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Modern occupier demands so much more than four walls and a carpet
Neil Kirkham, director at CBRE, joint agent for 4 St Paul's Square, on how occupier’s demands are radically changing.
A desk, a chair, a phone and, if you were lucky, a radiator or a window. Such was the life of the British office worker prior to the mid to late 1990s. It was a life of partitions, ashtrays on desks, threadbare carpets and anaemic lighting.
Creative, energy-filled environments they were not. Insipid rather than inspiring, the workplace of the recent past was shrine to the daily grind. We’ve come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Tell anyone under a certain age about ashtrays on desks and they will look at you as if you are insane.
Rapid Evolution
Partitions are long gone and the open-plan office is now very much the norm. But open plan wasn’t the end of the evolution and, in fact, we are starting to see it can have its shortcomings. Sure, it encourages collaborative working, but the ringing phones and the general chatter and clatter can, for some companies, hinder concentration and productivity.
‘Our people are our most valuable asset’ is now a staple of any game of corporate jargon bingo but, in fact, there is data to back this up.
People Matter
Research from the British Property Federation reveals the ratio of costs between employment and property is 14:1. Employees are valuable indeed and so investing in the right workplace environment is the smart thing for any business to do if it wants to attract and retain the right people.
Neil Kirkham, an experienced commercial property agent at CBRE in Liverpool, outlines what the modern occupier looks for.
1. If you’re showing a potential occupier space these days then expect someone from the company’s HR department to come along. Neil says: “They want to visualise the working environment for their staff.
2. It's less about grade A or grade B now but more about tailoring the space for the individual occupier. The needs of a digital app development business may be very different from that of a law or accountancy firm.
3. Wellbeing of staff is increasingly becoming an issue for businesses so the impact of the physical environment on that is significant. Factors such as natural light, noise absorption, airflow and even art on the walls can all come into play.
4. First class digital connectivity now has to be a given. No occupier, from whatever sector, will put up with slow or patchy broadband.
5. Potential occupiers will also want to know about amenities in the immediate vicinity. Is there a cafe in the building or nearby, are there bars, restaurants, gyms close by? Is the local area safe after dark?
Neil adds: “The bar for office accommodation is now set as high as it has ever been. Landlords who don’t stay ahead of the curve will be kicking around in their empty spaces.”