To operate effectively as a company, no matter the industry, you need to optimise systems and processes as best you can. Of course, this covers a whole range of choices and decisions that impact the business on the whole. Some decisions are simpler than others, naturally, yet the choice of shared office space is one that is often overlooked, despite the benefits it can provide.

To clarify, we are referencing a shared workspace for different departments within your company. But should you bring them together in order to encourage team chemistry? Have you explored the possibilities of shared office space and the positive impacts it can have? If not, or you simply want to explore this concept in greater detail, you’ve come to the right spot.

What is a Shared Office?

Before we can examine the benefits of a shared office setup and look at possible integration in your business, let’s first address exactly what this means. In a nutshell, a shared office is one in which various departments within a company share a collective space. In the traditional sense, this implies a shared physical space in an office setting.

Essentially, a shared office setup might mean you have marketing, finance, administration, and individuals from other departments working in close proximity. This setup is somewhat rare for larger corporations, but when your business is relatively new or small in comparison to larger institutions, a shared workplace is often the ideal fit to get things moving.

After all, if channelled in the right direction, even the smallest teams can make something large happen, and you just never know what your small business could transform into.

Shared Office vs Shared Workspace vs Coworking Space: What’s the Difference?

Although these three terms are often thrown around interchangeably, they each mean something quite different. It’s important to correctly distinguish the three to avoid confusion, so let us detail each right now:

Shared Office

This is the category we are focusing on today, a shared office. As touched upon earlier, a shared office is one that’s occupied by just one company. This allows numerous departments to collaborate and share resources in the same physical space, working together towards the goals of the business.

Shared Workspace

A shared workspace is similar, but at the same time, quite different from a shared office. In a shared workspace, you can have several businesses or individuals occupying the same physical space, bringing together people from different organisations. This is where you may have professionals from many different backgrounds working on their own things but using the same space as others.

Coworking Space

A coworking space is a shared workspace with flexible rental models that provides freelancers, startups and remote workers with professional office infrastructure and networking opportunities. Such spaces tend to be less private and the whole concept is based on sharing resources such as meeting rooms, printers and other essentials.

Why Does Desk Sharing Make Sense in a Shared Office?

Now that we have clear boundaries to identify the three working environments mentioned above, let’s address another element: desk sharing.

Generally speaking, this is to be expected in a shared office, as there is less space and fewer rooms to work in. But what are the reasons behind desk-sharing, and what kind of benefits can you expect if you incorporate this into your business?

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• Optimise the space available
• Flexibility for team collaboration
• Reduction in overhead costs
• Brings employees together
• Perceived equality within the team

These are the kinds of benefits that can put your startup on the treadmill to success. And the fact that desk sharing—something so simple—can have such instant and long-lasting positive effects on your team is a major reason to consider a shared office!

Desk Sharing with Flexopus in a Shared Office Space

We've talked about the reasons why you should consider a shared office for your business, and we've made clear distinctions between the different setups. However, there's still one piece of the puzzle missing, and that's how to manage a shared office most effectively to get the best out of your team at all times without descending into chaos.

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It's a question that keeps every entrepreneur up at night, especially when times are tough. But what if we told you that there's a pretty simple solution? That's exactly what Flexopus is for. With this clever software, your employees can plan ahead when they want to sit where - all with a modern mobile app. This prevents people from going to the office for nothing and not finding a free seat in the shared office. In addition to the workstations, your employees can also flexibly reserve meeting rooms and parking spaces in advance so that your team can arrive on time for an important meeting and doesn't have to search long for a free space!

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Flexopus goes one step further and offers your team full flexibility by allowing multiple locations to be managed in one system. Another advantage of Flexopus is that the software is already integrated with numerous applications that are connected to Microsoft and Google. This means you can still book your meeting rooms via Outlook, for example. So if you've been thinking about turning on the turbo button for your business, take a look at what Flexopus can do for you.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you are currently working with a shared office model or not, it is always an option you can consider. So make sure you keep the door open to shared office space and the concepts that come with it, because you never know when you might need it.