What Roles Need Office Space?

I am an aspiring businessman and I was planning what my business and company will be. I wondered how large my staff will be and how many employees will need office space. This led me to research the exact roles in companies that require an office to work effectively.

Which roles need a corporate office space? Virtually all roles in a company require office space. From the CEO to the staff working in the marketing department to those in customer relations. Every role is similar in its need for office space in order to carry out its functions efficiently and in a productive manner.

While it is true that almost all roles require an office in a company; particular roles require it more than others so as to perform efficiently. Also, not all jobs require an office building to function. Some can be done just as easily at home. In this post, we will talk about those jobs that require office space to function effectively.

Roles that Require an Office to Function Effectively

As already pointed out, some roles can be easily accomplished from the comfort of a home, a café, or any other space. However, some cannot be done effectively from any place except a designated office. This is because an office attaches a location to a company and gives a company an official presence.

The office provides those working within its confines an opportunity to work together as well as to collaborate and support each other in the accomplishment of each other’s duties. These things would otherwise be hard (and near impossible) to accomplish without the presence of office space.

Those jobs in particular that require office space for their descriptions to be efficiently carried:

7 Roles requiring Office Space

• Auditing: an auditor is one who audits accounts and ensures that they are in order. An auditor checks through the record of a company’s finances (or an individual’s) so as to ensure their accuracy. Such a role requires an office for it to function efficiently. Whether the auditor is part of an auditing firm, is a freelancer, or works in the accounting department of a company; having an office enables efficient performance of the duties expected of this individual. Also, for confidentiality reasons, things concerning the finances of a firm should be done within a firm or organization.
• Customer Service Representative: another job that requires an office for efficient functioning is that of a customer service representative. This individual helps sort out issues involving customers and clients of the company he/she is working for. A customer service representative helps provide solutions to issues challenging customers of a company leading to a peaceful resolution of conflict. He/she is the middleman between the client and company and should always be found available and at ’home’ for effective service rendering.
• Lawyer: a lawyer and solicitor definitely fall in under the classification of roles that require an office in a company. This role can simply not be accomplished from the comfort of a home. Offices provide companies with an official presence, as has already been mentioned and which better way to ensure that there is an officious air around a company than to get…….an office.
• Chief Executive Officer: The CEO is the company itself if he doesn’t have an office, who will? The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a company is the person with the final say on matters. This person is the highest ranking officer in a company and has the authority to take steps and make decisions on behalf of the company. This role very definitely requires an office to be accomplished effectively.
• Human Resources Manager: yet another role in an office that requires an office. The HR manager is akin to the customer service representative but to the company’s employees. They are responsible for the wellbeing of the employees in a company. This ensures that the employees are productive and that things run smoothly within the organization. This job cannot be accomplished without the presence of a physical office. It cannot be done from the comfort of a home or a café.
• Receptionist: a receptionist is the first person clients of a company (as well as intending clients) come in contact with (apart from the security man, that is). They attend to clients’ inquiries and provide help when needed. They attend to the phone, schedule and arrange appointments, set aside conference rooms for events and conferences that involve the company, order for and manage office supplies as well as distribute and ensure that company workers get the company mail. For this role, an office is definitely essential.
• Office Administrative Assistant: An office administrative assistant does carry out functions that ease the duties of executives and managers in a company. Their role is quite important as it facilitates the delivery of the duties of the executives. This role renders those very big roles in a company produces. An office administrative assistant writes and transcribes letters for the person (or group of persons) they are attached to. They facilitate travel arrangements, have a hand in communication (through whatever means is available), calculate and make available reports on the expenses incurred as well as the department’s budget.

Criteria that Will Influence Whether Office Space is Needed

There are quite a number of reasons why you should consider getting an office for your company. These reasons set you apart and make it necessary that you secure office space for efficient functioning.

The attraction of new talent: an office space/building speaks volumes about a company’s standing as well as its stature. A lot of things that will influence whether talent will stay and commit his/her future to your company can be read in how and what the office space is like. Financial health, attitude to work, the vision (as well as the steps being taken to achieve that vision), and many other things that will help a talent decide whether to pitch his/her future with the company are exhibited in how the office space is.

Social life: you need office space in order to build camaraderie among your employees. This, in turn, makes them satisfied and happy with the job which results in more productivity and they’re being encouraged that your company is the place for them to be. Without an office space, there is little to no opportunity for your employees to mingle, get to know each other, and build their social lives.

Punctuality: if your company is one that requires meeting upon meeting for efficient and effective performance, then, you need an office space. While it is true that technology has advanced and meetings can be held via the internet, it is also true that network connectivity is not always good. This might result in having to postpone a meeting or in communication during such a meeting nit being effective. Some might even be late to the meeting without a way to contact them and get them to the meeting. An office space eliminates these and ensures that meetings are held smoothly and without hassles.

Accountability: working in an office environment fosters accountability of the employees and helps ensure that everybody is doing their work as they are meant to be. If your company is one that requires that tasks be accomplished fast, you should definitely get an office space. Each employee as somebody that they report to who can ensure that things are being done as they ought to be.

Investors: if your investors advise you to get an office space, then you should. There will definitely be certain factors they will bring into light that will influence their advice which is worth considering.

Health: an unhealthy work office cannot be as productive as a healthy one. Having an office space helps you play a major and direct role in ensuring that your employees are healthy. You can do this by having a doctor on-site within the company premises, scheduling health check-ups and such as well as by incorporating healthy meals into the everyday routine. The employees can even be charged for this with the company augmenting the costs.

Team building: having an office space where all your workers stay together enables them to work together and support each other in the accomplishment of their duties. For example, when the IT specialist is in the same building as the accounting clerk, it is a simple matter of sending word down to him/her when there is a problem with the computer or software the clerk works with. This greatly boosts productivity and allows more to be done in a lesser amount of time.

Training and development of employees: having an office space allows you to organize training seminars and workshops to develop the skills of your employees thereby ensuring that they are more productive and that their duties are carried out more effectively. This has the added effect of ensuring that they have job satisfaction and makes it harder for other companies to poach them as well as easier for you to retain the top talents that drive your company’s growth.

8 Roles that do not Require Office Space to Perform Effectively

An office is used to refer to a working space outside of a person’s home. It used to be the only space where people carry out their job duties. This has changed in the last decade and a half, however, as more and more people work and accomplish their duties just as effectively from places that are traditionally not offices. According to a report by Gallup, about 30 percent of the United States workforce now work from the comfort of their homes with a lot of people believing that they are just as productive as those who work in an office environment. 

The reason why these many people can now work from the comfort of their homes is that of advances in technology which provides them the opportunity and freedom to be productive from anywhere they choose. Working away from a traditional office also affords a person flexibility in terms of when to work as well as the volume of time to spend working.

The following are 8 roles that can be easily accomplished without a traditional office building;

Cleaner: while there is a requirement for a store where the tools of those in this profession are required; there is absolutely no need for an office for this particular role. That would be a waste as the person performing in such a role will not require this for any reason whatsoever. Not for bookkeeping, development, and planning of strategy or any other such reason. So, they do not require an office.

Security: those in charge of the company’s security can definitely do without an office. Their job is to ensure the safety of the people and properties related to the company: clients, staff, and assets. A job they can very well do without an office.

Freelance writing: Freelance writing is one of the best job roles that can be accomplished from anywhere in the world and does not require an office building to be accomplished. This role affords the writer flexibility as to fees, time to work, location to work, and many other things. All that is required is that the writer signs up on one or two freelance websites such as Fiverr and Upwork, fills out the required personal details, builds a professional profile, and uploads his/her portfolio. The writer then gets contacted by those who feel like the writer’s profile matches what they are looking for.

Affiliated writer: an affiliated writer role allows the writer to work from home or wherever else they will prefer. This is after securing an agreement with the company that employed them. This practice is more common in digital media houses than in other industries. It gives the writer flexibility, helps him/her save up on expenses that would have been incurred in transport to and fro work (and other things), allows the writer to determine when best to work and other such things. All this time, the writer is considered a full-time employee of the company and is treated as such with benefits provided.

Blogging: blogging is a role that does not require specialized equipment or office space to accomplish. All that this job role needs are a computer and a reliable internet connection. This makes it possible to do this job from anywhere comfortably.

Recruiter: a recruiter is someone who identifies a suitable fit for a role in a company and then works towards recruiting that person for that role. Nowadays, recruiters do not need an office space; this is because companies (in a bid to save cost and space) now outsource the procurement of new talent for them to independent recruiters.

Photographer: Photography is another job role that does not require office space for the duties to be carried out effectively. A photographer takes pictures and this does not have to be in one location. This defeats the point of having to work in an office space. A photographer might as well work from anywhere and still do a great job.

Sales representative: yet another role that can be accomplished out of the traditional office is that of a sales representative. The sales representative is saddled with the responsibility of securing customers and clients for the company. This role does not require an office space to be accomplished as the sales representative move from one location to the other meeting with prospective clients and attempting to convince them to partner and become customers of the company they (the sales representative) represent.

Related Questions

What is the difference between owner/entrepreneur and CEO?  An entrepreneur runs a business while assuming and taking on full responsibility for profit or loss while a CEO is an executive position in an organization with the authority to make final decisions concerning the company. The CEO works in line with the founder to accomplish the company’s mission. Depending on how large the company is, the CEO is answerable to the Board of Directors and in scenarios where the CEO also found the company and owns most of the company’s stock, the Board of Directors exists as an advisory board.

What are the top management positions in a company?  The following is a list of positions you would find in a company hierarchy;

Chief Executive Officer: definitely the most important and highly ranked, the CEO is the boss of the company and makes the final decisions.

Chief Operating Officer: Chief Operating Officer ensures that the operations of the company are run smoothly. He/she is in charge of organizing the company’s operations.

President: the roles of a president varies in different organizations. In some companies, the president is in charge of staff functions such as human resources (whereas the COO is in charge of operations) while in other organizations, the president is the same as the COO.

Chief Financial Officer: the title is self-explanatory; the CFO is in charge of a company’s finances. He/he plans budgets and develop financial strategies.

Chief Marketing Officer: the person in this office is in charge of creating and managing the marketing strategy of the company. The CMO essentially helps the company position itself in such a way that it is unique and easily distinguishable from the competition.

Chief Technology Officer: this office is usually found in companies that rely on technology to run smoothly and effectively. They are in charge of technological innovations, as well as maintenance.