office space « PG Commercial Real Estate – Commercial Realtor Montgomery County, PA and Greater Philadelphia Region

Company Culture: Center City v. the Burbs

Posted by Peggy Gallagher on May 10, 2016

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.

Things to Consider When Getting Ready to do a Mass Hire

Posted by Peggy Gallagher on May 10, 2016

Is your company growing? Will you soon need to bring on a number of new people? That’s fantastic! But are you prepared for everything that comes with doing a big round of hiring? Below are some practical tips and advice of what to consider when getting ready to expand your company talent.

First and foremost if you are getting ready to do a mass hire it is likely that you will need to look at larger office locations to accommodate your growth. There are many factors that will need to be considered when making such a decision and most of them will depend on the amount of people you plan to bring onboard.

Parking

If your new location is not in a metropolitan area where most people commute via public transit you will need to consider parking availability for your new hires. Availability of on-site parking or street parking are features to consider.

Open Floor Plan vs Private offices

What kind of office plan works best for your type of business? What office equipment will you relocate? What equipment and furnishings will you buy new or lease?

Lactation Room

Did you know that as of 2010 the Affordable Care Act requires businesses to “provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion… which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”? Since breastmilk is food a bathroom is not sanitary and should never be used for pumping breastmilk.

Snack Rooms/Eating Areas

Do your employees tend to eat out for lunch or are they health conscious and bring their lunch? If so you’ll need an adequate kitchen or snack area, along with fridges for storing lunches.

All of these are important factors to consider when getting ready to hire a large number of people that will require new office space. However the answers that will best fit your company will be directly influenced by your unique needs. The process will most likely take months to select the best possible building and floor plan for the future of your company but once your staff is settled and thriving all the planning will be worth it.

Tags: floor plan, hiring, office space, philadelphia commercial real estate

Posted in: Corporate Office Space