Is the Office Business Center Industry Due for a Ranking System?

With the rise in popularity of alternative workplaces, the breadth of options in the office business center industry has expanded. Companies of all sizes and individual entrepreneurs have the gamut of choices when it comes to how they work and how much support they get – there are monthly executive suites, day office plans, virtual offices, meeting rooms only, co-working setups, and more.

While these options may seem to be all the rage in some markets, to many prospective clients, alternative workplaces are something new. To them, the varying options may be confusing or overwhelming: What’s the difference between an executive suite and a day office? What does a “serviced” office include? Does it matter what address you choose for your virtual office? How can you tell if the office location provides just the bare minimum, or if it is actually a prime facility with a professional setup? Does a virtual office get you any physical office space? What is a collaborative work environment?

The term “business center” is often used loosely in our industry by operators marketing their spaces. A 500 square foot walk-up mail drop may hawk itself as an “executive suite” in a “business center,” making it hard for unknowledgeable prospective clients to distinguish it from the 50,000 square foot, five-star, fully serviced center in a Class A building they are picturing. There are collaborative work environments and literal virtual offices. There are setups that offer professional administrative support and some that offer no support. In the arena of flexible work solutions, the possibilities are endless.

With all of these options for and variations on what some might see as pretty much the same thing, don’t we need to establish a way to differentiate one kind of work setup from another? How do we market and distinguish ourselves so that prospects understand that we offer a range of high quality products and services, as opposed to a FedEx Kinko’s office or something slightly more sophisticated than an empty table and free wifi at a Starbucks?

Does the office business center industry need a ranking or rating system?

In our opinion, a rating system is long overdue. The definitions of what business centers, serviced offices, virtual offices, and all other alternative work setups are need to be regulated. A desk in an enclosed space in a warehouse without a staff needs to be differentiated from a premiere business location with a professionally trained support team – and the way we market our offerings must be adjusted accordingly. It seems clear that there needs to be a movement to make our industry more user-friendly, particularly to prospective clients to whom flexible, alternative work solutions are a brand new idea.

Answer the poll to the left on this page, and join our discussion on this topic at the ABCN Group page on LinkedIN by clicking here.

Add to: del.icio.us | Digg