As companies grow and new employees join, office requirements change. Small-to-medium-sized businesses worldwide will often need to move into bigger locations every couple of years. But being tied to leases can reduce their ability to be flexible and reactive, which can hinder how effectively they can scale. Relocating can be a good thing, widening access to new talent pools, tax breaks and incentives that are unique to certain destinations, lowering overheads in cheaper cities, improving quality of life and upgrading facilities. But it can also be a stressful process, which is why many businesses are now turning to flexible workspace providers such as Regus.
Regus offices are commitment-free, allowing companies to respond in real time to the amount of desk space they need and set up new branches as their ventures take off across the country and overseas. The company has expanded to a network of 3,300 flexible workspaces in 1,000 towns and cities around the world and being plugged into this global network ensures that teams are guaranteed certain standards when it comes to office environments wherever they are. And if launches in new territories don’t go to plan, they can extract themselves without the worry about abandoning leases.
It’s not always obvious to SMBs that flexible working is the way to go, but many companies have taken the plunge and reaped the rewards. Take Rand McNally, which occupied a traditional office for ten years in Skokie, Illinois. As the lease on its existing space came up for renewal, the leadership team evaluated various options that included a move to downtown Chicago. The company was also looking to reduce the square footage required for its corporate offices. Committing to another long-term lease wasn’t attractive, so Rand McNally considered Regus.
Robert R Delaney Jr, the company’s vice president and general counsel, said: “Many of the traditional leases we were looking at were long-term and had minimums of anywhere between seven to ten years. We were interested in a shorter-term lease.” The firm chose to move into Regus’s location at 8770 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, in Greater Chicago, which had space for its 125 employees. Delaney said: “We needed a full floor and Regus was able to accommodate our needs with a custom build-out. We were very interested in the flexibility of the lease terms and the ability to have a complete floor exclusive to Rand McNally.”
He added: “Moving to downtown Chicago would have added substantial commute times for many of our employees, along with added expenses. We took their feedback into consideration when considering where our new offices should be. The Regus space offered a more modern and attractive office building, with excellent amenities. The Regus team helped make the transition seamless, and overall, our employees have been pleased with their new office space.”
Workspace agility has also been a requirement for Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Operating in 58 countries, clients include 95 percent of the Fortune Global 100 CPG, as well as retail and healthcare companies. To ensure IRI can quickly scale up or down in markets where its clients are located and maximise their operating costs, IRI works with Regus on a global level to secure long- and short-term office space.
Chris Caponigri, vice president of global real estate and facilities at IRI, said: “The Regus approach has enabled us to attract and retain talent, as well as clients, and has also provided us the opportunity to streamline our operations. Its fluid and flexible approach to the modern workforce and client needs fits our business strategy, allowing our staff to be productive and responsive and our business model to remain nimble and efficient.”
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