Company Culture: Center City v. the Burbs

If your company is looking to make a move one of the biggest things to consider is location, location, location.  Where your company sits is huge in not only determining the type of people and clients you attract, but it also helps define your brand and how the world sees you.  There are many factors to consider.  Do you need to be near the port, near the turnpike, near potential employees, or  your customers, near your home, etc.

If you are a fancy tech start up that wants cutting edge programmers, you want to have stylish offices in the heart of Center City. The Work where they Live Strategy.  And, where your employees can grab a coffee at Starbucks on their break, get sushi for lunch, and go out for a beer with their friends after work, all within a mile or so of your location.  Central Business District of Center City Philadelphia is a hub for public transportation systems for those employees living outside of the CBD. All of these factors go into creating the type of company culture you want, a young professional, intellectually curious group of people that do their best work in an open floor concept office where they have access to their colleagues and maybe even snacks!

Now if you are another type of business, maybe one that requires mostly office space but a small storage, or assembly area with double doors direct to outside, or your customers, or you, and your employees live mainly in the suburbs, Center City would probably not make sense.  Your employees are in a different stage of life, they want to be home for dinner with their kids, or able to drop them off at dance and soccer practice after school.  Sitting in an hour and a half of traffic on 76 doesn’t make any sense for someone who wants that type of life.  The type of building and even the furnishing aren’t as important as a central location near good schools, neighborhoods, and doctor’s offices.

2 sides of a coin, both great options depending on what your company and employee’s needs are.