers. But could this trend actually be harming British businesses?

72% of us believe that the use of jargon can hinder good business practice. This means that staff using too many buzz words around clients and potential customers is potentially damaging the reputation of businesses. Although research has shown that small businesses are far better than their larger counterparts, with only 25% of employees admitting to using business jargon compared to 98% at large corporates, it is still important that all businesses, whatever size, work to create an environment in which excessive and unnecessary business jargon is not used.

‘Business jargon’ really means the language peculiar to business , but has now come to be synonymous with ‘buzzwords’. This has far more negative connotations as it refers to “a word or phrase that usually sounds important or technical and is used primarily to impress laypersons” . It is for this reason that people now think that business jargon is not only annoying, but unproductive and damaging.

Trying to impress

One of the main reasons why business jargon can be damaging is that, as the definition implies, it is used by people who are trying to impress others, without putting any thought into what the phrase actually means or how it could be interpreted. The phrase “I want to get into bed with…” is often used by managers to suggest that they would like to develop good relationships or work with specific organisations or people. However, anybody not used to this phrase could find it horrendously inappropriate because of its sexual overtones. This is an especially important point to consider when you are doing business with foreign companies or clients as they may be more prone to interpret phrases literally, which can lead to misunderstandings and, in the worst situations, cause grave offence.

Whilst many people might laugh at situations and misunderstandings like this, it is important to remember that business reputation is hugely important, especially in these days of the internet, blogs and social networking. So what might start off as a simply misunderstanding can have a much wider impact.

Morale

Business jargon can also be very detrimental to the morale of your staff. 23% of us think that senior managers are the worst culprits when it comes to using buzzwords in the office, and junior employees often believe that their bosses use jargon to cover something up. For instance, many people hearing a senior manager telling staff that “in order to make an omelette you need to break a few eggs” would probably conclude that there are going to be redundancies. Such feelings of confusion and mistrust will not benefit your business.

New starters

It is particularly important to consider the impact excessive business jargon will have on new employees in your company. We all know how daunting it is starting a new job, but this is made much worse if you find that everybody else in the office is speaking a language that you don’t understand. Some business jargon, including most people’s most hated phrase “thinking outside the box”, has become so commonplace that almost everybody knows what it means. However, buzzwords that are industry specific or peculiar to your company should be avoided at all costs when talking to new starters as well as to clients and customers. It is important that all companies, including small businesses, make sure that all their staff are aware of the risks of putting off new starters from the outset by using unnecessary jargon.

So, what can you do?

So, we know that jargon can be confusing, annoying and can even damage a company’s reputation. But what should small businesses do to avoid these problems?

1) Disambiguate

Small businesses need to do everything they can to make sure they are communicating clearly with their employees. This means that important announcements should be carefully planned and checked over to make sure that they don’t include overlooked jargon or phrases that could be misinterpreted.

It is also important that when staff are being briefed about their role or a specific task you would like them to undertake, that this briefing is clear. Huge amounts of time and energy can be wasted by managers failing to make it clear what they would like employees to do. More junior employees will often pretend to understand an instruction for fear of coming across as stupid.

2) Clear out the larder

It might be worth sitting down with your staff to discuss which words and phrases your company uses. This can include general business jargon if its use has got out of hand, but also words and phrases that are particular to your company. Every organisation has them and they are often completely incomprehensible to an outsider. Why not ask your employees to watch out for buzzwords they hear being used around the office for a week and get them to write them down so that you can have a clearer idea of how much of a problem jargon is.

Once you have a list of the buzzwords that you use, it is important to think through what these words and phrases actually mean. For example, what are you are trying to say when you use them? Once you’ve worked this out you can find a clearer ways to say it. There is no point using long and clever words just for the sake of it if there is a simpler and clearer way of making the same point. It would also be a good idea to go through your company’s literature to identify and remove unnecessary buzzwords so that staff, clients and potential customers are not negatively influenced by it.

3) Win-Win

Whilst it is important to be aware of the problems that business jargon can cause and, as suggested above, do whatever you can to make sure that there is no excessive or unnecessary use of buzzwords in your company, we must also remember that business jargon should not be taken too seriously. So why not find a fun way of drawing your staff’s attention to its overuse?

You could start a ‘buzz box’ so employees have to put in a charity donation anytime they are heard to utter an outlawed buzzword or jargon phrase. If you have a regular company meeting, you could give a prize to the person who goes for the longest without using jargon or, alternatively, provide a wooden spoon prize for the person who uses the worst jargon each month.

However you approach the problem, remember that the words we use have more power than we realise, and that businesses can lose custom and staff if they are not careful about the language they use. But always remember to keep a sense of perspective and don’t go so overboard that you end up ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’!

What Are Your Office Space Options?

August 17, 2008 - 11:02 am

So you’ve come up with an innovative product so you’ve set up in business for the first time.  You now need office space.  What are exactly your options and what are the advantages of each?  Location is always a top priority to ensure accessibility and credibility but there are other considerations.  How much time do you have?  How much resource do you have?  Does the thought of fitting out an office and putting in telecoms and IT systems fill you with dread?

Relocating Office

June 27, 2008 - 6:54 pm

If you have done all the studies and decided that it’s time to relocate to a serviced office provision to cut costs and improve efficiency you’ll need to give planning some serious thought. Your main concern should be to protect staffing levels and keep staff morale buoyant. Alternatively if you are setting up an office abroad you initially have decided to use a virtual office set up to test the market whilst giving you local presence.
Relocation can be met by employees with a mixture of worry and excitement and it is important that you address some of the softer issues such as effects on family and concerns about schools in the new area. Also it is the norm now that most couples have dual careers and the needs of the partner need to be considered.

If you have decided to move the operation abroad then cultural differences can add further stresses and strains to the decision.

In order to ensure there is as little stress as possible for your employees make sure you communication with them quickly and keep things clear and sensitive. A relocation agent can be invaluable at times like this by helping employees to find properties and schools. This will lessen the worry and concerns of staff by deploying these tasks.

Conventional Office versus Serviced Office

June 27, 2008 - 8:30 am

There is so much information out there about serviced office space but why exactly is it better than conventional office space solutions?

The challenges of conventional office space are well known. Often the leases are fixed and inflexible at a minimum of 5 years. The upfront costs for legal fees to cover your own costs and that of the landlord can be extensive. You’ll be tied into dilapidation charges and service charges that are often open ended and difficult to forecast. If you are a successful and growing business you may grow out of your office space before the lease if up. Traditional office space requires fitting out with telecoms, broadband cablings and LAN connections and often require substantial decorating and refitting to accommodate your company. And on top of this you often find you have to take time away from growing your business to deal with IT, telecoms, insurance and utility companies.

Serviced Offices in contrast offer short term license commitments with no long term commitment and no legal fees. The requirement for space can be increased or reduced as and when the business requires it making it a very cost effective solution to the office space dilemma. Invoicing is simple with one monthly invoice covering utilities, telecoms and other consumables. Its all negotiated in the license fee to keep things straightforward. Moving in is no hassle. You can move in and plug in straight away. The offices are situated in prime locations and are stylishly kitted out.

Office Space Options

June 25, 2008 - 3:41 pm

When choosing office space you’ll find many office space solutions available. Here’s a general overview to what’s out there:

Conventional Office Space
Conventional office space contracts tend to be on a lease agreement and you’ll be lucky to get an agreement under a 5 year minimum contract. You may be able to negotiate a period of free rent if you’re willing to commit to a longer term lease and some landlords offer break clauses when you can take a payment holiday. The advantages of this option include security of tenure but the initial overheads, insurance and lease payments may be too much for a start up or small business.

Serviced Office Space
Contracts are normally handled in the form of licenses. Users of serviced office space have the advantage of office space and contract length flexibility with terms of as little as one month being readily available. Tenants also have access to meeting rooms, break out areas, administration and reception staff and a fully integrated telecoms and IT infrastructure. This option is ideal for companies who are unsure of their growth rate or companies that require a fully fitted out and functional office that they can move into immediately. They also offer small office space from 100 square metres up which are hard to come by using the conventional office space method.

Managed Office Space
Managed office space sits somewhere in between the conventional and serviced office solution with both licenses and leases available. The term usually determines the type of contract and tenure usually starts at 1 year. This option is great for companies that already have furniture and telecoms systems but want flexibility. Managed offices tend to start at 1000 square foot and above so if you need something smaller a serviced office would be more suited.

Treasury Waste Money on Office Space

June 25, 2008 - 12:39 pm

It has been reported that civil servants in the Treasury are running up bills of £326 million per year on office accommodation making their yearly bill twice as much as workers in the private sector.

A report has been recently released by the Committee of Public Accounts stating that a third of the £1 billion costs shelled out per year on public sector office space could be cut back and saved. Office properties used by the Government departments were reported at being between 14% and 50% less cost effective than the benchmarks laid out by the private sector.

The Treasury came out as the biggest spender costing on average £12,041 per person with around 232 square feet allocated to each person. This is nearly double the 100 to 120 square feet that is the regular standard in the private sector.

Edward Leigh, the committee chairman stated:

There is room for improvement, given the poor performance of government buildings compared with the private sector. The Treasury should be setting an example to the other government departments, not bumping along in bottom place.

Perhaps the Government should take a look at the serviced office solutions that are now available across the UK. Cost savings of up to 60% can be made on office space using this method.

Shared Offices

June 22, 2008 - 3:42 pm

You’ve probably heard a lot about virtual offices but if you need a real base that won’t cost you the earth look at a shared office solution. People who would benefit most from this option are small businesses where you have to out on the road for a large percentage of time or you’re starting up and you need a prestigious address to establish your company in your market.

There is a massive network of shared offices available all located at key business hot spots within the city of your choice. London, Manchester and Birmingham are particularly well catered for. Packages tend to include a permanent workstation and access to stylish meeting rooms and breakout areas. There is a team of secretarial and reaction staff available to tap into as and when your business requires it and IT support. This is all without the overheads and associated costs of leasing your own office space.

Office space is shared with other companies and you can use the office space on a part time basis rather than incurring fulltime costs. You can be secure in the knowledge that any belongings will be secure when you are away and call handling staff will take calls in your absence to ensure customers are handled efficiently while you’re out on the road.

Lack of Office Space in Medical Sector

June 13, 2008 - 10:43 am

The British Medical Association (BMA) has released a report highlighting the lack of office space and resources available in hospitals. The BMA claims that lack of office space is leading to breaches in patient confidentiality.

36 percent of junior doctors and consultants revealed that they believed that lack of appropriate office space had impaired their ability to give good patient care. The top issue was lack of space for confidential discussions.

50% of junior doctor and 25% of consultants felt that the office space available to them had dramatically declined within the past 12 months.

Dr Jonathan Fielden of the BMA advised:

The plush, spacious, consultant’s office is a figment of television imagination. Many consultants, junior doctors, and staff and associate specialist grade doctors have no office space at all. Those that do are struggling to cope in tiny spaces shared with colleagues. Doctors handle sensitive information and need space for private conversations with their patients and other staff.

Perhaps we’ll start to see this industry utilising serviced office space as a solution to this problem. Serviced office space providers can offer high quality, stylish offices with meeting rooms and break out rooms for meetings of a confidential nature. Fully resourced with all the latest office amenities this is a highly cost effective solution when office space becomes an issue.

Avoid Wasting Office Space

June 10, 2008 - 12:26 pm

Have you ever stopped to consider whether your current office space could be utilised more effectively? If not, you should take a look as office space does not come cheap and you could be haemorrhaging cash due to careless floor planning.

When fitting out office space you should be giving serious thought to the office layout in order to get the best from your investment. However setting up in a new office is often a time fraught with other concerns and without the right experience and foresight you can make bad choices. You need to avoid holding things that have no real benefit or purpose to the business.

You also have to balance the design between have a spacious airy environment and the not so attractive option of being jammed into the office like battery hens. A too confined space is not conducive to productive working conditions and can lead to bad team dynamics, poor attendance and low productivity.
One option is to look at a serviced office solution. These providers of office space and meeting rooms are experts in combining ambient, spacious working environments with effective utilisation of workstation space.

In addition to choosing a serviced or shared office make sure that you aren’t storing things unnecessarily. One option is to keep digital copies of important documents.