Coping with uncertainty: enterprise flexible office solutions
October 6, 2020
If there has been one constant since the COVID-19 pandemic began, it has been uncertainty. Companies have been forced to make decisions about their operations and real estate with little direction as to what the future might hold. Amidst this, there have also been revelations about the effectiveness of working from home and employees’ need and want for workplace flexibility. All of these factors combined have led to an increased interest in enterprise flexible office solutions, which provide opportunities for workplace customization, without long-term lease commitments. C-Suite leaders are incorporating flexible real estate solutions for sites up to 15,000 sq ft at a much greater scale than ever before, with flexibility playing a greater role in decision making.
Pandemic fallout
Part of this is a reaction to the pandemic, which caught almost every company off guard, leaving them tied to inflexible long-term leases. In a matter of weeks, they found themselves paying for footprints of all sizes, completely vacant of employees.
As companies move forward, they are responding to this by creating real estate strategies that can adjust to the changing needs of their organization, which could be influenced by both external (health, economic) and internal (employee preferences) factors. With flexible office solutions, footprints can be right-sized, and the need to pay CapEx for FFEs is negated.
Benefits of enterprise flexible solutions
- Ability to right-size space as needed
- Short-term commitment
- No need to pay CapEx for FFEs
- Onsite facilities management
Changes in the industry
Like many industries, the pandemic has caused consolidation within the flexible office sector. While there has been an overall drop in demand for co-working, providers are experiencing an uptick in enterprise corporate users. This is no surprise considering the benefits of enterprise flexible solutions, which provide the ability to right-size locations as needed – an invaluable asset during these uncertain times.